General Discussion
In reply to the discussion: When GOPrs can't win fair and square, they invariably cheat... [View all]zipplewrath
(16,646 posts)I agree, it's hard to both claim voter suppression while listing the majorities one achieves. But the larger point is valid, if poorly presented. The constitution set up the system to protect the minority from the "tyranny of the majority" by allowing for some disproportional representation. However, the GOP has managed to manipulate that into a system where they create a majority where there is none. Disproportional representation was designed to insure that the minority had SOME representation. It was never intended to ensure that the minority would rule over the majority. They were aware that it was possible, but it was never envisioned to this degree.
It has come about through various changes made over the last 200+ years. The way we elect Senators is one effect. Direct elections of presidents was not envisioned at the beginning. But the largest change is that there are now 50 states of wildly different sizes than early on. I figured out about 10 years ago that, properly placed, 13% of the population could control the senate.
Democracy has been said to be an agreement where the minority agree to be ruled by the majority. What we have going on here is the majority is being ruled by a minority. Democracy was never designed nor intended to do that. In this country, we've spent the last 200+ years slowly expanding suffrage to make the majority actually be a majority of the people. The GOP has spent the last 20 years undoing that.