What use is the United States Senate?

[Politruk]

The Senate is supposed to be "the saucer into which the passions of the House are poured for cooling". What kind of nonsense is that?! In all of American history, how many instances have there been of which we can honestly say," The House passed that crazy bill -- thank God it died in the Senate!"?

To the contrary, for the whole of American history, the Senate has been nothing but an instrument of obstruction that is ALWAYS regrettable in hindsight. Throughout the antebellum period, the highest priority of all Southern politicians was to make sure there would always be at least as many slave states as free states -- just so that no antislavery legislation would ever make it out of the Senate. In the 20th Century, the Senate was usually the place where civil rights legislation, and even anti-lynching legislation, would go to die (not seldom, by filibuster -- that silly and pointless rule is a whole other discussion). And it was the Senate that stopped the U.S. from joining the League of Nations, thereby making that organization too impotent to prevent WWII.

World's greatest deliberative body my ass.

The Senate should be abolished, all its powers and functions devolved on the House. A unicameral, or dromedary, legislature is better than a bicameral, or Bactrian, legislature.

 

[ll74]

Love the new parody account.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

We did that.


Once.


We got this as a result.

 

[ishtat]

New Zealand has a unicameral parliament - no upper house and no States. It has a lot of firsts to its credit. They seem to be able to get things done and rarely need to reverse legislation. Upper houses tend to become pension scams for the otherwise unemployable.

 

[Politruk]

New Zealand has a unicameral parliament - no upper house and no States. It has a lot of firsts to its credit. They seem to be able to get things done and rarely need to reverse legislation. Upper houses tend to become pension scams for the otherwise unemployable.

I believe NZ is also one of the few English-speaking countries that elects its legislature by proportional representation-- but that's another discussion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Proportional_representation

 

[Politruk]

We did that.


Once.


We got this as a result.

I don't see the connection, but if a line of topless models is the result, it's worth trying again.

 

[Politruk]

The main point of the FFs' "Great Compromise" was to prevent Virginia -- biggest state at the time -- from dominating the Union.

Hardly seems relevant now. No state is big enough to dominate the Union in its present formation.

 

[Wat_Tyler]

I don't see the connection, but if a line of topless models is the result, it's worth trying again.

Read up on the articles confederation and why it didn’t last. That will shed a little late on US national experience with a one-house legislature.

 

[Politruk]

Read up on the articles confederation and why it didn’t last. That will shed a little late on US national experience with a one-house legislature.

No, that was our experience with an IMPOTENT legislature -- impotent because of the feeble powers the Articles gave it. Being unicameral did not make Congress any weaker, quite the reverse.

 

[Politruk]

I see nobody has yet given any reason for keeping the Senate.

Can nobody think of any?

 

[SevMax2]

There is a possibly apocryphal story about Adams and Jefferson meeting after the latter returned from Paris, having missed the Constitutional Convention as he was minister to France. Jefferson reproached Adams for his role in creating the Senate, a very undemocratic institution if there ever was one.

"Why did you create it?" Jefferson asked Adams.

Adams then indicated Jefferson's saucer, on which he had placed his cup of tea.

"Why did you place your tea cup on that saucer?" Adams asked Jefferson.

"To cool it," Jefferson replied, taking that for granted.

"And that is why we subjected legislation from the House to the Senate, to cool it," Adams retorted.

 

[Politruk]

"And that is why we subjected legislation from the House to the Senate, to cool it," Adams retorted.

But that never happens. Not in any way that is not, in hindsight, entirely regrettable.

 

[Politruk]

xxxx

 

[Politruk]

One extremely strange RW meme in the past few years has been to repeal the 17th Amendment -- that is, to abolish popular election of senators and let state legislatures choose the senators.

What is the point of that?!

 

[Politruk]

xxxx

 

[Pad_Foot]

Well? Until the Trumplikkans get rid of the filibuster 41 Dems can stop their entire agenda… or.. at least stop any impeachments. That 60% is in the Constitution

 

[Politruk]

Well? Until the Trumplikkans get rid of the filibuster 41 Dems can stop their entire agenda… or.. at least stop any impeachments. That 60% is in the Constitution

No, it isn't in the Constitution. The filibuster is only a procedural rule of the Senate.

 

[Pad_Foot]

The 60% is for impeachments

 

[UltraChad]

The Senate is supposed to be "the saucer into which the passions of the House are poured for cooling". What kind of nonsense is that?! In all of American history, how many instances have there been of which we can honestly say," The House passed that crazy bill -- thank God it died in the Senate!"?

To the contrary, for the whole of American history, the Senate has been nothing but an instrument of obstruction that is ALWAYS regrettable in hindsight. Throughout the antebellum period, the highest priority of all Southern politicians was to make sure there would always be at least as many slave states as free states -- just so that no antislavery legislation would ever make it out of the Senate. In the 20th Century, the Senate was usually the place where civil rights legislation, and even anti-lynching legislation, would go to die (not seldom, by filibuster -- that silly and pointless rule is a whole other discussion). And it was the Senate that stopped the U.S. from joining the League of Nations, thereby making that organization too impotent to prevent WWII.

World's greatest deliberative body my ass.

The Senate should be abolished, all its powers and functions devolved on the House. A unicameral, or dromedary, legislature is better than a bicameral, or Bactrian, legislature.

Repeal the 17th.

 

[dawnonyou]

Repeal the 17th.

 

[Rebel5soul]

Repeal the 17th.

AND the 16th.

 

[dawnonyou]

The whole concept is flawed at it's core. Sooner or later every form of government known to man has failed the people and died.

 

[Politruk]

Repeal the 17th.

What would be the point of that?!

 

[Politruk]

The whole concept is flawed at it's core. Sooner or later every form of government known to man has failed the people and died.

There is not much appealing about Anarchism.

 

[UltraChad]

What would be the point of that?!

Restoring the Senate to it's original intent and checking mob rule that you support.

No more electing Senators. States will choose their Senators as it should be.