Search found 50 matches

by Pseudolus
Tue May 31, 2011 2:23 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

Re: Duverger's Principle

JEQuidam wrote:Pseudolus, you're way too contentious for me. We've pretty much beat this subject to death. I understand your view, and you understand mine. Good luck with whatever it is you are working on.
Yes, I tend to get impassioned, which is both a good and a bad gift.
by Pseudolus
Tue May 31, 2011 11:40 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

Re: Duverger's Principle

Moreover, solutions that require a constitutional amendment are unlikely to ever get past the concept phase, unfortunately. I only meant that an amendment is required for any changes to the voting method relative to federal elections , not local elections. The alternative methods referenced in your...
by Pseudolus
Tue May 31, 2011 5:19 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

Re: Duverger's Principle

I only meant that an amendment is required for any changes to the voting method relative to federal elections , not local elections. The alternative methods referenced in your initial post, or the "several rounds of voting" method mentioned by dogtired , would require an amendment to be i...
by Pseudolus
Sat May 28, 2011 11:52 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Alternative Structures
Replies: 17
Views: 39233

Re: Alternative Structures

Pseudolus, that's interesting. If it is acceptable for the President to electronically sign legislation into law on foreign soil, then the people will certainly not object to their Representative voting on legislation in their home district. Personally, I would not care if my Representative voted o...
by Pseudolus
Sat May 28, 2011 11:38 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

Re: Duverger's Principle

Ballot access is merely a red-herring in disproving Duverger. I did not assert that New Hampshire's anti-minority party laws "disproves" Duverger's theory! Instead, I was pointing out that NH's barrier to new political parties reasonably explains why there are only Democrats and Republica...
by Pseudolus
Sat May 28, 2011 2:46 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

Re: Duverger's Principle

In any case, for the reasons I provided above in this thread, I'm convinced that smaller electoral districts will break the stranglehold of the two-party system. ... In the early years, note the myriad of minority parties, especially between the 20th and 41st Congress. That data is consistent with ...
by Pseudolus
Fri May 27, 2011 1:19 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

Re: Duverger's Principle

The two-party phenomenon did not really arise until some time after the "Civil War". See this chart: Political Party Composition of the House . Note that it's a percentage chart, and the "N/A" in the earlier years are federal Representatives with no party affiliation. Even in re...
by Pseudolus
Fri May 27, 2011 8:40 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Alternative Structures
Replies: 17
Views: 39233

Re: Alternative Structures

I am wary of leaning too hard on technology... The Luddites have already lost this battle ;) Our representation is currently dependent upon technology, starting with the all the technology required to transport them from their home districts to Congress every week. Then there is the voting technolo...
by Pseudolus
Thu May 26, 2011 11:04 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

Duverger's Principle

For example, if we're all at dinner together and can only voice one opinion for one dish meant to be served family style among us, Duverger's Law holds true. If I truly want to order (a) osso bucco, but believe osso bucco has a snowball's chance in hades of winning the vote over something as mainst...
by Pseudolus
Thu May 26, 2011 6:49 pm
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Duverger's Principle (a.k.a. "Duverger's Law")
Replies: 22
Views: 26514

The Duverger Dilemma

I should probably weigh in since I sparked the conversation. I've spent much time researching Duverger's Law, and I am of the strong opinion that there is one main cause for its inevitability in SMDP systems: the inherent value of only one vote. Yes, familiarity (either through smaller districts or ...
by Pseudolus
Thu May 26, 2011 11:29 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: Alternative Structures
Replies: 17
Views: 39233

Re: Alternative Structures

There is one practical difficulty with the thirty-thousand.org proposed structure. Even 435 representatives is a lot of cooks stirring the legislative pot, 10,000 would be pretty unwieldy. I suggest leaving the Senate as is, but dividing the duties of the house between two tiers. The first tier wou...
by Pseudolus
Thu May 26, 2011 11:08 am
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?
Replies: 28
Views: 28934

Re: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?

The rub with the 17th Amendment is that it revokes from the states their ability to be represented at the federal level. Today, the federal government taxes the people directly, and then determines what, if any, a state will receive. This flow of cash must be reversed, and repeal of the 17th amendm...
by Pseudolus
Thu May 26, 2011 1:47 am
Forum: Take it outside!
Topic: The Repeal Amendment
Replies: 3
Views: 8104

Re: The Repeal Amendment

We don't need new laws so much as we need getting rid of the bad ones. Which is precisely what the "Repeal Amendment" is intended to do! There are no perfect solutions, there are only better solutions. Representational enlargement, repealing the 17th, the "Repeal Amendment" are ...
by Pseudolus
Thu May 26, 2011 1:33 am
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?
Replies: 28
Views: 28934

Re: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?

