Should the Senate be abolished? (user search)
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  Should the Senate be abolished? (search mode)
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Author Topic: Should the Senate be abolished?  (Read 7950 times)
True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)
Ernest
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« on: September 04, 2004, 01:19:00 PM »

Actually, it would not be either illegal or impossible to abolish or reduce the powers of the Senate.  What would be almost impossible to achieve would be to change the Senate to anything other than an equal number of Senators per State, as that would require all fifty states to approve such a change.
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True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)
Ernest
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« Reply #1 on: September 04, 2004, 07:29:46 PM »

Uh, if the Senate has less power, then each state does not have its equal representation in the Senate.

The Constitution does not require all States to approve all changes to the Senate.  Only those changes that would cause one State to have more Senators than another.  If it did so require, then Amendment XVII would have needed all forty-eight States (now fifty States) to have approved it instead of just the thirty-seven that did so.  So long as all States have the same number of Senators, there is no violation of the equal representation clause no matter how little or how much power is given to the Senate.
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True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)
Ernest
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« Reply #2 on: September 05, 2004, 10:42:05 AM »

Phillip, the two houses have never had equal power.  Only the Senate has the advice and consent function.  The two houses have different functions in the impeachment process.  The Represenatives have the minor right of being the only ones to introduce certain types of legislation.  As a practical matter any amendment that alters the balance of power between the House and the Senate will probably have to be proposed by a convention as it is extremely unlikely that either the ouse or Senate would pass an amendment that would reduce its own power in favor of the other.
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True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)
Ernest
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« Reply #3 on: September 08, 2004, 11:02:13 AM »

You seem to miss the point of the Senate, exnaderite.  Texas however can have more Senators anytime it want them.  In the treaty of Annexation Texas gained the right to split into as many as 5 seperate States at any time it so chose.  If Califorinia wanted to split into multiple States, I don't think that Congress would be likely to object either.
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