Opinion: Think the constitution will save us? Think again

The subversion of democracy was the explicit intent of the framers. View in [Browser]( | Add nytdirect@nytimes.com to your address book. [The New York Times]( [The New York Times]( Thursday, August 9, 2018 [NYTimes.com/Opinion »]( David Leonhardt is on a break from writing this newsletter until Aug. 27. While he’s gone, several outside writers are taking his place. This week’s authors are [Meagan Day]( and [Bhaskar Sunkara]( of Jacobin, the socialist magazine. You can[ sign up here]( to receive the newsletter each weekday. By Meagan Day and Bhaskar Sunkara Consider a few facts: Donald Trump is in the White House, despite winning almost three million fewer votes than Hillary Clinton. The Senate, the country’s most powerful legislative chamber, grants the same representation to Wyoming’s 579,315 residents as it does to 39,536,653 Californians. Key voting rights are denied to citizens in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and other United States territories. The American government is structured by an 18th-century text that is almost impossible to change. These ills didn’t come about by accident; the subversion of democracy was the explicit intent of the Constitution’s framers. For James Madison, [writing in Federalist No. 10]( “Democracies have ever been spectacles of turbulence and contention” incompatible with the rights of property owners. The byzantine Constitution he helped create serves as the foundation for a system of government that rules over people, rather than an evolving tool for popular self-government. Writers on the left such as Jacobin’s [Seth Ackerman]( and the journalist [Daniel Lazare]( have long argued that constitutional reform needs to be on the agenda. Even some liberals like Vox’s [Matthew Yglesias]( rightly worry that the current system of governance is headed toward collapse. These perspectives are vital at a time when many progressives regard the Constitution as our only line of defense against a would-be autocrat in the White House. Yet whether or not the president knows it, the Constitution has long been venerated by conservative business elites like himself on the grounds that it hands them the power to fend off attempts to redistribute wealth and create new social guarantees in the interest of working people. There’s a reason we’re the only developed country without guarantees such as universal health care and paid maternity leave. While preserving and expanding the Bill of Rights’s incomplete safeguards of individual freedoms, we need to start working toward the establishment of a new political system that truly represents Americans. Our ideal should be a strong federal government powered by a proportionally elected unicameral legislature. But intermediary steps toward that vision can be taken by abolishing the filibuster, establishing federal control over elections and developing a simpler way to amend the Constitution through national referendum. How hard would change be? As Mr. Ackerman [reminds us]( while constitutional change is straightforward and feasible in most countries, “an amendment to the U.S. Constitution requires the consent of no less than thirty-nine different legislatures comprising roughly seventy-eight separately elected chambers.” But it’s a problem worth confronting. As long as we think of our Constitution as a sacred document, instead of an outdated relic, we’ll have to deal with its anti-democratic consequences. The full Opinion report from The Times follows. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Rules Won’t Save Twitter. Values Will.]( By KARA SWISHER The platform won’t ban the dangerous liar Alex Jones because he “hasn’t violated our rules.” Then what’s the point of these rules? From Our Columnists [The Outrage Over Sarah Jeong]( By BRET STEPHENS Let he who is without a bad tweet cast the first stone. [Keep Up the Blanket Coverage of Trump. It Hurts Him.]( By THOMAS L. FRIEDMAN Just a little wave of disgust among Republican moderates is all that is needed to turn several key states from red to blue. [The Bad Boys Club]( By GAIL COLLINS The bigger the dad, the bigger the trouble. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [The Democratic Party Has Two Futures]( By THOMAS B. EDSALL Candidates in different states are testing out the electoral power of the left and the center. Contributing Op-Ed Writer [Does Sacha Baron Cohen Understand Israel?]( By SHMUEL ROSNER The comedian’s new show makes a mockery of Israeli machismo. But he doesn’t know who we really are. [Kris Kobach Is the G.O.P. at Its Worst]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD In his race to be Kansas’ next governor, Kris Kobach represents the ugliest part of today’s Republican Party. He also sounds a lot like the president. LIKE THIS EMAIL? Forward it to your friends, and let them know they can sign up [here](. ADVERTISEMENT [Free California of Fossil Fuels]( Mikey Burton By BILL MCKIBBEN It’s essential for legislators and Governor Brown to commit the state to running on 100 percent clean energy by 2045. More in Opinion [The Earth Ablaze]( By DON J. MELNICK, MARY C. PEARL AND MARK A. COCHRANE Are we locked in a worldwide pattern of persistent and catastrophic wildfires? [How China Wins the Trade War]( By MARY E. LOVELY While American companies and consumers are paying the price for tariffs, China protects its factories and investors. [How Nixon Came Back]( By TED WIDMER Fifty years ago, the former vice president executed the greatest reversal of fortune in American political history. [President Iván Duque, Protect Social Activists]( By OMAIRA BOLAÑOS The new Colombian president has to stop the killing of community leaders to secure a lasting peace. [China’s Challenge Is America’s Opportunity]( By L. RAFAEL REIF The president of M.I.T. says the U.S. must respond urgently as China advances in science and technology. The Stone [Are We All ‘Harmless Torturers’ Now?]( By PAUL BLOOM AND MATTHEW JORDAN In the age of online shaming, we should push ourselves to consider the collective consequences of our actions. [The Wind at Labor’s Back]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD Missouri voters sent a strong pro-worker message Tuesday by overturning an anti-union law. [Where There’s Fire, Trump Blows Smoke]( By THE EDITORIAL BOARD The president, either willfully ignorant or playing to his base, tweets nonsense about the California wildfires and refuses to acknowledge the role of climate change in the disaster. SIGN UP FOR THE OP-DOCS NEWSLETTER Find out about new [Op-Docs]( read discussions with filmmakers and learn more about upcoming events. 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