4 ms·

There's a strong argument to be made that in the American system this is a feature and not a bug. The whole thing is designed to make it difficult to make big

There's a strong argument to be made that in the American system this is a feature and not a bug. The whole thing is designed to make it difficult to make big changes, especially unilaterally. Whether the system is serving us well or needs adjustments is a different matter.

gunapologist99 4y ago
Even though I might be in favor of some variant of this bill, I'm really glad that it can't just be railroaded through without adequate debate. The "tyranny of the majority" can be a very real thing, and we need to be mindful that the tension between powers (separation of powers) was put there explicitly for this purpose -- to prevent a single powerful group from seizing control.
pfhayes 4y ago
But this isn't a big change? This is a bill with bipartisan support in congress, and it's my understanding that it has majority (but not 60%) support. If this is difficult, then everything is difficult. How can a governing body being impeded on its most fundamental duties be considered a feature?
- dane-pgp 4y ago
  “Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - John F. Kennedy, 1962 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/89101-those-who-make-peaceful-revolution-impossible-will-make-violent-revolution https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/89101-those-who-make-peacef...
  - cato_the_elder 4y ago
    One interpretation of Kennedy's quote is that it's essentially a threat to violence by those who want some kind of radical change. When made by the US president (to Latin America [1]), that probably needs to be taken seriously. [1]: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-first-anniversary-the-alliance-for-progress https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-first-...
notacoward 4y ago
There's an argument, but not a strong one. What can be passed quickly can be amended or even repealed quickly. Many countries have done OK with that. Stasis is a bad strategy in such a quickly changing world, and the empirical results seem to support the theory. Built-in gridlock is dumb.

gunapologist99 4y ago

Even though I might be in favor of some variant of this bill, I'm really glad that it can't just be railroaded through without adequate debate. The "tyranny of the majority" can be a very real thing, and we need to be mindful that the tension between powers (separation of powers) was put there explicitly for this purpose -- to prevent a single powerful group from seizing control.

pfhayes 4y ago

But this isn't a big change? This is a bill with bipartisan support in congress, and it's my understanding that it has majority (but not 60%) support. If this is difficult, then everything is difficult. How can a governing body being impeded on its most fundamental duties be considered a feature?

dane-pgp 4y ago
“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible will make violent revolution inevitable." - John F. Kennedy, 1962 https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/89101-those-who-make-peaceful-revolution-impossible-will-make-violent-revolution https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/89101-those-who-make-peacef...
- cato_the_elder 4y ago
  One interpretation of Kennedy's quote is that it's essentially a threat to violence by those who want some kind of radical change. When made by the US president (to Latin America [1]), that probably needs to be taken seriously. [1]: https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-first-anniversary-the-alliance-for-progress https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/documents/address-the-first-...

notacoward 4y ago

There's an argument, but not a strong one. What can be passed quickly can be amended or even repealed quickly. Many countries have done OK with that. Stasis is a bad strategy in such a quickly changing world, and the empirical results seem to support the theory. Built-in gridlock is dumb.