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irisblue

(33,654 posts)
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 10:32 AM Jul 26

George Will has thoughts. Gift article from the WaPo.

https://wapo.st/3WCYhnJ

Title
Giving Democrats a clear Senate majority is a very bad idea
If you think today’s political climate can’t get worse, wait until Democrats jettison the filibuster.


snip-"The Supreme Court has long since stopped enforcing the Founders’ intention that the federal government be limited by the enumeration of Congress’s powers. So, the filibuster is increasingly important to protect federalism — the pluralism of disparate states. The filibuster is suited to the Senate, a non-majoritarian institution in which 576,000 Wyomingites have as much representation as 39 million Californians."

The 10 most-populous states have 53.173 percent of the population, the 10 smallest 0.745 percent — remarkably similar to 1970 (54 percent, and less than 3 percent). Of the 10 largest states, three are currently blue (California, New York, Illinois), three are red (Texas, Florida, Ohio), and four are purple (Georgia, North Carolina, Michigan, Pennsylvania). Had the Constitution’s framers not agreed on a Senate representing the states equally, there might not be a Constitution."


More there.
He does raise my BP
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irisblue

(33,654 posts)
1. from the comments.
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 10:34 AM
Jul 26

Could it be as bad as having Clearly Partisan "Federalist Society " Republicans Controlling the Supreme Court ?

What would be great is if there is a Blue Wave in both Houses . Then maybe just maybe the Right Wing will dump MAGA and Trumpism for good.
I think a Democratic Senate is a very good idea. Enough for at least two terms to really do some serious housecleaning, starting with SCOTUS. And with a super majority, we could even look at some issues such as the Second Amendment and the Electoral College. which are both clearly broken.

Lonestarblue

(11,193 posts)
3. Read the comments on the article--almost all negative.
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 10:36 AM
Jul 26

George should take a cue from his readers and retire his ideas from the 1950s. No one cares what he thinks. If the Post is so concerned about readership, they should get rid of has beens like Will and the senseless drivel of most of their right-wing opinion writers.

CTyankee

(64,485 posts)
14. My husband calls him George Won't. This is going back maybe 20 yeears....George is old and out of touch...
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 08:28 PM
Jul 26

raging moderate

(4,455 posts)
6. It isn't the real filibuster anymore, anyway.
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 10:42 AM
Jul 26

What they call the "filibuster" nowadays is just a little easy routine set of notations.

The real filibuster, which was outlawed some years ago, involved a difficult, well-planned, arduous exercise in holding the floor with a long, long, long, long speech on some key question.

JustAnotherGen

(32,956 posts)
7. Had the framers
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 10:43 AM
Jul 26

Not been slavers, we would have a One American, One Vote system instead of the Electoral College.

I'll write it again:

Monroe County NY of which the third largest city and county seat Rochester, has more people than the entire state of Wyoming.

End the Filibuster now. Its not in the Constitution and relies on magical math.

RustyWheels

(142 posts)
12. The Senate IS the Filibuster
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 10:58 AM
Jul 26

Two (2) Senators for each State IS the protection of the minority against the majority.

The current filibuster is an over-amplification of that structure, giving the rural minority excessive power to prevent progress the majority wants and needs.

Botany

(71,673 posts)
9. Isn't George Will's expiration date past due?
Fri Jul 26, 2024, 10:53 AM
Jul 26

In 1980 he used Jimmy Carter’s debate prep papers that were stolen from him to
prep Ronald Reagan for his debate with Carter and then wrote about what a great
job Reagan did in the debate. I think Time magazine fired him for that act.

Btw a friend of mine had personal dealings with Will when he was paid to come to
Columbus, Ohio for a fund raiser for a speech and hearing clinic and she told me
that he was not a nice man.

Btw part 2: I think Will knows a blue wave is coming with his warning about the
dangers of having Democratic majority in Congress.

lees1975

(4,986 posts)
15. "Protect Federalism" is the code word for "protect the rich establishment."
Sat Jul 27, 2024, 10:07 AM
Jul 27

This might have been a valid argument 30 years ago, before Rush Limbaugh pushed the idea of conservative control of the courts to bypass the legislative process to avoid having to compromise and negotiate with liberals. But corruptly using the courts to prevent legislation that gets passed through the legislature destroyed federalism. Democratic party control of the Senate with the possibility of breaking the filibuster, packing the Supreme Court and changing the makeup of the court system from conservative legislating from the bench back into a system based on the rule of law will restore the Constitutional democracy based on federalism.

I haven't heard much or seen much of George WIll lately, though he was dead.

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