Dr. Jake Kleinmahon, who is just one of three pediatric heart doctors with his specialty in Louisiana, said he feels like the state has targeted families like his.

  • vzq@lemmy.blahaj.zone
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    1 year ago

    Agreed the problem is multi faceted, and it needs to be fought on multiple fronts. If I were an American I would support statehood for DC and PR to address the small-d-democratic deficit of the senate, anti-gerrymandering rules, all that stuff.

    But none of these things are made better by not having a Democrat in the White House.

    • dhork@lemmy.world
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      1 year ago

      Those are all Band-Aids, the problem doesn’t get fixed until the Judiciary is fixed, and so much of that depends on the Senate that we can’t fix the Judiciary without fixing the Senate first.

      The Senate was originally founded as a check on direct democracy, after all. Senators were appointed directly by State Legislatures, not by popular vote. Which meant that they needed to have direct political connections, both inside their state and outside, to get anything done. And I think that’s the origin of their arcane rules, they considered themselves part of an exclusive club, so they made rules that reinforced those personal connections to get anything done.

      I doubt the founders ever intended for Lindsay Graham to have a permanent veto on naming Supreme Court Justices, or “Coach” Tuberville to have a permanent veto on confirming high-ranking military appointments. Yet here we are.