Features
Flaws in the US Constitution
by Vijaya Chandrasoma
The Constitution of the United States of America came into force in 1789, and is regarded as the oldest written national constitution in unbroken existence. However, four years of the Trump administration, and Trump’s unprecedented behaviour after his defeat in November have served to expose some flaws in this revered document, which present a clear danger to American democracy. The areas in which these flaws exist are in Congress, the Electoral College and the Lame Duck period of the presidency.
The House of Representatives and Gerrymandering
The House of Representatives was established in 1789, with 65 members elected from the 11 states. The size of the House was capped in 1911 at its current number of 435 voting members. Representation of each state was determined by its population. Each state has at least one representative, irrespective of size, and the District of Columbia (Washington D.C.) has three, making a total of 438 members.
Every ten years, congressional districts of each state are redrawn according to the census, with the intent of providing equitable representation. The new districts are redrawn by state legislatures during the census, and approved by the governor. And if one party has control of the state legislature and the governor, district lines are redrawn to its own maximum political advantage. This meddling with the state’s district lines to give the ruling party an advantage in elections started in Massachusetts in 1812, when the governor, Elbridge Gerry, signed a bill that gave an electoral advantage to the Democratic-Republican Party over the competing Federalist Party. A member of the Federalist Party, in disgust, drew a simulated map of a district resembling the short arms and the long tail of a salamander. Thus the term “Gerrymandering” was born, and this unethical practice persists to the present day, with the resultant iniquity of representation, usually with respect to minorities, in state and general elections.
The Senate
Each state is represented by two Senators, who serve staggered periods of six years. There are currently 100 Senators from 50 states. The capital city, Washington D.C., has no representation in the Senate. The Vice President acts as the president of the Senate, and holds the casting vote in the event of a tie.
The discrimination of national representation in the composition of the Senate is obvious considering that each state is represented by two Senators, irrespective of population. As an example, the four most populous states of California (39.5 million), Texas (29 million) Florida (21.5 million), and New York (19.5 million), with a total population of nearly 110 million, a third of the total population, are represented in the Senate by eight Senators, an approximate representation rate of one Senator for 14 million people. While the four least populous states of North Dakota (762,000), Alaska (732,000), Vermont (624,000) and Wyoming (579,000), with a total population of 2.7 million are also represented by 8 Senators, a representation rate of one Senator for 335,000 people.
The ethnic diversity exhibited in the larger states, California, Texas, Florida and New York, compared to the almost entirely white populations of states like Wyoming and Vermont, means that minorities, especially more recent brown-skinned immigrants, are grossly underrepresented in the Senate.
The time for reapportionment and racial equity in the Senate is long overdue.
The Electoral College
As established in Article II Section 1 of the Constitution, each state has as many “Electors” in the Electoral College as it has Representatives in the House and the Senate, and three for the District of Columbia, the capital territory of the nation. Currently this number is 538 – 435 for the House, 100 for the Senate and three for Washington D.C. This represents the magic number of 270 – one more than half of 538 – Electors needed to win the presidency.
The Electoral College was established by the Framers because “they didn’t trust the people to make electoral decisions on their own. They wanted the president chosen by electors they thought of as ‘enlightened statesmen’”. They also aimed to give an unfair advantage to the slave-owning states, and so ensure that only a citizen of Virginia, the then largest state, could be elected president.
Times have changed, but the Electoral College process continues to give the advantage to a few swing states, and the kingmaking power to elect the president, totally ignoring the will of the people. Voters in states like California and New York, with their large populations of minorities, are, as in the Senate, underrepresented. The reality is that swing states of Florida, Georgia, Wisconsin and Michigan are traditionally more conservative, which presents the Republicans with an unfair edge in a general election. An edge that stood them in good stead in 2000 and 2016.
The Electoral College, rather than the popular vote, has been responsible for the election of the president twice in the 21st century. Al Gore won the election by 550,000 votes over Bush, and Hillary Clinton surpassed Trump by over 2.8 million votes. In any other country, or in the absence of the antiquated and undemocratic Electoral College, Al Gore and Hillary Clinton would have been elected to the presidency in 2000 and 2016, respectively. The United States would probably have enjoyed 28 years of uninterrupted progressive governments, sans senseless, illegal wars, treasonous cuddling up to adversaries and a serious fascist assault on its democratic ideals. An assault which has failed thus far, but continues to threaten and divide the nation.
