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The original system was genius... basically, the voters pick the person they know in real life (30,000 people) who they trust. Those people make all of the upst
by paggle 7y ago
The original system was genius... basically, the voters pick the person they know in real life (30,000 people) who they trust. Those people make all of the upstream decisions. Sadly various idiots between 1789 and now introduced concepts like direct election of Senators, bound elactors, and — retch — primary elections, all of which will combine in their effect to produce the eventual death blow.
- notfromhere 7y agoThe original system was awful because wealthy landowners could do whatever they wanted. Appointed senators were awful because it boiled down to who could bribe enough legislators, and the electoral college system basically ensures that rural interests will always dominate the political system in the long-term.
- booi 7y ago.. wait are you saying it's not like this now?
- notfromhere 7y agoI'm saying it was always messy, and it wasn't better before. It worked great in the US in the 30s and beyond because there was a large consensus around the New Deal, the government created a middle class that favored moderate policies because they had a stake in the system, and the Democratic party largely controlled the legislature for 60 years, which restrained the policies that could be enacted by the executive, and again...consensus around pro-social policies that contributed to widespread economic prosperity. The shift to populist politics just mirrors pre-WWI politics.