Comments on: A crisis of democratic legitimacy for the U.S.?

By: MattS

MattS — Wed, 19 Dec 2018 11:13:06 +0000

In reply to Steve.

Steve,

That’s true, but in the case the only real argument they have for why it’s bad is that it isn’t working out in their favor, so “it’s that way on purpose” is the level of response it deserves.

By: Steve

Steve — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 23:40:51 +0000

In reply to cecil. Cecil, "it's that way on purpose" really isn't responsive to an argument that something is bad.

By: cecil

cecil — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 21:00:28 +0000

It’s a feature not a bug. Democratic republic, not a pure democracy. Ya’ll all know that, especially if you had civics in school. Maybe that’s the problem, bring back civics!

By: Hugo S. Cunningham

Hugo S. Cunningham — Tue, 18 Dec 2018 17:41:32 +0000

Are US House constituencies (districts) too large?

There is a rough rule-of-thumb that legislatures should not have more than about 500 members; otherwise it becomes too difficult for everyone (including key leaders) to follow what is going on. The British House of Commons is a notable exception (650 members), but they curb the power of individual MPs, who are not even guaranteed seats when the House is full. China’s supreme legislature has about 3,000 members, but their key decisions are made elsewhere.