The Lame Duck Presidency
When a new president has been elected, the outgoing president retains the full powers of the presidency for the 11 weeks between Election Day in November and Inauguration Day on January 20 of the following year. Such a Lame Duck president is traditionally expected to ensure the smooth transfer of power, and avoid making any major decisions which may adversely affect the functions of the new administration.
This period is in complete contrast to the period of transfer of power in other countries. In Britain, for example, if the Prime Minister is defeated on a Thursday, the newly elected Prime Minister is installed in No. 10 Downing Street by Friday night, leaving hardly any time to even change the bedsheets. The French are more liberal; they give the outgoing president ten days to get the hell out of the Elysee Palace. Other countries have more or less expeditious methods of eliminating the vanquished, up to and including incarceration or even assassination, but none has a transition period exceeding a few days.
Trump is already highlighting the dangers of a prolonged transition of power. He is using the powers of his presidency to leave the nation in complete chaos when Biden assumes power in January. The US is currently in the grip of an unprecedented economic crisis, and the national travails of a pandemic which has been criminally mismanaged since its inception and continues to claim 3000 lives every day. There is recent evidence that Russia has been hacking and spying on multiple government agencies, including the Departments of Homeland Security and Commerce, which have been hit by massive data breach in one of the worst cyber intrusions in history. Trump has said not one word about this Russian aggression. In fact, he has threatened to declassify vital security documents which will help the nation’s adversaries. President Putin could not have wished for a more willing accomplice in his stated ambition to marginalize the USA.
The five weeks of the Lame Duck presidency before Biden is inaugurated could well be the most dangerous period in American history. Trump will likely spend these last weeks in a flurry of temper tantrums, lashing out at his enemies in vengeance, self-dealing, tossing out pardons like confetti at a wedding, and trying to discredit his opponents and the system itself. Americans who want to see the rule of law restored and the Constitution strengthened must be prepared to fight for it, in the courts and in the streets if necessary. Trump and his followers will not “go gently into that good night”.
We have Trump to thank for exposing these dangerous flaws in the US Constitution. The Founding Fathers could be forgiven for these omissions as they would never have imagined, in their wildest dreams, that a clinical psychopath, lacking even a trace of humanity would be elected to the presidency.
The nation must learn from its mistakes, even acts of treason, of the past four years and amend the Constitution to invalidate these flaws. Amendments to make representation in the House and Senate more equitable; to abolish the antiquated and intrinsic racism of the Electoral College and ensure that future presidents are elected by the popular vote; and most importantly, to make certain that the transfer of power to the new president is achieved with minimum delay, so that an outgoing president will never again try to wreak vengeance on the country because of his rejection by the voters.
Trump is vowing to continue the fight to overturn the election, begging for contributions from Republicans to help him in his delusional quest. He has to date swindled his supporters to the tune of over $200 million. On false pretenses, as he has given his hand away by planning a Friends and Family program for presidential pardons. His appeals for funds from his supporters for legal costs to overturn the election are therefore only aimed at making money, as pardons are granted only at the end of a presidency.
The issue of presidential pardons has traditionally been a means to redeem cases of injustice, and done on the recommendations of the Office of the Pardon Attorney. This White House has been inundated by hundreds of pardon requests following the election loss. Trump has been abusing, and intends to abuse this privilege before he leaves the White House, to pardon members of his family, friends, even himself, who have been complicit in, or committed crimes during his corrupt presidency. It may be pertinent to remember that the Supreme Court ruled, in 1915, that the acceptance of any kind of pardon, including presidential, is in itself an admission of guilt.
On Monday, December 14, the Electoral College certified that President-elect Biden had won 306 votes and formally declared his presidency.
On Monday, December 14, the first vaccination to combat Covid-19 was injected on live TV into the arm of New York nurse, Sandra Lindsay, at the Long Island Jewish Medical Center. An amazing scientific achievement, providing a glimmer of hope even as the nation passes the grim milestone of 300,000 Covid-19 American fatalities.
Monday, December 14, 2020 will go down in history as a Day of Honour, Triumph and Hope, both for Democracy and for Science. And a Day of Relief, for finally, if only formally, vanquishing the four-year plague that has been Donald J. Trump, the multiple Loser of the 2020 presidential election.
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There’s an ill more dangerous and pervasive than the Coronavirus that’s currently sweeping Sri Lanka. That is the fear to express one’s convictions. Across the public sector of the country in particular many persons holding high office are stringently regulating and controlling the voices of their consciences and this bodes ill for all and the country.
