Hi, Gib, et alle,
The United States was never intended as a ‘pure’ democracy–government ruled by the majority. Read the Constitution to decide whether or not I’m correct. The Electoral College is meant to equalize the power of large states with small states. A republic takes power from the people rather than from a monarch or ruling family. So the US Constitution was/is meant to be the document that defines, and establishes the structure of, a democratic republic–i.e., a country ruled by people. To get the individual states to agree to the Constitution and ratify it was a struggle. Read the Federalist Papers. Not all states would ratify it as it stood, although it had already been signed by the Founding Fathers, who represented each state of the time. The signed Constitution was sent to the Governors of each of the 13 states for their ratification in the name of their state–after discussion with their own Congresses. There were ten objections to ratification. Those ten ‘objections’ were re-written as amendments incorporated into the Constitution. They’re called the Bill of Rights.
The two houses of Congress are separate. Originally, the Senate was meant to be the ‘elder statesmen’ of the individual states. At the time, they were men able to ‘see’ more than what benefited just their state. They were supposed to be able to see the whole republic of states and introduce legislation that, if approved, would benefit all states. The House of Representatives were meant to balance the power of the Senate by speaking for the individual states. The SCOTUS was meant to decide whether or not the Legislation introduced by the Senate was constitutional. This was meant, I believe, to be done before the fact, rather than after.
Can the people of the US go back to the “original” Constitution, as Libertarians want? I really don’t understand how that could be possible, since, through the SCOTUS, laws have changed; states can and do change their laws (which is fine as long as they follow the US Constitution;) and since so many people think the Bill of Rights is the entire Constitution.
In the meantime, in order to ‘preserve the rights of the people,’ moneyed people and power groups have taken over Congress. Remember what the structure of Congress is supposed to be–the Senate proposes law, the House approves or disapproves that law, and the Executive signs the law to make it the ‘law of the land.’
That’s where the moneyed individuals or groups have been wreaking havoc and are changing the US from a democratic Republic into an oligarchy. At least, that’s my view of the situation.
To further fill this essay with more cliches, the US is caught on the horns of a Dilemma (a big bull not unlike Babe, Paul Bunyan’s big blue ox in looks) in that it can’t restrict the freedom of speech without going against the Constitution, as interpreted by the SCOTUS and exemplified in its Citizens United decision. As far as I know, a sitting SCOTUS, has only reversed it’s decision once.
Now, please, ‘reform’ the United States.