The most undemocratic legislative body in the Western world - the United States Senate where the half million people of Wyoming get as much power as the 12 million people of Illinois - has a particularly bad rule that has stifled popular will from becoming the law of the land.
That rule is the most recent incarnation of the filibuster where one Senator (who represents a tiny fraction of the people) can block the rest of the people from implementing their will.
This filibuster, which is not in the Constitution and was most famously used to block the implementation of civil rights legislation for years in the middle of the 20th century by southern racists (then Democrats), has grown in its destructive power to block the ability of a majority of citizens from shaping government to their vision. It locks the status quo in place. And it needs to be tamed.
I've signed this petition and I encourage you to do the same so that leaders of the Senate, when the convene in January and have an opportunity to fix the filibuster, will be more likely to do so.
Elections should have consequences. The 2008 election should have had more consequences than it did, and the reason why the country has not gotten as much of the improvement that we voted for is because of these radical anti-change legislative rules like the filibuster.
Help fix the filibuster by signing this petition.
1 comment:
This is a problem we can fix.
The Convention of States Project is a non-partisan, grass-roots initiative to convince at least 34 state legislatures to convene an Article V Convention to propose amendments to our Constitution that will impose reforms that we cannot reasonably expect Congress to undertake on its own. Voters across the political spectrum agree that Washington has become dysfunctional and unresponsive, and is unwilling or unable to reform itself.
At an Article V Convention, state delegates propose, debate, and vote on potential amendments. Each state receives one vote. Amendments that receive support from a majority of the delegates are then submitted to the States for ratification. Any amendment that is ratified by 3/4 of the States becomes part of the United States Constitution and does not require the sanction of Congress or the Supreme Court.
The Convention of States Project is mobilizing volunteers across the nation to contact their state legislators, speak at community group meetings, and inform & equip friends and neighbors who would like to be a part of this historic undertaking. Please visit ConventionOfStates.com for additional information and to sign up at the COS Action Center. If you would like to invite a member of the Illinois leadership team to address your group, you may contact your Illinois Legislative Liaison, Victoria Deppe at COS.Liaison.IL@gmail.com.
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