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The Senate

Thursday 25th of April 2024

2016 Presidential election Regrettably, it appears that the platforms may have misrepresented or evaded in some of their statements to Congress. From a report published by the Senate Intelligence Committee about the responses submitted by Google, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and other social media platforms to its requests for data about Russia's attempts to influence the outcome of the 2016 presidential election © 2018 Kwiple.com
Asslickers say I'm coordinating with White House counsel. There will be no difference between the president's position and our position as to how to handle this. Mitch McConnell, guaranteeing Republicans like himself would acquit Trump despite overwhelming evidence he abused his power and obstructed Congress © 2020 Kwiple.com
Bad news Senate confirms Scott Pruitt, preeminent pimp for polluters, as EPA administrator If water becomes undrinkable and air becomes unbreathable, blame him and his enablers: Lamar Alexander (R) Steve Daines (R) Johnny Isakson (R) Pat Roberts (R) John Barrasso (R) Mike Enzi (R) Ron Johnson (R) Mike Rounds (R) Roy Blunt (R) Joni Ernst (R) John Kennedy (R) Marco Rubio (R) John Boozman (R) Deb Fischer (R) James Lankford (R) Ben Sasse (R) Richard Burr (R) Jeff Flake (R) Mike Lee Tim Scott (R) Shelley Moore-Capito (R) Cory Gardner (R) Joe Manchin (D) Richard Shelby (R) Bill Cassidy (R) Lindsey Graham (R) Mitch McConnell (R) Luther Strange Thad Cochran (R) Chuck Grassley (R) Jerry Moran (R) Dan Sullivan (R) Bob Corker (R) Orrin Hatch (R) Lisa Murkowski (R) John Thune (R) John Cornyn (R) Heidi Heitkamp (D) Rand Paul (R) Thom Tillis (R) Tom Cotton (R) Dean Heller (R) David Perdue (R) Pat Toomey Mike Crapo (R) John Hoeven (R) Rob Portman (R) Roger Wicker (R) Ted Cruz (R) Jim Inhofe (R) James Risch (R) Todd Young American Electric Power (utility) Liberty 2.0 (energy industry super-PAC) American Fuel & Petrochemical Mfgrs (lobby) Lucas Oil Products (oil company) Americans for Prosperity (anti-EPA lobby) Murray Energy (coal copmany) Continental Resources (oil company) Oklahoma Gas & electric (utility) Devon Energy (oil and gas company) Oklahoma Strong Leadership (his super-PAC) KochPAC (Koch Industries PAC) Protecting America Now (anti-EPA lobby) © 2017 Kwiple.com
Bad news Senate Republicans and three Democrats – Joe Donnelly (IN), Heidi Heitkamp (SD)  and Joe Manchin (WV) – conspire to appoint Neil Gorsuch as Chief Injustice of the Supreme Court, deligitimizing themselves and it © 2017 Kwiple.com
By the numbers Portion of U.S. senators who had military experience in 1975: 4/5 Today: 1/5  Harper's Index, May 2017 © 2017 Kwiple.com
The Constitution of the United States Thus the requirement that an amendment must gain the votes of two-thirds of the members of the Senate gives a veto power to Senators from the small states, and these Senators may act in concert with other colleagues who foresee a reduction in the influence of their states on the presidency. Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Democracy In our democracy, power is derived from the people, but structures empower some people over others. The Senate empowers a minority of predomi- nantly white conservative voters to elect enough senators to block the will of the majority. Over the past few decades, changes in the Senate's rules have meant that senators representing as little as 11 percent of the population can deliver the obstructionist agenda these white conservative voters desire, blocking progress across most issues. This dynamic renders these voters abnormally powerful. This group is not just a minority, it is a superminority. Adam Jentleson, Kill Switch © 2021 Kwiple.com
Democracy [That] the seven might, in particular instances be right, and the seventeen wrong, is more than possible. But to establish a positive and permanent rule giving such a power to such a minority, over such a majority, would overturn the first principle of free government. James Madison, letter to Edward Everett, August 28, 1830 © 2021 Kwiple.com
Filibusters The ease of use is what made it such a powerful tool for McConnell. Even Richard Russell could not have organized 137 filibusters in two years, which is the number McConnell deployed against Obama from 2009 through 2010. But under the rules of the modern Senate, doing so was as easy as making a sign-up sheet. All it took was a phone call or an email from a single Republican senator and the threshold on any bill or nomination would shoot up from a majority to a supermajority, effectively granting the minority veto power. And there is nothing the majority can do about it. Adam Jentleson, Kill Switch © 2021 Kwiple.com
