“Dictatorship naturally arises out of democracy”- Plato
By Jack Bernard, contributing columnist
PEACHTREE CITY, Ga. | Most of our citizens believe the USA to be a majority-rules democracy. In reality, we have a very flawed constitutional republic, controlled by a minority of voters from smaller states.
I can already hear the howling from MAGA about this is the way our Founding Fathers designed it to be. Yes, in the 1700s, the landed gentry aristocracy did not trust the uneducated masses enough to give them a true democracy. That does not make it right.
They also didn’t give the vote to women and African Americans. After the bloodiest war in our history, we corrected those mistakes via Constitutional Amendments. Now, the USA needs to remedy other basic failings, many unforeseen by the Founders.
Our Supreme Court (SCOTUS) is no help. Because of Senator Mitch McConnell’s unscrupulous tactics, our SCOTUS is currently controlled by partisan “original intent” activists who believe we are still stuck in the 1700s. Many of these justices were appointed by Presidents (W and Trump), who were elected by the Electoral College (i.e. undemocratically). Most citizens voted against W (2000) and Trump (2016, 2024), but because of the undemocratic Electoral College, they took office as our laws outline.
Here are just a few of the needed changes to our laws and constitution that must occur if we are to ever become a democracy.
- Disenfranchisement: Voter restrictions are discouraging participation, especially after SCOTUS decisions invalidating key parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Law (which had been in place 50 years before the activist Roberts’ court). A much stronger Voter’s Rights Bill must be passed by Congress. If the current far right wing SCOTUS rejects it, a constitutional remedy will be required.
- Gerrymandering: Those in power stay in power by drawing districts to help themselves, negating the will of voters, via “packing” (concentrating a type of voter in a district) and “cracking” (dispersing voters of a certain type over several districts). Federal laws can be passed to discourage these practices on the part of states. For example, requiring all states to utilize non-partisan redistricting commissions, which are used by a few states now. Again, if SCOTUS rejects these laws, constitutional remedies will be needed.
- Transparency of campaign financing: Thanks to SCOTUS’s naive Citizens United decision, dark money has become prevalent, with “Super Pac” spending reaching almost $2 billion in 2024. Citizens United (and the closely related Speech Now decision) overturned campaign financing laws and regulations designed to prevent corporations from simply buying our elections. Only a constitutional amendment can counteract this activist court and restore sanity to our elections.
- Abolish the Electoral College: Two of the three last presidents were elected at least once with fewer votes than their opposition (W and Trump). In a democracy, every citizen’s vote must counted equally, regardless of state of residence. The Electoral College, a counter democracy contrivance, must go away…especially after Trump’s fake elector plot in 2020.
Will these sorely needed changes take place overnight? No, especially since the wealthy and corporations are controlling the Congress, SCOTUS and presidency via political contributions.
Regardless, it’s past time for the voters, Democrats and Republicans, to demand these reforms.
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