>> Now, if you have a population that doesn't want to elect lawmakers who will actually pass laws
The population as a whole _does_ want lawmakers who will pass laws, however that collides with the structural misrepresentation built into the US electoral system.
The fundamental problem with this statement is that it assumes both sides of the coin are the same. However, it's far easier to block legislation in the current system than it is to get it passed. Combine that with the hyper partisanship of recent years and you have a recipe for legislative paralysis.
Now, if we didn't have the filibuster or senators were assigned based on population, it would be a different matter. Suffice it to say that we already have a pretty big check on govt power via these mechanisms, so the conservative talking point of preventing 'overreach' by government rings hollow.
>>>that collides with the structural misrepresentation built into the US electoral system.
I never know quite how to respond to this, because (as an outsider) the US electoral system has been designed in a way that is misrepresentative but for very clear reasons.
Part of the 'pitch' for the smaller states to join the union was that they would retain some power, mostly via the electoral college and senate (yes, they still get over-represented in the house, but less so). If the pitch was "you get nothing and we can bulldoze your state" Wyoming would have just said "no thanks, we'll stick to ourselves/join another union". If you think of states as entities worth protecting, assigning senators per state is quite reasonable.
Fast forward two hundred years and we have a different view of states, care more for the individuals inside them, and it indeed seems unfair that Wyoming and California both get 2 senators. What's the fix?
The population as a whole _does_ want lawmakers who will pass laws, however that collides with the structural misrepresentation built into the US electoral system.
The fundamental problem with this statement is that it assumes both sides of the coin are the same. However, it's far easier to block legislation in the current system than it is to get it passed. Combine that with the hyper partisanship of recent years and you have a recipe for legislative paralysis.
Now, if we didn't have the filibuster or senators were assigned based on population, it would be a different matter. Suffice it to say that we already have a pretty big check on govt power via these mechanisms, so the conservative talking point of preventing 'overreach' by government rings hollow.