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- Aug 20, 2013
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Considering that was the worst Senate map for the Dems in a century, I don't think we can complain.
My thoughts:
1] Wow, the polls were nearly perfect. 38 House seats gained, 7 govs flipped, 2 Senate loses, and a +7 pt Dem advantage. That's virtually perfect predictions from both the aggregators (RCP, 538) and the predictors (Cook's, Sebato).
2] In the Senate, the Dems have a geography problem that seems problematic. Red states are rural, with few voters but still get two Senators. This will continue to cause tyranny of the minority in the Senate, at least for now. 500K Wyoming voters = 40M California voters. Yow!
Were it not for the fundamental change which took place in 1913, the 16th and 17th amendments along with the Federal Reserve Act, most likely many of todays problems would not exist BECAUSE of the Senate. Our Congress was created with a House to represent the people and a Senate to represent the States. A majority of the people might ask for government to impose something at the Federal level over all the people in all the States, and the Senate might vote it down if their States could not afford the costs as a finite amount of money had to be taken into account along with the ability for States to tax their citizenry.
The year 1913 put an end to living within our means, and as a result we have seen our government live more and more beyond its (OUR) means by perpetually growing the fiat money supply allowing debts and deficit spending to grow offset by inflation of prices as our money devalues. Our Federal government has taken full control of the purse, and most people have come to accept that as both those with the highest taxable incomes and those with the least or taxable income benefit as a result, and each votes in their own best interests, more money and services provided the poorest, paid for by Federal spending results in more profits for where the spending takes place, AND investment of surplus money into property or things with intrinsic value (especially that which cannot be taxed) results in wealth growth while most those in the middle class who invest their surplus, if any, do so in bank accounts which along with the interest accumulated may not even retain the value of the money relative to the time it was earned, so more often than not people simply take on personal debt instead.
Our system of government is broken, and we are doing nothing at all to fix it in a rational and reasonable way.