We shall rise up. We shall overcome. The secret evil empire must fall.

[originalpckelly]

The US Constitution is not enough.

Even if we followed it, which we as a nation do not, we would still be in dire straits. The US Constitution lays out a fundamentally unjust and flawed government, and the secret evil empire is the direct result of it.

I first begin this short presentation of it's inherent flaws by striking at it's heart. It purports to create a House of Representatives, yet those representatives are only the representatives of a portion of the population.

It is so flawed, that in certain theoretical (and actual) cases it gives 100% of the representation in a given district to a minority of the population.

If an election were to occur where a third party candidate was strong enough and there were two of the main party candidates in with equally sizable margins, theoretically, the candidate with only a slim majority of the vote would receive absolute representation in the House.

Bob Candidate (I) receives 35% of the vote.
John Candidate (R) receives 32% of the vote.
Joe Candidate (D) receives 32% of the vote.

Bob candidate would win 100% of the representation in Congress, while the other two candidates (whose supporters form a majority of the congressional district's population) would go completely powerless/unrepresented.

Even in two candidate races, the winner takes all system in the US Constitution is deeply flawed. In a close election where the vote margins are 49% to 51%, 100% of the representation in Congress goes to the person with 51%. 49% of the district would be without representation.

This is what happens in many congressional districts.

Hundreds of thousands of people are left without representation from their party in Congress.

That is wrong, even if a Republican must provide basic constituent services, the likelihood a Democratic constituent will be listened to on other issues is very low. It's common sense, and the same is obviously true in reverse.

This affects both Democrats and Republicans nationwide.

It is but one of many serious injustices in our constitution, but it may be the most serious.

As long as this flaw exists, and a system of proportional control does not exist, this nation cannot call itself a representative democracy.

Though I propose a system to deal with this flaw, it is not the only way to solve it, and any method of doing so that is more just than the current method should be considered.

My proposal is relatively simple, and eliminates several other flaws in the system.

Every candidate who receives votes in an district election would be able to vote in Congress.

Each representative would have the power to vote with the number of votes cast for them in the election.

If Candidate A receives 50,000 votes in the election, then Candidate A would have the power to cast 50,000 votes in the House of Representatives for/again a piece of legislation/etc.

To simplify coverage of House votes, we could use percentages just like elections. In fact, a percentage is often easier to say than the vote tally in the current system.

Even candidates who receive statistically insignificant vote counts would be able to cast votes, though they would not be able to receive floor time or the amount of pay for practical reasons. They would also probably not be able to travel to Washington, D.C. and would have to vote remotely from the district electronically.

This is really not all that complicated, aside from the long distance voting system, no new infrastructure would be needed.

And yet, everyone would have loyal representation in the Congress.

This is just one flaw and just one proposed solution. There are many other flaws, and I suspect solutions to them.

In the next few days I plan on posting my own personal conclusions about these flaws after several years of thinking about the US Constitution. I'm really a nobody, but I guess I have to hope the power of my arguments is enough to let them stand on their own. If you have questions please ask them, I'll be only to happy to be able to respond.

[JeffR]

1. Some people will say this is crazy and unworkable

but the truth is our present system is crazy and unworkable, corroded and corrosive, arcane and undemocratic. Keep these ideas coming. It would be nice to see more things like this discussed on DU, now more than ever.

[originalpckelly]

2. Well, this was posted at night.

I may repost this at the end of the couple posts I'm planning. Each will address the most serious concerns with this system.

[FlyingSquirrel]

3. The entire Constitution is in desperate need of being reworked.

So many things about it are archaic. Like having to hold "Pro Forma" sessions to avoid having Bush make recess appointments. And wrong, like what you pointed out. We need a Constitutional Convention, plain and simple. And one of the biggest things that should be included is term limits for congressmembers and senators. No more careerists.

[ben_meyers]

5. Remember that a constitutional convention would be

Open to all political persuasions, are you sure you want to take that chance. It might be decided to create a theocracy, for example, if enough fundies were represented. It's possible that not everyone would share your views on what a new constitution should look like.

[FlyingSquirrel]

6. All amendments would have to be ratified by 3/4 of the states

Can't see any radical agendas like you are suggesting passing that kind of muster.

http://www.foavc.org/

[ben_meyers]

7. But who would make that rule?

That's the problem with a constitutional convention, everything would be up for grabs, a whole new set of rules.

[FlyingSquirrel]

8. Not an Article V convention.

They have specific rules already in place including the 3/4 states rule. However, you do have a point in that there has been a lot of resistance to holding an Article V convention because of the fear that it could open up a can of worms and evolve into a much broader rewriting of the entire Constitution.

However let's not forget that the Constitution itself was the result of an attempt at revising the Articles of Confederation. There's a time for everything, and if the Constitution is not working for us perhaps a free-for-all might not be a bad thing.

When the hell are they going to impeach Bush and Cheney? Apparently never. THAT'S something wrong with the current Constitution for sure. Why should ONE PERSON, Nancy Pelosi, be allowed to prevent the entire process that over 50% of Americans believe should be taking place?

[ben_meyers]

4. Your idea would result in thousands of "Representatives"

voting on an electronic system. Why not just go all the way and eliminate representatives all together and have everyone vote on everything. And who do you propose to draft this legislation that will be voted on. How are they chosen?