May 12, 2006

Blue Plate Constitution Special

The most economical and, in my best judgment, one truly necessary reform of the federal government would be to increase the number of members in the US House of Representatives. It wouldn't require, like term limits, any change to the Constitution—it just needs a simple majority vote. It isn't a new idea—it was done regularly on a routine basis until early in the last century. And other countries have managed to continue increasing the size of their legislative bodies up to the present—the US is an extreme outlier in international comparisons with, for example, about ten times the population per district that MPs have in the UK, and about twenty times the EU median. This lapse, or loss, of the democracy part in America's 'representative democracy' is a fatal failing, and one that we've become blinded to. If I were younger and had more energy I'd try to create a national lobby on the issue. (If some younger, more energetic listener out there gets inspired I'll be happy to help.) It's an understatement to say this is my favorite political problem, and thus I'm absolutely thrilled to talk with Dr. Raymond Smock, former Historian of the House (1983-95) and now director of the Robert C. Byrd Center for Legislative Studies at Shepherd University, and President of the Association of Centers for the Study of Congress. Dr. Smock is very learned, very thoughtful, and, as sometimes happens when one acquires distance, surprisingly optimistic—so much so that I concede I must adjust my own thinking. This podcast runs about an hour and thirteen minutes. Enjoy!