Paul Downey emailed me a link to a piece his brother, Tom, wrote about how Democrats can help restore democracy if they take control of both houses of Congress and the White House in this election. The ideas include ways to revamp Congress — and thus the Electoral College — without having to amend the Constitution.
Political power in the United States has been increasingly accumulated by few, who care only about their own influence, rather than the spirit of democracy or the people it is supposed to serve.
From Tom Delay’s gerrymandering through Mitch McConnell’s current hypocrisy on Supreme Court appointments, the core United States’ doctrine of equality has been subverted – equal vote and equal representation do not exist in what was President Reagan’s aspirational, yet unfulfilled, vision of American democracy as a Shining City on a Hill.
Congress can share its power among more members and more equitably. The president can grant new Supreme Court appointments to future presidents. American citizens can share power by expanding citizenship to those Americans who are separate, but unequal.
One thing we have learned from President Trump is the strategic benefit of going for lots of big changes at once, rather than little efforts incrementally. We are in a national crisis warranting broad, substantial, legal and fair changes.
While some may disagree with individual components of this multi-pronged proposal, the concept of a broad, power-sharing package is most important. In the spirit of George Washington, our next president and Congress need to take power in January and then give it away through a Democracy Restoration Package.