237 years ago, four men — Washington, Hamilton, Madison, and Jay rescued America from chaos (“The Quartet” by Joseph Ellis). These four and six years of frustration, exasperation and compromise pulled us back from the precipice. We started life as a Confederation, it didn’t work. It took those four, plus a couple more to give us the Constitution. Nobody got all they wanted, but we got a country. Or did we?
The Civil War said we didn’t. Reconstruction said we didn’t. These last four years said we didn’t. We don’t have those men. So, what are we to do?
It’s time we became a nation. As a representative democracy, we need normalized representation — one man, one vote. The Senate must go, and with it the Electoral College. They are vestiges of our reprehensible slavery heritage. Time to clean the slate.
The national popular vote will undercut and invalidate the Electoral College, but what to do with the Senate? Outright abolition would require a Constitutional amendment. Time-consuming and not likely to make it out of the Senate.
The 50-50 split ensures continued paralysis.
2022 might give us five new blue Senators, assuming D.C. and Puerto Rico become states by then and come in blue that gives us 59/45 majority, well short of the 70 (2/3 of 104) needed to make it out of the Senate. Senators are not likely to cut their own throats. So, what to do?
States calling a convention? Needs 2/3 of the states and then ¾ of them to ratify. Want to give me odds? So, what do we do?
Live with it and hope for the best?
Or we add six new justices and repeal Citizens United. Implement effective campaign finance, add term limits and hope.
Dennis R. Hanks, Salt Lake City
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