Filibusters The less sophisticated members of the southern caucus did not seem to understand that the first rule of filibustering on behalf of white supremacy was that there was no filibuster on behalf of white supremacy — only principled stands to protect “minority rights” and “unlimited debate.” Adam Jentleson, Kill Switch © 2021 Kwiple.com
Gun control activists say There should be a background check before the NRA is allowed to buy a Senator Placard, New York City, March For Our Lives rally, March 24, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Impeachment Moreover, even if a decisive majority of the American electorate does  awaken to the onset of tyranny, all it takes to block impeachment is enough support to sway thirty-four senators. Particularly in light of the Senate's unrepresentative composition, which gives small states an outsized voice in government, a president backed by less than 20 percent of registered votes can become practically immune to removal. Lawrence Tribe and Joshua Matz, To End a Presidency  © 2020 Kwiple.com
Impeachment The Senate is on trial as well as the president. Does the Senate conduct a trial according to the Constitution to vindicate the Republic, or does the Senate participate in the president's crimes by covering them up? Jerrold Nadler © 2020 Kwiple.com
Kwiplers say Amend the Constitution to make Senators' votes proportional to their state's population as of the last census © 2015 Kwiple.com
Kwiplers say Amend the Constitution to require members of Congress to be elected by a majority of voters in their constituencies © 2015 Kwiple.com
Kwiplers say Count votes in Congress by: 1. Calculating a Member's Proportional Vote (MPV) for each member, as follows: MPV = SPNP / NLRS where: SPNP = State's Percentage of the National Population NLRS = Number of Legislators Representing the State (in that legislature) 2. Totaling “yes” MPVs and “no” MPVs 3. Passing if total MPV is more than 50 OTHERWISE Abolish the Senate © 2019 Kwiple.com
Kwiplers say End Senate holds, the parliamentary procedure by which a single Senator is able to prevent a presidential nomination or a bill from being voted on by the rest of the Senate © 2016 Kwiple.com
Kwiplers say Make Election Day for federal government office holders a paid federal holiday © 2016 Kwiple.com
Money in politics When I ran for office that year, there were three main models of funding a Senate race: (1) ask lots of rich people and PACs for money; (2) hope that a super PAC would support you; (3) finance your campaign with your own personal fortune. We decided to try a fourth model: launch an online small-dollar fundraising effort. Elizabeth Warren, Persist on her 2012 run for the Senate, which she won © 2021 Kwiple.com
Polarization This is the key to the future of the United States as a political entity. The polarization is geographical. Americans with different politics are moving farther away from each other physically as well as ideologically. The separation feeds back into the political system. More states become single-party states, like California and Texas. Ideological unity replaces open debates. The geography of the national government, and  the way it apportions power, becomes distorted. Huge geographical inequalities are baked into the system of government, which is, after all, nearly 250 years old. Sixty-two senators  represent one quarter of the American population. Six senators represent another quarter. Stephen Marche, The Next Civil War  [2022] © 2022 Kwiple.com
Political inequality As of the census of 2010, the five most rural states wielded about 50% more electoral votes, and three times as many senators, per resident as the five most urban ones did. Economist, July 12, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality At no time during the twenty-first century have Senate Republicans represented a majority of the U.S. population. Based on state populations, Senate Democrats have continuously represented more Americans since 1999. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Tyranny of the Minority  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality … by 2040, 70 percent of the American population will live in fifteen states. Thirty percent of the population will live in thirty-five states. Think about what this means. That widely distributed 30 percent will be disproportionately white, dispropor- tionately nonurban, disproportionately older than fifty years of age. They will control seventy seats in the US Senate, enough to override a presidential veto. If they all support the same candidate for president, that candidate will begin every election with 40-vote head start in the 538-vote Electoral College. The 30 percent who live in thirty-five states are only three states short of the num- ber necessary to amend the US Constitution. David Frum, Trumpocalypse  © 2020 Kwiple.com
