Policy 10/10/2009
Posted by rosshunter on October 9, 2009
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Ezra Klein – What Good Are States?
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I read the story you linked, and Alec MacGillis actually tells the story about the Senate existing to cool down legislation – but then he dismisses it. He never grasps the point that this safety check will inevitably disappoint people tied to immediate outcomes.
The States weren’t “enticed” into joining a Union, they banded together and formed one because it was the clear imperative of the times. We are the result, and you have the luxury now to speak from that Union as if its existence was a given, as if we have always been one Society – the Founders would be proud of their achievement.
Today the House majority is trying to vote its way into something I (very dearly) want, but tomorrow it won’t be. So we look to the checks and balances, the Senate and the President and the Supreme Court.
The answer to one’s current frustration is not to abolish the Union or the States or the Senate, but to buckle down to the work required to pass legislation that will carry all of the component institutions of our system. Then one will have some legislation worth passing.
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Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.
