Tom Toles for September 28, 2020

How true and chronic obstruction leading to full dysfunction was not what the founders had in mind for our constitutional democratic republic!

Conservatives were traitors then and they are traitors now. Conservatives, traitors and on the wrong side of history since 1776.

Nixon with Vietnam talks = traitor. Reagan and Bush 1 with Iran = traitors. Bush 2 and Cheney = war criminals. Trump with Russia = traitor

Tories = Conservatives. Confederacy = Conservatives. Jim Crow laws = Conservatives. KKK = Conservatives.

When is the last a republican president wasn’t a criminal?

I may have posted this before, but at this point I believe it may bear a review:

Ours is the first government ever to be established by a constitution. Hence, ours was originally Constitution ver. 1.0. It’s been exceedingly difficult to update the Constitution, and after 230 years we’re still at only ver. 1.27. There remains MANY serious bugs.

Think the Electoral College is bad? In a more or less representative government, the Senate’s problems are even more egregious. They’re a fundamental and structural part of our Constitution, and a daily calamity. Those problems are then exacerbated by rank partisanship which was something the Framers feared and abhorred and completely failed to account for, deliberately.

The notion of “majority rule” in the Senate is a VERY sick joke. It’s like this: The total population of the 25 least populous states is less than 17% of the total U. S. population. That means that, hypothetically, senators representing only 1/6 of the people in the U. S. could muster a simple majority in the Senate. Majority rule? And currently only 40 senators are needed to block most legislation. This situation is what totally bollixes the Electoral College system as well.

It’s worse than Gerrymandering. Not only is the Senate profoundly unrepresentative of anything except acreage, it will take a constitutional amendment to fix things. But that amendment will without question be utterly opposed by those same 25 states. Good luck. The tyranny of the majority may at times be bad, but the tyranny of a small minority is far worse.

Kid, we have a Senate that should GO FLY A KITE in a lightening storm before the election.

Like Vultures – {limerick}

The Senate has long since rehearsed

these scenes where our nation is cursed

by plutocrats’ greed

as like vultures they feed

when economic growth gets reversed.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

I recall a Disney short cartoon feature, “Ben and Me.” The character Amos Mouse collaborates with Benjamin Franklin in his early publishing efforts, as well as several of his inventions and science experiments. (The film is on the Internet.) The mouse even contributed by chance to Jefferson’s draft of the Declaration of Independence.

Many people today would laugh at its naïveté. If something of this sort appeared now, it would be savagely satirical. Imagine if it were about Trump or McConnell. What species of animal would guide their present efforts? I can’t think of any creature, other than human, this is so intrinsically wicked.

Franklin’s reputation is dominated by his scientific and political activities. But he also wrote to show his mastery of irony, satire, and humor. “Poor Richard” and “Father Abraham” are well known, but see also “Old Mistresses Apologue” and “The Ephemera.”

In a 1779 letter, “The Whistle,” he recalls how as a child he was so amused by a toy whistle, that he spent entire allowance buy one — far more than its worth. When his siblings learned of the poor bargain he made, they “laughed at me so much at my folly, that I cried with vexation, and the reflection gave me more chagrin than the whistle gave me pleasure.”

“After I grew up, came into the world, and observed the actions of men, I thought I met with many, many who ‘gave too much for the whistle.’

“When I saw one too ambitious of court favor, sacrificing his time in attendance on levees, his repose, his liberty, his virtue, and perhaps his friends, to attain it, I have said to myself, ‘This man gives too much for his whistle’ …”

“… In short, I conceive that great parts of the miseries of mankind are brought upon them by the false estimates they have made of the value of things, and by their ‘giving too much for their whistles’ …”

I think followers of Trump are paying too much by their sacrifice of truth and decency in government — for the whistles of “Trumpism.”

Here’s a topnotch song-parody, “The Day Democracy Died” {8+ minutes} – - – https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Ue5F57dZMU

It’s true, the Senate is not based on one man, one vote. It is more like the House of Lords, in England.

Statehood for DC and PR!

or the electoral college

Good old Ben Franklin! The conservatives tried to brush him off with titles of: Drunk, Lecher, Idler… (you name it). Look at all he accomplished! The Senate, of course, are just the opposite – both parties in the 2020 Senate.

More like; we have a democracy if you don’t count the Republicans.

Senator McConnell said recently that the Senate had a “Constitutional Duty” to fill a vacant Supreme Court vacancy. He didn’t say why that “Constitutional Duty” didn’t exist in 2016.

We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, ensure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.

Where did it all go so wrong?

We have a cacastocracy.

^Kakistocracy

I’m with the little guy in the corner!

And historically true until 1913 and the 17th Amendment. But it’s always been a check on national democracy, only now it’s getting particularly blatant.

Is that Katie Porter asking the question?

Is just the lawless republican senate that is failing to follow the Constitution and working with Russia to destabilize our election. Vote every republican out.

It is unfortunate how many people vote against a candidate (Hillary) without recognizing the alternative is much worse. She received about 3 milliion more votes than Trump and he acts like he won by an “over whelming” majority. Sad.

Can you imagine how much complete and total contempt Ben Franklin would have for Li’l Donnie? (For that matter, Jesus wouldn’t much like the rapist/traitor Li’l Donnieover-much, either…………)

A Republic, Mr. Toles. Specifically designed to prevent tyranny by the majority.

Interestingly, both McConnell and Graham have said that Trump’s nominee will be confirmed in October. They’ve just pointed out that the “hearing” is just for show.

Actually, Franklin said, “A republic if you can keep it.”

Why is Kurt ranting about conservatives? All of the founders were traitors. They rebelled against their king and country. They threw off the government that was in power over them, and fought a war of revolution. If they had lost, they all would have been subject to facing being incarcerated for the crime of treason; the penalty for which was death. I am not judging them. I had a New Hampshire ancestor among them. Their actions were the very antithesis of “conservatism”!

OBTW, NH ancestor or not, Franklin was always my FAVORITE! He was a Renaissance man and a scientist! As a gifted resource teacher, from a family of scientists and engineers, science was my bailiwick. My students always loved when I was in charge of science lessons! (Gifted resource in my district is a push-in collaborative model, where a cluster of gifted kids is in a regular classroom. The resource teacher works with the home room teachers in grades 2-5 to reach as many students as possible. All learners benefit!) I also wrote elementary science curricula for my school district. :)

Unfortunately, the two-Senators-per-state rule is one of the very few parts of the Constitution with a specific rule against amending.

Or the Electoral College.