Posted on 12/03/2010 6:21:03 AM PST by jmaroneps37
Expanding the House is an idea whose time has come. Using a slightly different formula for apportioning Congressional seats would give us a House that is much more in line with American values.
So much of what the federal government does is based on merely what the federal government wants to do rather than what the Founding Fathers designed. This makes it hard to separate original intent from political whim.
For instance, we take for granted that United States Senators must be elected. Yet before the passage of the 17th Amendment in 1913 states were free to elect or select their Senators.
We also believe the rule requiring only 435 members in the House of Representatives is inviolable. Nevertheless, this cap is in place only because the Congress passed The Permanent Apportionment Act of 1929. The Founding Fathers had no such vision; in fact the very purpose of the Census was as a way to periodically reapportion and expand the House to reflect changes in population.
Montanans’ votes worth less
The Founding Fathers would never approve of Montana having one Representative serving 958,000 people and Rhode Island with only 100,000 more residents having two Representatives each serving only 530,000 people.
Besides making Montanans’ votes count for less, this provides a built-in advantage for Rhode Island and other out of step liberal places like New York City. Mega districts like Montana has virtually insure substandard service from their lone Representative.
While still much too high, setting the Congressional district population limit at roughly 700,000 should work better and provide us with a Congress more reflective of the will of the people. Certainly the very Blue Rhode Island doesn’t come near reflecting the….
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(Excerpt) Read more at coachisright.com ...
Thus the compromise - One house equal representation for the states, the other house equal representation by population.
“They can stay in their districts..and meet electronically”
Yea! It ought to be that way right now! We don’t need a DC, not with the communications we have now.
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