That being said, it may be prudent for a super-majority vote to be required, or the recall is not effected until the replacement Senator is approved by the state legislature. I would assume that each state would prudently put in place a stop-gap measure to ensure that recalls are not commonplace; b...
by Pseudolus
Wed May 25, 2011 10:46 pm
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Senate too!
Replies: 7
Views: 10099

Re: Senate too!

Mitigating that will be those small states that are under-represented in the House relative to their population. E.g., if they have .5% of the population but only .2% of the representation in the U.S. House (hypothetically). Increasing their number of Reps from 1 to 18, and thereby increasing their...
by Pseudolus
Wed May 25, 2011 5:11 am
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Senate too!
Replies: 7
Views: 10099

Re: Senate too!

The Senate was to remain constant, two per State and the House to grow. Presidential elections would heavily favor more populous states Take a look at the 2010 census: There are 39 States with 142,471,899 inhabitants/ 50,000 per district = 2,849 House Representatives, but those 39 States hold 78 Se...
by Pseudolus
Wed May 25, 2011 5:03 am
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: A book. We need a book.
Replies: 17
Views: 40678

Re: A book. We need a book.

I'm a writer and editor and have actually been working on formulating a book for this purpose, but I'm still looking for a mathematical programmer to test a final theory that would shape the book's over-arching structure. (I know that sounds strange and unrelated, but I assure you its not and that t...
by Pseudolus
Wed May 25, 2011 4:17 am
Forum: Section 10: Achieving the revolutionary vision
Topic: Have We Considered Forming a PAC or Annual Meeting?
Replies: 13
Views: 22746

Re: Have We Considered Forming a PAC or Annual Meeting?

This is one of those rare threads where I actually agree with all of the above statements. I understand Jeff's concerns, but I also understand the need/desire for those passionate to become more involved. Ultimately, I don't see a reason why we can't have both a PAC and the current TTO 501(c)(3) wor...
by Pseudolus
Wed May 25, 2011 2:54 am
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?
Replies: 28
Views: 28934

Re: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?

It appears this thread has shifted off subject to the appointing of senators is the 17th was repealed or voided. The book, THE BALTIMORE PRINCIPLES by Carl Douglas, addresses the old deadlocks in making senate appointments. He suggests the amendment to repeal 17 should include two additional clause...
by Pseudolus
Wed May 25, 2011 2:30 am
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?
Replies: 28
Views: 28934

Re: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?

Since the State Legislatures are voting on behalf of their State and not themselves. This is where we part ways…. The State Legislators are not voting on behalf of that State ……they should be voting on behalf of the constituents in that district that elected them. In turn, these entire districts re...
by Pseudolus
Sat May 14, 2011 5:48 pm
Forum: Public Opinion and Polls
Topic: Only 23% believe fed government has consent of the governed
Replies: 6
Views: 16105

Re: Only 23% believe fed government has consent of the gover

My theory: once it was realized, it would have been embarrassing that the very first amendment inscribed in the historic Bill of Rights document contained a fundamental mathematical error (a defect that was not in the earlier version drafted by the House). It was then hidden away in history's attic...
by Pseudolus
Fri May 13, 2011 11:52 pm
Forum: Public Opinion and Polls
Topic: Only 23% believe fed government has consent of the governed
Replies: 6
Views: 16105

Re: Only 23% believe fed government has consent of the gover

Thank you for those words of encouragement! You're very welcome. I express them with wholehearted sincerity. Had the wording of Article the first not been sabotaged in the waning hours of the first Congress, it would have been ratified and our beautiful republic would not be in the peril it is toda...
by Pseudolus
Fri May 13, 2011 11:19 pm
Forum: Public Opinion and Polls
Topic: Only 23% believe fed government has consent of the governed
Replies: 6
Views: 16105

Re: Only 23% believe fed government has consent of the gover

This is so frustrating for me because everyone sees the problem, but so few people realize that the solution is much smaller electoral districts. I can understand your frustration, but you are making a difference. When I first stumbled on your site, I laughed aloud because I thought the idea sounde...
by Pseudolus
Fri May 13, 2011 11:07 pm
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?
Replies: 28
Views: 28934

Re: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?

Fine, if the state legislature cannot reach agreement within some specified timeframe (e.g., 30 days), then the Governor should be allowed to designate the Senator(s). Problem solved. Yep, that's why I proposed we support an new Amendment to the Constitution with the following language: Section 1. ...
by Pseudolus
Thu May 12, 2011 1:45 am
Forum: Repealing the 17th Amendment: Pros and Cons
Topic: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?
Replies: 28
Views: 28934

Re: Was the 17th Amendment properly ratified?

I have never understood that argument "gridlocking the State", we would not have gridlock if the Senators were elected by the Legislature, just as we (the soverigen) elect the Representatives of our States. We are not appointing a member to SCOTUS... we are deligating our soverign rights ...