Civic Miseducation from the New York Times

perdidochas · Sep 17, 2019

Interesting article about the Constitution. Matches views that I've tried to illustrate, but I have so far not been as successful at. It's the point that the Constitution is designed to eliminate any one group (even the majority) from having too much power.

American government makes a lot more sense if you look at it from the point of view of how it was actually designed to function. The Electoral College, for example, mystifies many Americans, who can recite from memory the details of 20 seasons of The Bachelor but who cannot be bothered to understand the basics of how their government is meant to function. The Founders feared mob rule and the domination of factions, and so they made the presidency a prize not for one big national mob but for 50 competing mobs, each with its own preferences and priorities. That is why we do not have direct election of presidents and why the “popular vote” that Bouie writes about is irrelevant. The great defect in our constitutional order is that while the Founders feared the House of Representatives would become the hostage of the democratic passions and their great tribune, those passions (mainly hatreds) have instead attached themselves to the presidency and dominate it. Of course the illiterate majoritarians buck the Electoral College — they are frustrated by it because it exists to frustrate them.
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https://www.nationalreview.com/corner/civic-miseducation-from-the-new-york-times/

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Civic Miseducation from the New York Times

perdidochas Well-Known Member

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Civic Miseducation from the New York Times

perdidochas Well-Known Member

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