In this episode, I make the case for abolishing the Senate.
Transcript
The Title of this episode is: the Senate should be abolished. The verdict for this episode is: the Senate’s purpose is to prevent progress and maintain systems of oppression.
I do not call for the abolishment of the Senate lightly. I realize limiting political processes will result, when the right has power, in terrible consequences. But the Senate still must be abolished in order for their to be any chancce at real progress.
The Senate, as people who know American history understand, , was designed to prevent politics from actually reflecting the will of the people and to ensure the wealthy maintained all of the real power. Under the Constitution, tmembers of the Senate were chosen by individual state legislatures, not the people.. Each state was given two senators specifically to ensure the small slave states had more power than their populations should have allowed. This problem still plagues American politics today.
How often in recent times have issues supported by a majority of Americans been stopped by the undemocratic Senate and its rules, especially the filibuster, designed to prevent the majority from governing. That shameful reality leads to what should be an obvious conclusion: as long as America has a senate progress will be incremental and never sufficient.
As long as small, white states can dominate what becomes law in America, their agenda will continue being the American agenda. Even when they lack the power, because they Don’t have the House, Senate, and/or the presidency, they can use the Senate and its undemocratic rules and nature to ensure the will of the majority is thwarted and progress dies. It’s true that majority rule will not always be a good thing. But Constant minority rule is a terrible thing that is only supported by those who want to prevent progress and uphold systems of oppression.
Again, I understand abolishing the Senate will sometimes lead to negative results. But if the lack of a Senate enabled the House and the president to actually govern more for the benefit of the people, fewer people would be inclined to vote for the right because they would see actual benefits in their lives from a government that sometimes worked for their benefit.
Abolishing the Senate would not be a political cure-all, but it would be a step in the right direction. Yes, we need campaign finance reform, true voting rights, and more, but abolishing the Senate would be an important part of making America a more democratic country.
Thank you for listening to this episode of Jonathan’s Verdicts. I appreciate your support.
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