There's a pretty good article in the current New Yorker about
just how dysfunctional the Constitutional system has become, and how
political theorists on both the left and right (in totally incompatible
and opposing ways) want to reform it.
I
used to think a Constitutional Convention would be too dangerous, etc.
etc., but I now think our Constitution has devolved so badly that it is a
serious impediment to the basic functioning of our society, and that it
pretty much obliterates any pretense of democracy at the national
level. I will cite but one of many, many examples.
Statistics
were just published today that show that my state, California, has 38.3
million people, very nearly one-eighth of the nation. In 1789, the
largest state, Virginia, was, if memory serves, about 15 times the size
of Delaware. Today, California has 1/8 of the nation's people but only
1/50 of the senators. And it is more than 250 times larger in population
than Wyoming, which also has 2 senators (and 3 electors in the
Electoral College), even though it doesn't have enough population to
fully justify even one member of the House on population alone.
The
Connecticut Compromise (opposed by Hamilton), which gave us our
undemocratic Senate, may have had its justifications at one time. But no
more. We cannot pretend that our government is even approximately
democratic in the face of this gross distortion.
And,
again, it's undeniable: this is only one of many, many serious
Constitutional issues that are hobbling our country's public policy.
The time has come to agitate for a complete overhaul.