Non-paywall article from nytimes

  • Buffalox
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    9 days ago

    True, which is why Americans should have solved their democratic deficit decades ago, instead of first considering after they are at risk of losing it altogether.
    The effect is well known, and the American founding fathers chose that idiotic system ON PURPOSE!!! Because they wanted a strong government with the ability to take action.

    They can be excused for not knowing better, as democracy wasn’t as well understood back then. But USA has had 250 years to modify it towards a fairer more representative democracy.
    I freaking learned about it in public school in Denmark in the 70’s!!! It’s been common knowledge for probably a century.

    • Triumph@fedia.io
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      9 days ago

      You may not have learned that the American Revolution was fought between the British and thirteen separate colonies that each considered themselves to be sovereign. The original organizing document was the Articles of Confederation, which created a very weak federal “government” that was responsible for just a few things, but without the authority to raise funds from the Several States to actually do any of those things.

      The US Constitution didn’t take effect until March 1789, and it contains the Electoral College and the Senate specifically so that the States (wanting to maintain some semblance of sovereignty) would ratify it.

      • Buffalox
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        9 days ago

        2026-1789=237 years.

        Close enough. And yes the idea of states maintaining some autonomy is not the problem. EU has the same and even more protection of the rights of member states, completely without the democratic shortcomings of USA.

        • Triumph@fedia.io
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          9 days ago

          I wasn’t bickering over the number of years. You may just not be aware that state sovereignty in the US was a really big deal until at least the 1870s, and continued to be a pretty big deal for some time after. The US is 50 countries in a trench coat.

          • Buffalox
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            9 days ago

            The US is 50 countries in a trench coat.
            Not really since the constitutions doesn’t allow any state to secede, they have abandoned their independence and sovereignty.
            There are so called state rights, except of course the Republicans shit on that when they are in power, and complain about it wildly when they are not.
            Republicans behave like spoiled children, and half the population is doing the same.