Steny Hoyer: Letting the Filibuster Stand Will Break American Democracy
In many ways, the United States Senate is an anachronism left over from a time when thirteen colonies were independent sovereign nations. The Senate was created as a representative of those entities, not of the people. Today, however, at a time when our very democracy is at risk, the Senate serves as a roadblock to the American people’s ability to have their will realized.
The survival of our democracy is under attack, and the Senate threatens the ability of Americans to see their views acted upon. This is not what the Constitution, nor the Framers, contemplated.
I was elected to the Maryland State Senate in 1966. That was the indirect result of two profound Supreme Court cases: one decided in 1962 (Baker v. Carr) and one decided in 1965 (Reynolds v. Sims). The first decision said that the lower houses of every state had to be apportioned based on population—not geography. The central premise being “one man, one vote.” The second case held that both state houses and state senates must reflect populations not geographical subdivisions—in other words, “people, not trees.”
Before these two decisions, it was common for states to diverge widely in the voting power of different residents, depending on where they lived. In another case, also in 1964, Wesberry v. Sanders, the Court applied the “one man, one vote” requirement to the U.S. House of Representatives.
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https://time.com/6110731/steny-hoyer-filibuster-senate/
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