Why Democracy Fails in America and How We Can Fix It

Story by Francisco Camacho, photograph by Darren Halstead

A June AP/NORC nationwide poll found something that most of us have come to believe is unusual: a majority of Republicans & Democrats agreed that the criminal justice system needs at least major changes. What’s more, when surveyed about 7 different policies for reform, a supermajority (at least ⅔) agreed on 5: requiring the use of body cams, establishing clear standards for use of force, requiring officers to report peer misconduct, prosecuting officers who use excessive force, and penalizing officers for racially biased policing.

Indeed, to further establish context, there are a number of policies that most industry professionals agree should be implemented to reform the American criminal justice system. In an interview for my current events blog Blazer Briefs, Robin Olsen of the Urban Institute noted, “Some common-sense reforms include increased data collection and reporting, reducing the number of people on community supervision, reducing the use of prison for certain offences (most often drug or property offences), and reducing the length of time served for other offences".

But if there are such “common sense” policies, why haven’t they been implemented? The short answer is this one figure: Only 10 senate delegations are split along the party line, a low not seen in over 50 years. This statistic which may seem minor on the surface is actually the most consequential factor in Congress’ abysmal 1% enactment rate, the lowest in the 47 years GovTrack monitors and down from a high of 7% in the ‘80s.

You see, thanks to gerrymandering, most representatives sit in districts they can confidently win in re-election. District lines are typically drawn to ensure the ruling party will continue to win while keeping just enough opposition votes to make sure they don’t swing an election elsewhere. All of this is to say, 80% of U.S. Senators and the majority of representatives don’t need to appeal to a bipartisan platform; congressmen will win if they focus on the issues that inspire passion in their party alone. And those priorities are different. While terrorism is a top priority for 83% of Republicans, only 53% of Democrats feel the same. And while 77% of Democrats consider health care costs a top priority, only 59% of Republicans do. So while the parties may have common ground on criminal justice reform, such issues are pushed to the back as they are not the priorities of the voters.

Even when you look to areas a party prioritizes, the chief policies are also quite divisive. For instance, while 8 in 10 Democrats favor Medicare-for-all, 3 in 4 Republicans oppose it. So, what can be done? Here are some popular proposals with descriptions from their advocates:

Abolish the Senate.

Rep. John Dingell (D-MI): “Today, in a nation of more than 325 million and 37 additional states, not only is that structure antiquated, it’s downright dangerous. California has almost 40 million people, while the 20 smallest states have a combined population totaling less than that. Yet because of an 18th-century political deal, those 20 states have 40 senators, while California has just two. These sparsely populated, usually conservative states can block legislation supported by a majority of the American people. That’s just plain crazy.”

Norm Ornstein, resident scholar at the American Enterprise Institute: “In 2050, 70 percent of Americans will be living in just 15 states. That 70 percent will then have 30 senators, and the remaining 30 percent of the people, mainly those living in the smallest and poorest states, will have 70 senators.”

End the Filibuster.

Daniel Wirls, Professor of Politics, University of California, Santa Cruz: “I believe the Senate should change its rules to allow a simple majority to close debate on any bill, nomination or other matter, while also guaranteeing a minimum period of debate for any piece of legislation, which would allow the minority position to be voiced and debated. In so doing, the Senate would end its undemocratic pretensions and resume its prescribed and limited role in the system of checks and balances. That would be a good thing no matter which party controls the Senate and regardless of who is, or will be, president.”

Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA): “We have a Congress that is beholden to the gun industry. And unless we're willing to address that head-on and roll back the filibuster, we're not going to get anything done on guns. I was in the United States Senate when 54 senators said, 'Let's do background checks; let's get rid of assault weapons,' and with 54 senators, it failed because of the filibuster.”

Repeal the 17th Amendment.

Sen. Ben Sasse (R-NE): “Ratified in 1912, it replaced the appointment of senators by state legislatures with direct election. Different states bring different solutions to the table, and that ought to be reflected in the Senate’s national debate. The old saying used to be that all politics is local, but today--thanks to the internet, 24/7 cable news and a cottage industry dedicated to political addiction--politics is polarized and national. That would change if state legislatures had direct control over who serves in the Senate.”

Todd Zywicki, Law Professor, George Mason University: “The increased power of special interests was the purpose of the 17th Amendment. It allowed them to lobby senators directly, cutting out the middleman of the state legislatures.

Have Congress Spend More Time in DC.

Gov. Jim Douglass (R-VT): “One small reform we can put forward is to alter the structure of the Congressional workweek. Congress currently runs on a schedule that has long weekends to accommodate frequent trips home. This makes it difficult for members of Congress to get to know their colleagues in the other party, since it eliminates the possibility of personal relationships that might arise if Congress had to stay in Washington over the weekend... Changing the congressional structure so that members work in D.C. for three weeks at a time, followed by one week off... is a simple, institutional reform to build relationships between members of different parties who might not otherwise know each other.”

Sen. Angus King (I-ME): “It sounds silly. It sounds frivolous to say where congressmen spend their weekends matters, but I really think it does. And I think it is part of the problem in the current Congress. It is really easy to demonize your opposition if you don’t know them.”

Most of these ideas have their fair share of criticisms, but it is clear that something has to be done to save our democracy. I know from experience that Americans actually agree on more than we think. I run the Super-PAC Alliance for a Safer America which is founded on just that idea. Gun violence kills over 100 Americans every day, but there are many policy proposals that are research-tested to make Americans safer and are supported by the majority of both parties! Universal background checks, extreme risk protection orders, a national assault weapons ban, a national high-capacity magazine ban, requiring a person to obtain a license from local law enforcement before buying a gun, and mandatory local gun registration are all supported by ⅔ of Americans, a majority of both parties, and empirical research. The policies are there, but until the voters prioritize common ground or we initiate successful congressional reform, we can expect our "representative democracy" to be unrepresentative and an ill democracy.