World reaction to long queues of voters in US

Re:World reaction to long queues of voters in US by thebooktocome on Wednesday October 14, 2020 @11:39AM (#24777832)

All of those methods for balancing the "madness of crowds" (which is a strange euphemism for abolitionism) have been written out of the constitution. Senators are elected by popular vote now. Almost all the day-to-day legislative actions of both houses require merely a simple majority.

The Federalist Papers are centuries out of date. They do not comprehend how modern politics functions. Hamilton could not imagine a multinational corporation with an unlimited purse and fewer limits on their free speech than an ordinary citizen.

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Re:World reaction to long queues of voters in US by eej71 on Wednesday October 14, 2020 @12:05PM (#24778180)

I'd like to think we could agree that the Senate has become more politicized in the last few decades.

I think where we disagree is what to do about it.

There seems to be this prevailing cultural view that a democratic election is always good and always produces wise and just results. Where as people like me are fearful of what starts as the wise vox populi devolves into a crowd, transforms into an angry mob, and then the fun really begins!

I always like a line that was attributed to George Washington...

"George Washington is said to have told Jefferson that the framers had created the Senate to 'cool' House legislation just as a saucer was used to cool hot tea."

By directly electing Senators, we have reduced that cooling function.

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Re:World reaction to long queues of voters in US by godtoldmetodoit on Wednesday October 14, 2020 @12:13PM (#24778259)

In my view the Senate has been all too successful at its 'cooling' function. Since the ACA what significant legislation has it passed? Has it done anything besides obstruct in a decade?

The Senate has turned into a freezer :)

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