Founders Leveled Playing Field, Obama Does Not Like
by Big Dog on May 24, 2014 at 10:34 Political
Barack Obama champions himself as an advocate for the poor and he truly believes that it is government’s job to take from those who have and give to those who don’t. He thinks government should make sure that everyone is equal. This is quite different from the idea that we all have equal opportunity (which we can either use or squander) in that Obama thinks that things must be made equal. He believes in equal outcome not equal opportunity. If you have a great health care plan then you need to pay more so that someone who cannot afford one gets his fair share. You make a lot of money then you must pay more in taxes to pay your fair share to help those who do not make as much.
The Founders had an equality item and they enacted it and Obama does not like it.
The Great Compromise settled an issue that nearly derailed the completion of the Constitution. The Founders decided that each state would have a number of Representatives based on population. This proportionality would give states with greater numbers of people more votes in the People’s House. That House is closest to the People and they are elected every two years so that they are (in theory) held accountable.
The compromise was that the upper chamber, the Senate, would have equal representation in each state. Originally Senators were selected by the state legislatures and represented the states to the federal government. This changed with the 17th Amendment which made Senators elected by the popular vote in each state. The Senators were to represent he states but the people and not the legislatures of the states selected them.
But, there are still two from each state. Barack Obama does not like this level playing field. He says that this allows all states to have an equal say regardless of population so things are gridlocked in Congress. He says that it is not fair that states with large populations have the same representation in the Senate as states with small populations.
“Obviously, the nature of the Senate means that California has the same number of Senate seats as Wyoming. That puts us at a disadvantage,” Mr. Obama said. Washington Times
For a Constitutional scholar he seems to miss the idea that this was the point of the Great Compromise. The equality in the upper chamber was to allow each state to have equal representation (originally selected by the states and not the people) while the lower chamber, the House, had proportional representation.
Simply put, the House represents the interests of the PEOPLE and the Senate represents the interests of the STATES and it remains that way regardless of how the Senators are selected.
Notice he claims it puts US at a disadvantage, meaning the Democrats. Senators are not in place to give an advantage to Democrats they are there to ensure that the federal government cannot run roughshod over smaller states because each state, all being equal in the Union, had equal representation in the Senate.
It is funny how Obama dismisses this because it does not help Democrats. He has already stated the Constitution hampers government (which it was intended to do) and he does not like that. Now he claims that even though Republican ideas are rejected, it is hard to get things done because of the Constitution.
“So there are some structural reasons why, despite the fact that Republican ideas are largely rejected by the public, it’s still hard for us to break through,”
That was the whole idea of the Constitution, to limit government. The federal government already involves itself in issues that do not concern it and that have no basis in the Constitution. This is, partly, because Senators are no longer selected by the states. If the Senators were beholden to the states then they would do what the states want rather than strike deals to infringe on the rights of the states and then get the low information voters to put them back in office claiming they bring home the bacon. Vote for me because I got you stuff.
Obama claims he was a Constitutional law professor (though it is more claim than fact) and that he knows the Constitution. Perhaps he has read it but he certainly does not understand it. He has no clue why we have it and what it is designed to do. He ignores it and he has violated it.
Will no one hold him accountable?
You are hampered Barry, because people, despite your claims to the contrary, reject your ideas. The large states with hoards of liberals have given us things you championed that have NEVER been popular with the people. Obamacare has never polled higher (in actual scientific polls) than the opposition to it.
I also notice that Barry has no issue with three or four heavily populated places with lots of House representation deciding things for the rest of the nation. He is not concerned that New York and California along with several other heavily populated liberal states (usually just a few cities in those states) are able to give all their electoral votes to a presidential candidate even though most counties in those states are not Democrat.
Look at a map of the US broken down by counties and the entire country is red with swatches of blue. If you want it to be fair then we should look at that rather than population clusters.
As an aside, my idea for the electoral vote would be that they are given based on how the District voted. If a state has 10 electoral votes and 4 voted for the Democrat and 4 for the Republican then that is how the EVs should be awarded (the other 2 are the EVs for the Senators and they would go to the candidate who won the popular vote in the state). That would negate population clusters from affecting an entire state as even California and New York would award more to Republicans than Democrats.
The entire issue is that the Constitution was set up a certain way and Obama does not like it. He took an oath to uphold it but he is not. He violates it all the time and he should be impeached.
Thank goodness our Founders agreed to the Great Compromise or we would be a third world nation with a banana republic. Though we are getting there because of people like Obama.
Next time Obama talks about a level playing field remind him the Great Compromise gave us one and he does not like it…
Cave canem!
Never surrender, never submit.
Tags: constitution, founders, great compromise, house, loies, Obama, Senate