Correction! The United States is a Republic
The recent Supreme Court ruling overturning the Roe v. Wade decision was the result of the Court determining abortion is not covered in the Constitution and therefore in the hands of the states. Abortion advocates – and other single-issue folks – have difficulty thinking of the nation as a republic or accepting the fact that the federal government is not to be involved in everything we say or do.
In May of 1787 a group of fifty-five delegates from 12 of the 13 states assembled at Independence Hall in Philadelphia. Rhode Island did not attend initially.
The group that met was led by some of the best political minds of the time, including James Madison, Benjamin Franklin and George Washington. The average age was 42. Most of the delegates had studied law, had served in colonial or state legislatures, or had been in the Congress under the old Articles of Confederation. They assembled to write the Constitution of the United States.
That first constitutional convention completed work in September (4 months), including the Bill of Rights – the first ten amendments.
We know that the convention was attended by ‘state’ delegates who represented the respective states that appointed them. States rights were top of mind for most attendees.
Without dealing with much of the lengthy (but interesting) debates and arguments over the power to be given to a central government, it was the states that formed the union. In doing so, the states retained much of the power of government, giving the federal government limited powers.
Many state representatives had states’ rights top-of-mind going into the convention – the distinction being a continued federation of states versus a strong, national government.
There were several critical times during the meetings that the whole idea of replacing the then federation with something else nearly failed. The idea of a central government controlling commerce was a major sticking point for the southern states which among other things wanted to preserve slavery.
Among the compromises made to hold the group together was the makeup of Congress. That compromise, in setting up a House and Senate, established a House with the number of representatives from each state based on its population and a Senate equally represented by each state. Another was allowing 20 years from the date of ratification for all states to do away with slavery.
Still another was the Electoral College. Each state was provided votes for the President based on the number of representatives it had in the Congress. The idea of a president being elected by total popular vote was never seriously considered. And each state can determine how their electoral college votes are determined/selected.
There were then, as there are now, people who want the presidential election to be determined by the total votes of all states combined.
If that were to happen it requires one of two scenarios.
One, a constitutional amendment. That process requires a two-thirds majority in the House and Senate and ratification from three-fourths of state legislatures or state conventions. That’s a daunting proposition and unlikely to occur.
The other path would be for states to change their laws that use the winner-take-all system. Actually, some states have changed that.
It’s worth noting here the 2006 formation of “National Popular Vote Interstate Compact “(NPVIC). As of this year 17 states and the District of Columbia have adopted the compact to award all their electoral votes to whichever presidential ticket wins the overall popular vote in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it would come into effect only when it would guarantee that outcome. So far, those jurisdictions have 209 electoral votes, which is 39% of the Electoral College and 77% of the 270 votes needed to give the compact legal force.
If it were to represent 270 or more electoral college votes and execute its stated intent, it would still need to pass a legal test of the Constitution’s Article 10, Clause 3 which excludes states from entering into compacts with other states without the consent of Congress. It reads in part: No State shall, without the Consent of Congress … enter into any Agreement or Compact with another State…
The intent of NPVIC to support the national popular vote and award all the electoral college votes of a given state to the candidate who wins the national popular vote regardless of who won the popular vote within the state itself. If I were a citizen of a state that did that, I think I would object.
Going back to the United States being a republic, it has evolved into something of a hybrid.
In general, the Constitution says the federal government’s powers are limited to areas that are of interest to the states as a whole and that are best managed at the national level. Those powers include providing a national defense, dealing with foreign nations, regulating commerce, financing the federal government, and other things that affect all the states. All other powers are left to the states.
If the writers of our Constitution could see the monstrosity the federal government has become, they’d probably start a revolution.
But even with that, in many ways we still are a republic, and it is in the best interest of the free citizens to keep it that way.
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Have a great and prosperous week.
Hug somebody
References:
https://www.archives.gov/founding-docs/more-perfect-union
https://harvardpolitics.com/abolishing-the-electoral-college-might-not-be-as-hard-as-you-think/
SPIDER Bytes
This week’s trivia question is: “ Nephelococcygia is the practice of doing what? The answer to last week’s question re: Who painted “The Creation of Adam:” Michelangelo. Also known as The Creation of Man, Michelangelo painted the work on the ceiling of the Sisteen Chapel of St Peter’s Basilica in the early 1500’s.
Democracy is over in the United States. President-elect Trump showed most polls were wrong again, and not only won the Electoral College but the popular vote as well. Fascism and misogyny live if you listen to the mainstream media pundits.
BTW, the definition of misogyny is: “dislike of, contempt for, or ingrained prejudice against women.” It is a form of sexism that keeps women at a lower social status than men, thus maintaining the social roles of patriarchy.
These indictments of the voters were made as the president elect was naming Susie Wiles as chief of staff – the first woman ever in that high executive office/White House position.
Hurricane Rafael, a rare November storm, looks to be dissipating now. Meanwhile, a ‘polar gale’ is hitting the northern tier of states with plunging temps, snow and high winds.
CA Gov. Gavin Newsom on Thursday called a special session of the state legislature to increase legal funding to defend civil rights, climate change, access to abortion, disaster funding and other California policies from a conservative federal agenda before the inauguration of Trump in January. Newsom’s plan is to wage an aggressive and highly visible campaign to “shield” California from the Trump White House while leading Democrats in the culture wars against the Republican Party. Much ado without dealing with reality – especially those issues important to the voters.
Believe it. Some colleges and universities, and even some high schools – have cancelled classes, set up safe places, provided Legos and milk and cookies for their young adult students, allowing them time and distraction while dealing with the disappointment, even despair of the Trump win. Give me a break. Is this training for life?
The DOJ reports it has uncovered a plot by Iran to assassinate president-elect Trump. It doesn’t want to prepare for sanctions again.
Pay attention to this one. Chinese scientists have turned nuclear waste called americium into a positive atomic reaction creating energy that could work at sea and in space – and perhaps elsewhere. Maybe this kind of breakthrough will put the net zero folks more in favor of clean, nuclear energy in generating electricity.
