The Problem Explained, in One Chart
NPR has just published a very good explanation of our problem in America, which is the cementing in of minority rule, and how its unsustainablity threatens democracy. Over the years, especially since 2010, Republican gerrymandering has unfairly locked in Republic seats that are almost impossible to defeat by a Democrat. Here’s the chart that shows the problem in the US House (click on the little one to get the big one):
This chart shows that since 2000, Republicans have controlled more seats than votes for them support and Dems much fewer. Beginning in 2002 when states like Texas started mid-decade redistricting and using computers to do it, you can see the effect of the disenfranchisement of millions of voters all over the country by giving disproportionate representation to those who received less votes. Only in 2008 when the Obama election turned out so many voters did the House come anywhere near parity between number of votes and seats won. The problem WILL get worse with this year’s continued gerrymandering which the Supreme Court has condoned by turning a blind eye to the corrosion of partisan gerrymandering. That’s how you get permanent majorities in states like Wisconsin and North Carolina where Republicans get over 70% of the seats no matter what the vote.
The Senate is worse. You now have a situation where the majority of Americans are ruled by a minority of voters because each state gets two Senators no matter the population. As population continues to move, you’ll have 30% of Americans controlling 70% of the representation in the Senate.
The system is broken and getting worse, and the US can no longer call itself a republic governed by democratic principles. This is why electing autocrats, especially to the WH, is so incredibly dangerous. Many state legislatures are broken, the Congress is most certainly broken, and the Supreme Court is broken if not outright corrupt. The only tool that remains to keep us from sliding into the abyss of autocracy is the presidency. That’s why keeping Republicans out of the WH is so critical and reform of our Democracy mandatory.
Spot on, El Jefe! Now how do we disband the US Senate where “equal representation” is distorted beyond possible governance?
1When this country was founded, we were an agrarian society of farmers and craftsmen so our population was spread pretty thin. During the industrial revolution and now the information age, populations have concentrated in cities. We now have many cities with populations larger than many states. The original method of representation has been obsolete for a century and gerrymandering has made it even worse.
There will be no relief from our corrupt Supreme Court. All these Federalist Society justices, during confirmation, promised to adhere to stare decisis and follow precedents. Some have since stated and even written that some precedents are wrong in their opinion and should be reversed. IMHO that’s an impeachable offense.
2I’ve written about this before. If I were a smarter man I’d come up with a catchier name, but it is essentially a gap. It’s a gap between what the people want and what they get. Worse, there’s even a gap between what they want and how they vote. So, we have two gaps to overcome.
Historically, this doesn’t end well. Every time this has happened over a prolonged period of time there has been some kind of revolution. Of course, the French Revolution comes immediately to mind, but there are others as well (Russian revolution). It’s essentially a representation gap between what people want and what the government can effectively deliver.
The trouble is that people are generally smart enough to know the government is failing them, but they aren’t smart enough to figure out why. Connecting the dots is hard. It takes hard work and you have to stay engaged. My fear is we will see more populists in the future and they will be a whole lot more effective than the last one.
3