Political inequality By my calculation every currently serving Democratic senator represents roughly 3.65 million people; every Republican roughly 2.51 million. Put another way, the fifty senators from the twenty-five least populous states – twenty-nine of them Republicans – represent just over 16 percent of the American population, and thirty-four Republican senators – enough to block conviction  on impeachment charges – represent states with a total of 21 percent of the American population. Christopher R. Browning, “The Suffocation of Democracy” © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Can we forget for whom we are forming a government? Is it for men  or for  the imaginary beings called States?  James Wilson, representing Pennsylvania at the  Constitutional Convention of 1787, objecting to creating the Senate because it institutionalizes unequal representation [Unfortunately, he and Roger Sherman proposed the Three Fifths Compromise, which counted slaves as 3/5 of a person]  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The fifty Republican Senators represent  a population that comprises approximately forty-one million fewer citizens than the Democrats represent. Mary Trump, The Reckoning  [2021] © 2021 Kwiple.com
Political inequality If we were to formulate a general principle and apply it fairly, would not those most entitled to protection be the least-privileged  minorities —rather than the people who happen to live in the smaller states? Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In 1790, a voter in Delaware (the least populous state) had about thirteen times more influence in the U.S. Senate than a voter in the most populous state, Virginia. In 2000, by contrast, a voter in Wyoming has neary seventy times more influence in the U.S. Senate than a voter from California. What began as a strictly small -state bias has become a rural -state bias. Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt, Tyranny of the Minority  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In 2020, the twenty-six states with the smallest populations control the majority of votes in the Senate while representing only 18 percent of the U.S. population. “Our Common Purpose: Reinventing American Democracy for the 21st Century,” Commission on the Practice of Democratic Citizenship © 2022 Kwiple.com
Political inequality [I]n America's political system winning votes and winning office are not the same thing. Federal elections give more power to rural voters than to urban or suburban ones. When it comes to picking a president, California has one electoral-college vote per 720,000 people. In Wyoming the ratio is one per 190,000. The disparity is much greater in the Sen- ate, since California (population 39.5m) and Wyoming (population 580,000) both elect two senators. The Economist, July 12, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In an August 2019 op-ed in defense of the legislative filibuster, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell  invoked the authority of Thomas Jefferson: “great innovations should not be forced on slender majorities.” But as it is, even great  majorities are prevented from pursuing even small  innovations. As of 2018, the fifty states and the Dis- trict of Columbia were home together to 327 million people. A law passed by Sena- tors representing 290.4 million of them can effectively be vetoed by Senators re- presenting 36.6 million … or 11 percent. David Frum, Trumpocalypse  © 2020 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In the current Senate, Democratic senators represent more than  forty million more people than Republicans. And yet the Senate is evenly divided between the two parties. That means that Republicans are hugely favored to hold the Senate in future elections, regardless of whether the voters prefer Democratic control. And the GOP control of the Senate will give the Republicans the power to block any Democratic judicial nominations and the power to block legislation writing federal regulations into a statute. Ian Milhiser, The Agenda  [2021] © 2021 Kwiple.com
