This isn’t complicated.
We are trying to bring democracy to the United States.
That’s it. That’s the whole project.
We’ve never been a democracy. And I’m not talking about “direct” democracy, I’m just talking about proportional representation.
We have a Senate. That’s all you need to know about American governance, because the mere existence of the Senate explains almost everything.
It explains why lefties get so bent out of shape about “mod Dems” and “centrists” - because it’s true! A majority of Americans support progressive policy.
But it doesn’t matter, because we have a Senate.
The existence of the Senate has broken the brains of everyone on the left. Why do we have to water down good policy? Why won’t climate action or single payer pass?
Because we have a Senate.
Why do so many think tanks pretend like there’s “bipartisanship” and “grand bargains”?
Because when you have a Senate, and you have to get something done, you have to pretend like your Senate works.
the old joke is that the Senate is where good ideas go to die.
The truth is the Senate is how the confederacy killed America.
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