Now is NOT the time to tinker with U.S.A. Democracy!

First off, I don’t want to hear how America is not a Democracy, “It’s a Republic.” No, it’s a Democratic Constitutional Republic and we vote our asses off to pick everything from dogcatcher to school board to mayor to congresspersons to president and all the little referenda such as legalizing weed, local issues, etc.

Tinkering with the mechanics of Democracy is a good thing when done in an evolutionary, expansive, conscientious way such as giving blacks the vote after the Civil War and later, women. However, if done in a reactionary, break things and see what happens way, we might not only dislike the results but we may lose Democracy altogether and truly regret our meddling. We all suffer from the boy who cried wolf syndrome and alarmist Chicken Little “the sky is falling” doesn’t really phase us much these days because we’ve heard it in the past but things are happening that really should trouble all Americans.

I will make it simple: adding voters, making it more inclusive is good; subtracting voters and making it more exclusive is bad. Making it easier to vote with LESS friction is good. Making it harder with MORE friction and hurdles is bad. However, because of parties and factions, which the Founders warned about, we find ourselves in a situation where one party can’t numerically win if everyone votes. Therefore they see…