The corrupting impact of fear was discussed in this column a couple of weeks ago when dealing with the military coup in Myanmar. It stands to the enduring credit of ousted Myanmarese Head of Government Aung San Suu Kyi that she, perhaps for the first time in the history of modern political thought, singled out fear, and not power, as the principal cause of corruption within the individual; powerful or otherwise.
To be sure, power corrupts but the corrupting impact of fear is graver and more devastating. For instance, the fear in a person holding ministerial office or in a senior public sector official, that he would lose position and power as a result of speaking out his convictions and sincere beliefs on matters of the first importance, would lead to a country’s ills going unaddressed and uncorrected.
Besides, the individual concerned would be devaluing himself in the eyes of all irrevocably and revealing himself to be a person who would be willing to compromise his moral integrity for petty worldly gain or a ‘mess of pottage’. This happens all the while in Lankan public life. Some of those who have wielded and are wielding immense power in Sri Lanka leave very much to be desired from these standards.
It could be said that fear has prevented Sri Lanka from growing in every vital respect over the decades and has earned for itself the notoriety of being a directionless country.
All these ills and more are contained in the current controversy in Sri Lanka over the disposal of the bodies of Covid victims, for example. The Sri Lankan polity has no choice but to abide by scientific advice on this question. Since authorities of the standing of even the WHO have declared that the burial of the bodies of those dying of Covid could not prove to be injurious to the wider public, the Sri Lankan health authorities could go ahead and sanction the burying of the bodies concerned. What’s preventing the local authorities from taking this course since they claim to be on the side of science? Who or what are they fearing? This is the issue that’s crying out to be probed and answered.
Considering the need for absolute truthfulness and honesty on the part of all relevant persons and quarters in matters such as these, the latter have no choice but to resign from their positions if they are prevented from following the dictates of their consciences. If they are firmly convinced that burials could bring no harm, they are obliged to take up the position that burials should be allowed.
If any ‘higher authority’ is preventing them from allowing burials, our ministers and officials are conscience-bound to renounce their positions in protest, rather than behave compromisingly and engage in ‘double think’ and ‘double talk’. By adopting the latter course they are helping none but keeping the country in a state of chronic uncertainty, which is a handy recipe for social instabiliy and division.
In the Sri Lankan context, the failure on the part of the quarters that matter to follow scientific advice on the burials question could result in the aggravation of Islamophobia, or hatred of the practitioners of Islam, in the country. Sri Lanka could do without this latter phobia and hatred on account of its implications for national stability and development. The 30 year war against separatist forces was all about the prevention by military means of ‘nation-breaking’. The disastrous results for Sri Lanka from this war are continuing to weigh it down and are part of the international offensive against Sri Lanka in the UNHCR.
However, Islamophobia is an almost world wide phenomenon. It was greatly strengthened during Donald Trump’s presidential tenure in the US. While in office Trump resorted to the divisive ruling strategy of quite a few populist authoritarian rulers of the South. Essentially, the manoeuvre is to divide and rule by pandering to the racial prejudices of majority communities.
It has happened continually in Sri Lanka. In the initial post-independence years and for several decades after, it was a case of some populist politicians of the South whipping-up anti-Tamil sentiments. Some Tamil politicians did likewise in respect of the majority community. No doubt, both such quarters have done Sri Lanka immeasurable harm. By failing to follow scientific advice on the burial question and by not doing what is right, Sri Lanka’s current authorities are opening themselves to the charge that they are pandering to religious extremists among the majority community.
The murderous, destructive course of action adopted by some extremist sections among Muslim communities world wide, including of course Sri Lanka, has not earned the condemnation it deserves from moderate Muslims who make-up the preponderant majority in the Muslim community. It is up to moderate opinion in the latter collectivity to come out more strongly and persuasively against religious extremists in their midst. It will prove to have a cementing and unifying impact among communities.
It is not sufficiently appreciated by governments in the global South in particular that by voicing for religious and racial unity and by working consistently towards it, they would be strengthening democratic development, which is an essential condition for a country’s growth in all senses.
A ‘divided house’ is doomed to fall; this is the lesson of history. ‘National security’ cannot be had without human security and peaceful living among communities is central to the latter. There cannot be any ‘double talk’ or ‘politically correct’ opinions on this question. Truth and falsehood are the only valid categories of thought and speech.
Those in authority everywhere claiming to be democratic need to adopt a scientific outlook on this issue as well. Studies conducted on plural societies in South Asia, for example, reveal that the promotion of friendly, cordial ties among communities invariably brings about healing among estranged groups and produces social peace. This is the truth that is waiting to be acted upon.
