U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native American reservation

Re:U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native Americ... by mcv on Friday July 10, 2020 @04:37AM (#23789412)

I'm not American, but if the Senate is meant to represent the states, then it makes sense to have them appointed by the states, or elected by the state legislatures (this is for example how the Dutch senate (Eerste Kamer) is elected, though it's still proportional to the population of the provinces, unlike the two per state no matter how big or small).

But if you want your country to be democratic and representing the people, then the people's representation (the House) should hold most of the power, and the representation of the states (the Senate) should only really be involved in states-related issues. For example, not being able to create laws, but only deciding whether an issue is a federal issue or a states issue.

Merely making senators appointed by states isn't going to fix all of the problems with the senate.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native Americ... by Simon_says on Friday July 10, 2020 @04:57AM (#23789509)

Used to be that way until the 17th amendment.

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Re:U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native Americ... by joshuamorton on Friday July 10, 2020 @01:59PM (#23794340)

You missed the nuance of GP. If senators represent states, they should not be given the power to create laws about people, but instead only about the interactions between states, leaving laws about people up to the House.

This would make the Senate more akin to the Supreme Court, though empowered to craft legislation instead of just rule on existing issues.

[ Parent | on HN ]

Re:U.S. Supreme Court deems half of Oklahoma a Native Americ... by 8note on Saturday July 11, 2020 @12:09AM (#23799390)

For example, nothing the Senate legislated would apply to D.C. or Puerto Rico

[ Parent | on HN ]