Political inequality In theory, senators representing just 16 per cent of America's population could hold sway over the US Senate within a generation. On present course, almost all are likely to be Republican. With 750,000 people, North Dakota has one senator per 375,000 people. With 40m, California has one representing every 20m. It would take a two-thirds majority of each chamber and three-quarters of the states to approve a constitutional amendment. The chances that Republicans will agree to alter the rules are close to zero. It would be like turkeys voting for Thanksgiving. Edward Luce, Financial Times, November 9, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality No iron rule in American politics says an electoral majority greatly disadvantaged by the country's political institutions has to operate with effusive respect for them.  A Democratic presidential candidate who  wins the popular vote and loses the Electoral College — like Hillary Clinton and Al Gore — is not bound by law to concede promptly. A popular president constrained by the Senate's rural majority does not have to keep private his view that the institution is obsolete. Alexander Burns, New York Review of Books, January 19, 2023 © 2023 Kwiple.com
Political inequality On Tuesday, according to The Times, Democratic Senate candidates garnered 45 million votes, and Republicans just 33 million (57 percent to 42 percent). Yet, the Republicans will gain perhaps three seats. That is not democracy.  Michael Tomasky, New York Times, November 7, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
Political inequality A Quinnipiac University poll just before the Senate vote on whether to allow witnesses in Trump's impeachment trial found that 75% of registered voters favored having witnesses   Census Bureau   Census Bureau   estimated 2019   estimated 2019 Sen- population Sen- population ators represented ators represented voting by Senators voting by Senators “Yes” voting “Yes” “No” voting “No” ==== ========= ==== ========= 49 172,132,319 51 155,401,455 49% 52.55% 51% 47.45% ==== ========= ==== ========= Blow me down! The Senate thwarts the will of the majority! © 2020 Kwiple.com
Political inequality The Senate of the United States shall be composed of two Senators from each state, chosen by the Legislature thereof, for six Years, and each Senator shall have one Vote. Article I, Section 3, Clause 1 of the United States Constitution (Amendment XVII provided for choosing Senators by popular election) © 2015 Kwiple.com
Political inequality Unequal representation in the Senate has unquestionably failed to protect the fundamental interests of the least  privileged minorities. On the contrary, unequal representation has sometimes served to protect the interests of the most  privileged minorities. An obvious case is the protection of the rights of slaveholders rather than the rights of their slaves. Robert A. Dahl, How Democratic Is the American Constitution?  © 2018 Kwiple.com
Post-2014 Senate shituation 13 states (Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Wyoming) 2014 population: 35,432,696 Senators: 26 Republicans 1 Senator per 1,362,796 people — 1 state (California) 2014 population: 38,332,521 Senators: 2 Democrats 1 Senator per 19,166,261 people 19,166,261 / 1,362,796 = 14, therefore: average 13er's vote is worth 14 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 7% of an average 13er's — 1 state (Wyoming) 2014 population = 582,658, therefore: 1 Senator per 291,329 Wyomians, a Wyomian's vote is worth 66 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 1.5% of a Wyomian's © 2015 Kwiple.com
Post-2016 Senate shituation 14 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, Nebraska, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) 2016 population: 38,597,448 Senators: 28 Republicans 1 Senator per 1,378,480 people — 1 state (California) 2016 population: 38,802,500 Senators: 2 Democrats 1 Senator per 19,401,250 people 19,401,250 / 1,378,480 = 14, therefore: average 14er's vote is worth 14 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 7% of an average 14er's — 1 state (Wyoming) 2016 population = 584,153, therefore: 1 Senator per 292,077 Wyomians, a Wyomian's vote is worth 66 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 1.5% of a Wyomian's © 2016 Kwiple.com
