In a word it captures much of the wisdom of the American forefathers. They were quick to dismiss mob wisdom and notions of pure democracy, — tim wood
What they got wrong was leaving so much power to the individual states, the electoral college, and the structure of the Senate, which overwhelmingly favors the powered elites over the vast majority of citizens. — Noah Te Stroete
Winner take some, loser(s) the rest?Furthermore, winner take all elections resulted in a forever two party system, which leaves out the viewpoints of a lot of people. This was another mistake. — Noah Te Stroete
What one thing (first) might you change, and how, to make it better? — tim wood
But this is just personal indulgence on your part. — tim wood
The prostitution of the commerce clause ended any pretense of federalism. It’s DC’s ( congress’s) plenary instrument for making all things it’s own business.
Oh, wait....there’s those right-wing hobgoblins who sit on the bench and dare to curtail, like platonic guardians, the abuses of the commerce clause (e.g. US v. Lopez). Not to mention their haste to jurisprudentially trumpet the Tenth Amendment. “Damn states-righters” is what they must be, KKK types hiding in plain view wearing those black-as-white robes.
Or maybe they just don’t trust the federal government.
Incidentally, the incorporation of the BOR ( most of it) via the 14A was less a manifestation of federalism being eroded than it was a legal angle by defendants to challenge state prosecutions and abuses of civil rights. John Bingham, author of the 14a, envisioned his section 1 clause as a way to accomplish precisely that-granting civil rights protections to all men ( especially blacks, then still de facto slaves, despite the 13A.) — Reshuffle
Perhaps this is the natural evolution of governance, a hierarchy tending to the concentration of power at its center, rather than its distribution to the nodes. — JosephS
Federalism, from this perspective and as an ideal, respects standards and customs distinct to regions and groups of people (states) and is reflected by variance within constitution and law. As an additional benefit, the avoidance of a monolithic governance structure insulates against political 'disease' analogously to genetic variation protecting against blight in trees. — JosephS
Get involved in philosophical discussions about knowledge, truth, language, consciousness, science, politics, religion, logic and mathematics, art, history, and lots more. No ads, no clutter, and very little agreement — just fascinating conversations.