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By Sanjeewa Jayaweera
It was on 3rd January 1972 that our family arrived in Karachi from Moscow. Our departure from Moscow had been delayed for a few weeks due to the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It ended on 16th December 1971. After that, international flights were not permitted for some time.
The contrast between Moscow and Karachi was unbelievable. First and foremost, Moscow’s temperature was near minus 40 degrees centigrade, while in Karachi, it was sunny and a warm 28 degrees centigrade. However, what struck us most was the extreme warmth with which the airport authorities greeted our family. As my father was a diplomat, we were quickly ushered to the airport’s VIP Lounge. We were in transit on our way to Rawalpindi, the airport serving the capital of Islamabad.
We quickly realized that the word “we are from Sri Lanka” opened all doors just as saying “open sesame” gained entry to Aladdin’s cave! The broad smile, extreme courtesy, and genuine warmth we received from the Pakistani people were unbelievable.
This was all to do with Mrs Sirima Bandaranaike’s decision to allow Pakistani aircraft to land in Colombo to refuel on the way to Dhaka in East Pakistan during the military confrontation between Pakistan and India. It was a brave decision by Mrs Bandaranaike (Mrs B), and the successive governments and Sri Lanka people are still enjoying the fruits of it. Pakistan has been a steadfast and loyal supporter of our country. They have come to our assistance time and again in times of great need when many have turned their back on us. They have indeed been an “all-weather” friend of our country.
Getting back to 1972, I was an early beneficiary of Pakistani people’s love for Sri Lankans. I failed the entrance exam to gain entry to the only English medium school in Islamabad! However, when I met the Principal, along with my father, he said, “Sanjeewa, although you failed the entrance exam, I will this time make an exception as Sri Lankans are our dear friends.” After that, the joke around the family dinner table was that I owed my education in Pakistan to Mrs B!
At school, my brother and I were extended a warm welcome and always greeted “our good friends from Sri Lanka.” I felt when playing cricket for our college; our runs were cheered more loudly than of others.
One particular incident that I remember well was when the Embassy received a telex from the Foreign inistry. It requested that our High Commissioner seek an immediate meeting with the Prime Minister of Pakistan, Mr Zulifikar Ali Bhutto (ZB), and convey a message from Mrs B. The message requested that an urgent shipment of rice be dispatched to Sri Lanka as there would be an imminent rice shortage. As the Ambassador was not in the station, the responsibility devolved on my father.
It usually takes about a week or more to get an audience with the Prime Minister (PM) of a foreign country due to their busy schedule. However, given the urgency, my father spoke to the Foreign Ministry’s Permanent Sectary, who fortunately was our neighbour and sought an urgent appointment. My father received a call from the PM’s secretary around 10 P.M asking him to come over to the PM’s residence. My father met ZB around midnight. ZB was about to retire to bed and, as such, was in his pyjamas and gown enjoying a cigar! He had greeted my father and had asked, “Mr Jayaweera, what can we do for great friend Madam Bandaranaike?. My father conveyed the message from Colombo and quietly mentioned that there would be riots in the country if there is no rice!
ZB had immediately got the Food Commissioner of Pakistan on the line and said, “I want a shipload of rice to be in Colombo within the next 72 hours!” The Food Commissioner reverted within a few minutes, saying that nothing was available and the last export shipment had left the port only a few hours ago to another country. ZB had instructed to turn the ship around and send it to Colombo. This despite protests from the Food Commissioner about terms and conditions of the Letter of Credit prohibiting non-delivery. Sri Lanka got its delivery of rice!
The next was the visit of Mrs B to Pakistan. On arrival in Rawalpindi airport, she was given a hero’s welcome, which Pakistan had previously only offered to President Gaddafi of Libya, who financially backed Pakistan with his oil money. That day, I missed school and accompanied my parents to the airport. On our way, we witnessed thousands of people had gathered by the roadside to welcome Mrs B.
When we walked to the airport’s tarmac, thousands of people were standing in temporary stands waving Sri Lanka and Pakistan flags and chanting “Sri Lanka Pakistan Zindabad.” The noise emanating from the crowd was as loud and passionate as the cheering that the Pakistani cricket team received during a test match. It was electric!
I believe she was only the second head of state given the privilege of addressing both assemblies of Parliament. The other being Gaddafi. There was genuine affection from Mrs B amongst the people of Pakistan.