Post-2018 Senate shituation 15 states (Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) 2018 population: 40,056,961 Senators: 30 Republicans 1 Senator per 1,335,232 people — 1 state (California) 2018 population: 39,776,830 Senators: 2 Democrats 1 Senator per 19,888,415 people 19,888,415 / 1,335,232 = 16, therefore: average 15er's vote is worth 16 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 6% of an average 15er's — 1 state (Wyoming) 2018 population = 573,720, therefore: 1 Senator per 286,860 Wyomians, a Wyomian's vote is worth 69 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 1.4% of a Wyomian's © 2016 Kwiple.com
Post-2020 Senate shituation 15 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) 2020 population: 40,085,414 Senators: 30 Republicans 1 Senator per 1,336,180 people — 1 state (California) 2020 population: 39,368,075 Senators: 2 Democrats 1 Senator per 19,684,037 people 19,684,037 / 1,336,180 = 14.7, therefore: average 15er's vote is worth nearly 15 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth less than 7% of an average 15er's — 1 state (Wyoming) 2020 population = 582,328, therefore: 1 Senator per 291,164 Wyomians, a Wyomian's vote is worth 68 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 1.5% of a Wyomian's  © 2021 Kwiple.com
Post-2022 Senate shituation 15 states (Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Idaho, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Nebraska, North Dakota, Oklahoma, South Dakota, Utah, Wyoming) 2020 population: 40,737,128 Senators: 30 Republicans 1 Senator per 1,357,904 people — 1 state (California) 2022 population: 39,995,077 Senators: 2 Democrats 1 Senator per 19,997,539 people 19,997,539 / 1,357,904 = 14.7, therefore: average 15er's vote is worth nearly 15 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth less than 7% of an average 15er's — 1 state (Wyoming) 2022 population = 579,495, therefore: 1 Senator per 289,748 Wyomians, a Wyomian's vote is worth 69 times a Californian's, a Californian's vote is worth 1.4% of a Wyomian's  © 2023 Kwiple.com
Republicans say Repeal the Seventeenth Amendment © 2016 Kwiple.com
The Senate Because of the way the modern Senate has has evolved, combined with the trends of of polarization and negative partisanship that have shaped America, this faction [of  wealthy white anti-choice conservatives] is able to wield power far out of proportion to its numbers. The modern Senate gives it the power to exercise a veto over policies backed by a majority of the population and makes likely that it will have the power do so in perpetuity. This is not just a minority. This is a superminority. Adam Jentleson, Kill Switch © 2021 Kwiple.com
The Senate By reference to the one person, one vote standard, the Senate is the most malapportioned legislature in the world. Frances E. Lee and Bruce Oppenheimer, Sizing Up the Senate © 2021 Kwiple.com
The Senate Had [Christine Blasey] Ford not been white – and from the professional class – you have to wonder whether the Republican men on the [Judiciary] committee would have completely dropped their patently phony concern for her welfare and stabbed her in the front instead of the back. Frank Rich, New York Magazine, September 28, 2018 © 2018 Kwiple.com
The Senate The horror! The horror! Joseph Conrad, Heart of Darkness © 2015 Kwiple.com
The Senate I don't know what I'll do next. All I do know is that there has to be more to life than explaining the ridiculous, accountability-destroying rules of the United States Senate to confused and angry and frustrated constituents. David Obey, member of the House of Representatives for 21 consecutive terms (1969-2011), announcing he won't seek reelection because he was tired of explaining the Senate's extra-constitutional veto power over legislation © 2018 Kwiple.com
The Senate McConnell followed generations of  white supremacist southern obstructionists who had come before him. Ever since John Calhoun set foot in the Senate [in 1832], they had fought against Madison's vision of a majority-rule institution, forging new ways to impose their will on a country where progress threatened their power. Under McConnell, the Senate was finally remade in Calhoun's vision of minority rule. The only question that remains is whether it can be saved. Adam Jentleson, Kill Switch © 2021 Kwiple.com
The Senate Nobody trusts anybody round here. And most Americans don't trust any of us.  Lindsey Graham © 2018 Kwiple.com
The Senate The Senate hasn't simply favored sparsely populated states; politicians in Washington created sparsely populated states to leverage the Senate's skewed power. New York Times, November 21, 2016 © 2016 Kwiple.com
