via earlyamerica.com
Poor James Madison thought he had the risks of republics beat. He stood Hume’s ideal government on its head in order to prevent tyranny of the majority with the creation of so many electoral units that even if a majority tyrannized one, they could never terrorize the whole.
via CBS.com
He failed to imagine that if a mere minority of congressional districts fell victim to the tyranny of their internal majorities, their congressional representatives could hold the full federation hostage. Whoops!
Madison thought it impossible, because it should be. Except, it isn’t. Ask the Germans how tiny a minority followed Hitler until the Reichstag burned. Nothing fuels fanaticism like a bad economy and fear of ‘foreigners’ (defined as emigrants or enemy combatants). No, I am NOT saying adherents of the Tea Party constitute post-modern NAZIs. However, I WOULD argue that minority factions grab power disproportionate to the population that supports them in moments of panic.
The Tea Party terrifies me, because they ARE a minority faction that has taken hold at a national level – something Madison never imagined. He created the Constitution to control local factions in an age when fringe candidates could not rack up ‘friends’ from across the country on Facebook or ‘tweet’ twaddle to followers.
President Obama sails stormy seas in a ship designed for different waters, and I am scared.
Mystories 