I always remember the indefatigable efforts of Mr Abdul Haffez Kardar, a cabinet minister and the President of the Pakistan Cricket Board. From around 1973 onwards, he passionately championed Sri Lanka’s cause to be admitted as a full member of the International Cricket Council (ICC) and granted test status. Every year, he would propose at the ICC’s annual meeting, but England and Australia’s veto kept us out until 1981.
I always felt that our Cricket Board made a mistake by not inviting Pakistan to play our inaugural test match. We should have appreciated Mr Kardar and Pakistan’s efforts. In 1974 the Pakistan board invited our team for a tour involving three test matches and a few first-class games. Most of those who played in our first test match was part of that tour, and no doubt gained significant exposure playing against a highly talented Pakistani team.
Several Pakistani greats were part of the Pakistan and India team that played a match soon after the Central Bank bomb in Colombo to prove that it was safe to play cricket in Colombo. It was a magnificent gesture by both Pakistan and India. Our greatest cricket triumph was in Pakistan when we won the World Cup in 1996. I am sure the players and those who watched the match on TV will remember the passionate support our team received that night from the Pakistani crowd. It was like playing at home!
I also recall reading about how the Pakistani government air freighted several Multi Barrell artillery guns and ammunition to Sri Lanka when the A rmy camp in Jaffna was under severe threat from the LTTE. This was even more important than the shipload of rice that ZB sent. This was crucial as most other countries refused to sell arms to our country during the war.
Time and again, Pakistan has steadfastly supported our country’s cause at the UNHCR. No doubt this year, too, their diplomats will work tirelessly to assist our country.
We extend a warm welcome to Mr Imran Khan, the Prime Minister of Pakistan. He is a truly inspirational individual who was undoubtedly an excellent cricketer. Since retirement from cricket, he has decided to get involved in politics, and after several years of patiently building up his support base, he won the last parliamentary elections. I hope that just as much as he galvanized Sri Lankan cricketers, his political journey would act as a catalyst for people like Kumar Sangakkara and Mahela Jayawardene to get involved in politics. Cricket has been called a “gentleman’s game.” Whilst politics is far from it!.
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Believe me, seeing certain videos, on social media, depicting action, on the dance floor, at some of these entertainment venues, got me wondering whether this Coronavirus pandemic is REAL!
To those having a good time, at these particular venues, and, I guess, the management, as well, what the world is experiencing now doesn’t seem to be their concerned.
Obviously, such irresponsible behaviour could create more problems for those who are battling to halt the spread of Covid-19, and the new viriant of Covid, in our part of the world.
The videos, on display, on social media, show certain venues, packed to capacity – with hardly anyone wearing a mask, and social distancing…only a dream..
How can one think of social distancing while gyrating, on a dance floor, that is over crowded!
If this trend continues, it wouldn’t be a surprise if Coronavirus makes its presence felt…at such venues.
And, then, what happens to the entertainment scene, and those involved in this field, especially the musicians? No work, whatsoever!
Lots of countries have closed nightclubs, and venues, where people gather, in order to curtail the spread of this deadly virus that has already claimed the lives of thousands.
Thailand did it and the country is still having lots of restrictions, where entertainment is concerned, and that is probably the reason why Thailand has been able to control the spread of the Coronavirus.
With a population of over 69 million, they have had (so far), a little over 25,000 cases, and 83 deaths, while we, with a population of around 21 million, have over 80,000 cases, and more than 450 deaths.
I’m not saying we should do away with entertainment – totally – but we need to follow a format, connected with the ‘new normal,’ where masks and social distancing are mandatory requirements at these venues. And, dancing, I believe, should be banned, at least temporarily, as one can’t maintain the required social distance, while on the dance floor, especially after drinks.
Police spokesman DIG Ajith Rohana keeps emphasising, on TV, radio, and in the newspapers, the need to adhere to the health regulations, now in force, and that those who fail to do so would be penalised.
He has also stated that plainclothes officers would move around to apprehend such offenders.
Perhaps, he should instruct his officers to pay surprise visits to some of these entertainment venues.
He would certainly have more than a bus load of offenders to be whisked off for PCR/Rapid Antigen tests!
I need to quote what Dr. H.T. Wickremasinghe said in his article, published in The Island of Tuesday, February 16th, 2021:
“…let me conclude, while emphasising the need to continue our general public health measures, such as wearing masks, social distancing, and avoiding crowded gatherings, to reduce the risk of contact with an infected person.
“There is no science to beat common sense.”
But…do some of our folks have this thing called COMMON SENSE!