The Senate The Senate is intentionally a very malapportioned legislature. Richard M. Valelly, American Politics © 2018 Kwiple.com
The Senate We are the hollow men We are the stuffed men Leaning together Headpiece filled with straw. Alas! … This is the dead land T. S. Eliot, “The Hollow Men” © 2015 Kwiple.com
The Senate We need 100 more like Jesse Helms in the Senate. Ted Cruz, calling for more Senators who oppose abortion, affirmative action, AIDS research and treatment, busing, civil rights, disability rights, a federal holiday honoring Martin Luther King, Jr., feminism, food stamps, gay rights, liberals, Mexican immigrants, school desegregation, the National Endowment for the Arts, unions, voting rights © 2016 Kwiple.com
The Senate What do you call a Senator who's served in office for 18 years? You call him home. Republican Senator Orrin Hatch, who's been in the Senate since 1977, attacking incumbent Democrat Frank Moss when running his first race for election to the Senate, back in 1976, on a platform calling for congressional term limits © 2017 Kwiple.com
Separation of powers Given America's separation of powers, the Tea Party needs to be only a majority of the majority of one half of one branch of government to have a pretty good shot at ensuring nothing significant can move in Washington, D.C. The only threshold that matters is to be a majority of the minority party in the Senate (where forty votes can block almost all legislation), and to remain the largest and most powerful faction in the House. Even if Republicans lost control of the House, the Tea Party could still get by on the minority veto in the Senate. Edward Luce, Time to Start Thinking © 2017 Kwiple.com
Snapshot He doesn't have any friends in Congress. He called the leader of the Republicans a liar on the Senate floor. If you want to call somebody a liar in the Senate, you go to their office — you don't go on the Senate floor and make it public. Ted Cruz portrayed by Bob Dole © 2016 Kwiple.com
Snapshot If you killed Ted Cruz on the floor of the Senate, and the trial was in the Senate, nobody would convict you. Ted Cruz portrayed by Lindsey Graham © 2016 Kwiple.com
State of the union Once again wealthy Americans and business interests have a great deal of political power. Once again the Senate is filled with multimillionaires; the Supreme Court is overturning popular legislation; and both major parties appear to be swayed by the wishes of the business and financial communities. Benjamin Page and Martin Gilens, Democracy in America? © 2019 Kwiple.com
Surely you jest Actual questions Republican members of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Supreme Court nominee Neil Gorsuch: Does a good judge decide who should win and then work backward to try to justify the outcome? — — — How in the world is Gorsuch able to go so many hours without peeing? — — — What is the answer to the ultimate question of life, the universe, and everything? — — — What's the largest trout you've ever caught? — — — Would you rather fight a hundred duck-sized horses or one horse-sized duck? — — — Would you tell me where your favorite fishing stream is and don't say “Notellum Creek”? © 2017 Kwiple.com
Taxes The Senate's three richest members – Democrats Mark Warner (VA), Richard Blumenthal (CT) and Diane Feinstein (CA) – voted against the 2017 tax bill. The Senate's three richest Republicans – Jim Risch (ID), Bob Corker (TN) and John Hoeven (ND) – voted for it. The House's three richest Democrats – John Delaney (MD), Jared Polis (CO) and Scott Peters (CA) – voted against the 2017 tax bill. 2 of the 3 richest House Republicans – Greg Gianforte (MT, richest)  and Michael McCaul (TX, 3rd richest) – voted for it. © 2017 Kwiple.com
Trumpists say As I've said for the last two weeks, the Senate will be glad to vote on a measure that the House passes that the president will sign. But we're not going to vote on anything else. Mitch McConnell, January 2, 2019, guaranteeing he will keep the government shut down until Trump gets his Mex best thing © 2019 Kwiple.com
 
Voting rights I don't think there is anything to be gained by any senator to vote against continuation of this act. Antonin Scalia, on reauthorization of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which he called “perpetuation of racial entitlement” and believed happened without dissenters for the first time in 2006 because senators had become too afraid to be called racist, and not because racial disenfranchisement had become unacceptable © 2016 Kwiple.com