There is a lot of discussion right now about how Senators from small states hold too much power compared to the percent of population they represent. There's a lot of truth to this. Alex MacGillis of The Washington Post wrote in an analysis column in their Sunday Outlook section, and David Sirota and Nathan Newman have done good pieces on the topic as well. The simple facts are that the key gang of six negotiating health care in the Senate Finance Committee represent less than 3% of the nation's population; that the 10 largest states are home to over half the country's population but represent only 20% of the Senate; the 21 smallest states together have less total population than California does.
It's good that people are raising these issues, and pointing out this unfairness. The plain fact of the matter, though, is that absent a constitutional convention suddenly being held, there is no changing this particular injustice. It would take 2/3 of the Senate, after all, to pass a constitutional amendment to restructure the Senate, and virtually all of the Senators from small states would vote against it. So we are stuck for now.
What we ought to be focused on instead are strategies that might work.
I have two more updates on the Pacific NW trip front:
1. Matt Singer and the great folks at Forward Montana have kindly booked me to speak at Fact and Fiction in Missoula on Thursday, July 23rd. All the details are here. Come on out for a lovely evening of discussion and the latest news from DC.
2. Adam and the good people at the Oregon Bus Project have expanded the fun of just me into me + Steve Novick + Carla Axtman = This Is Your Brain On Politics, a rousing discussion of creating change out of our existing tools. But never fear, it's still at Bipartisan Cafe, the venue that most fits my personality and message.
All the details are here, and the invitation is below the fold. Sunday, July 19th in Portland. Come on out and spread the word.
So CNN reported a story that is just wrong. Watch the video here and I wanted to go through and talk about all of the points that Carol Costello raises.
But first let me say that I am so exhausted from this kind of crap. It is so ridiculous that today reporters won't use the valid information they can get from a simple google search. There is no excuse for this kind of reckless journalism. It makes me think that perhaps it isn't that they get it wrong its that they WANT to report a specific story about young people and they want to fit the research to that story.
What a lot of people don't understand is that when you get stats like this wrong - it impacts campaigns, consultants, and candidates. It makes them think that they should not be targeting young people.
When they don't target young people they don't get young people to go out and vote.. so it perpetuates the fallacy.
Further it makes candidates have to get more republicans to vote for them which influences their policy. So basically, they have to be more conservative in their votes and the bills they push because they think that is representative of their district... when in reality... it might not be.
These things impact us at levels that go beyond turnout and elections it goes to the very laws that we are passing and the votes cast in Congress.
STATE BLOGS
