In the Washingon Post, E.J. Dionne says it’s high time that mayors like Mike Bloomberg take the lead on gun control.
At a structural level, Congress has a deep bias in favor of the rural
point of view because the Senate is stacked in favor of rural states. Idaho,
Wyoming and Montana have two senators each, and so do California, New York
and Illinois.
According to the latest Census Bureau estimates, the six senators from
those three rural states represent 2,874,060 people. The six from the three
states that include big urban and suburban populations represent 68,150,148
people. By these figures, you might calculate the rough odds against gun
regulations at 24 to 1.
Also, by this paragraph, you might get the sense that E.J. Dionne doesn’t understand how Congress was set up. Yes, the three urban states Dionne referenced have six Senators, the same as the three rural states. But the three urban states also have a total of 101 Representatives. How many do the rural states have? Four. Two for Idaho and one each for Montana and Wyoming.
That means in terms of total representation, the three urban states outnumber the rural states 107 to 10. And somehow Dionne thinks this is unfair?
Tell it to the Founding Fathers E.J.
By the way, I could go off and refute Dionne point by point, but honestly I’m taking a day off and would prefer to go play with the twins. I’ll let y’all handle that in the comments.
All Right!! Free rein!!
Liberal idiocy at its most obvious.
E.J. could use a lesson. Congress was set up with two separate houses on purpose. In one, all states are represented equally. That is to protect the rights of the small and/or less populated states. In the other, representation is based on population. That is to protect the rights of the large and/or more populated states.
The founding fathers really did a good job with that idea - at least in my mind.
You’d think that the failure of gun control would have settled this issue long ago.
Hey Sam,
The failure of the gun control issue will never stop the anti-gun crowd. They will always come up with new ways to attack gun owners and the gun industry.
It’s ironic that many of these people want to take away a right protected under the constitution - from honest citizens. Yet they don’t want to get tough on crime because it takes away the rights and liberties of criminals.
First, they convieniently ignore that it is “The United States” and not “The United People“. Then, when convienient, they forget that this country is about The People, and not any level of government.
The representation of the people is equal throughout the country. The representation of the states is equal as well.
The senators do not represent the people, even though they are chosen by the people. They are chosen to represent their particular state - which begs the question: “Why do all our representatives and senators go to congress and decide what is best for the nation instead of what is best for the people?”
Woody
I learned a long time ago that nothing random happens in the media and politics. Today, the major editorial for the Seattle Times is for gun control. Are the Lefties testing the waters for the upcoming elections? You betcha.
PURE DEMOCRACY = MOB RULE
I would use his inane argument against him. This is exactly why the United States is a representative republic instead of pure democracy (despite what Al Gore fantasizes about).
Pure democracy exists when out of 10 people, 8 vote to rape and torture the other 2. Why should the citizens of megatropolis urban cities shape the laws for the citizens occupying the other 98% of the country?
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