Thread by @tzimmer_history

“The world’s greatest deliberative body”

That’s either a devastating indictment of the world’s other deliberative bodies - or proof that the myth of American exceptionalism is still very much distorting the perspective on the country’s past and present.

https://twitter.com/repraskin/status/1483609244549238784

Snark aside, I believe Rep. Raskin might not necessarily approve of this mythical notion of the Senate as the “world’s greatest deliberative body,” but may be recurring to it as a way of issuing a challenge: Don’t you want to hold yourselves to a higher standard?

The problem is, however, that too many people will read this as affirmation - and conceptualize the current situation as an outlier, a disgraceful aberration from the Senate’s supposedly noble past and true character.

What we need to grapple with, however, is the fact that in fundamental ways, the Senate is working as intended. It has always been one of the most powerful undemocratic distortions in the political system – and not by accident, but because that’s what it was designed to be.

Similarly, what happened yesterday isn’t adequately described as the filibuster being “captured” or “abused.” As @RonBrownstein notes, this use of the filibuster is well in line with the historical norm – it has consistently been an instrument of white Christian domination.

https://twitter.com/ronbrownstein/status/1484025993513693185

Just like the Electoral College, the Senate was intended to be a layer of insulation between those in power and the people – which is why senators were initially appointed by state legislatures. The Senate was supposed to stave off the “threat” of *too much* democracy.

So, what we see in the Senate today is not just an institution hijacked by a radicalized Republican Party (although it is that too) – but an institution that is badly in need of reform: structural reform that needs to go well beyond getting rid of the filibuster.

In the current political situation, reforming the Senate, just like protecting voting rights, is considered a “partisan” idea – and it is, but only because democracy itself has become a partisan issue. Of the two major parties, only the Democratic Party is a democratic party.

How undemocratic an institution is this? Can’t cite these numbers often enough: In the current 50:50 Senate, Democratic senators represent 40 million more voters; by about 2040, 70 percent of the country will be represented by just 30 senators.
vox.com/2020/11/6/2155…

And, of course, the issue of disproportionate representation is deeply intertwined with the problem of white Christian rule – the Senate privileges white voters who dominate in small states, it has a pro-white bias, with or without the filibuster.
nymag.com/intelligencer/…

Here’s another number everyone should know: Out of about 2,000 U.S. senators in the country’s history, 11 have been Black. Over 150 years since the Civil War, over half a century since the civil rights legislation of the 1960s – 11 Black senators. thenation.com/article/politi…

So, whenever someone says the Senate is “the world’s greatest deliberative body,” remember that it is deliberately and inherently undemocratic – an anti-democratic distortion that stands in the way of America finally realizing the promise of multiracial, pluralistic democracy.

The legislation Republicans are blocking in the Senate would establish nationwide standards for voting and make it easier to participate in democracy. It is the absolute minimum that is desperately needed to push back against the state-level authoritarian onslaught on the system.

https://twitter.com/gdnusopinion/status/1483769341564710914

But beyond such immediate measures, a more structural approach to democracy reform is needed – and the “world’s greatest deliberate body” needs to be at the center of those debates. America can have the Senate in its current form *or* liberal democracy, but probably not both.

The fact that a shrinking minority of white conservatives is consistently being enabled to hold on to power against the will of the majority of voters is destined to cause a massive legitimacy crisis. And unless the system is properly democratized, it is only going to get worse.