HOW DEMOCRATIC IS THE AMERICAN CONSTITUTION
Discussion
The legitimacy of the US constitution emanates from its utility as a tool of democratic governance (Jordan, pg.31). However, the incorporation of antidemocratic elements in the constitution can be attributed to the context within which it was established One major factor that has been considered to contribute to this drawback in the document is the fact that numerous aspects of the US political system were integrated in the constitution as a result of the Framers last minute compromise or short-sightedness. Furthermore, the Framers of the constitution may have lacked a democratic political system upon which to model a government. The most unusual and potentially undemocratic elements in the American constitution include the bicameral legislature, Electoral College system, the federal system, judicial review and the presidential system. Because the Framers incorporated features in the political system that go against significant democratic reforms, the American citizens have been challenged to have a critical analysis of Americans political system in order to identify opportunities that can create a democratic society.
One of the reasons why the American constitutional system is viewed as undemocratic and inefficient is the strong bicameral legislature which has a highly unequal representation in the upper chamber, an executive branch and independent in the upper chamber, an extensive judicial review of the federal legislative enactments and an electoral system where coalition governments and third parties are ruled out (Levinson, pg 27). The American presidential system which is supported by the constitution is related to the Electoral College and the Senate which have undemocratic elements .The Senate and the Electoral College tie the electoral vote to geography instead of the population. This makes the two to have the political power lean towards the establishment of coalitions of smaller states whose interests may not necessarily go hand in hand with the interests of a nation. The American constitutional system was modeled during a transitional stage when democratic evolution period experienced in England during the eighteenth century. Although the presidential system in the US has not led to political instability, the formula of separation of powers in many third world countries has given rise to leadership problems. The collapse of presidential rgimes in these countries is an indication of the problems that may also arise within the US presidential system. The US presidentialism allows division of powers into the executive, legislature and judicial branches. Although this is expected to provide a system of checks and balances, it can lead to leadership problems when the various branches of governance fail to agree on vital issues.
Some political analysts have asserted that as compared to presidentialism, parliamentalism is more compatible with stable democracy. The presidential democracy often introduces immobilism and rigidity in the political system (Linz and Valenzuela, pg.91). In some countries where proportional representation results to coalition governments or multiparty states, it is easy to attain stable democracy and equality. In the US government, there are distinctive roles for the head of government and head of state. Furthermore, the elected head of government also serves as the head of state. The system has the President and the Congress elected for a fixed term in office. This demands that for the Congress to be effective, it needs to cope with a vast agenda. In a scenario where there are a vast number of complex issues to be addressed, it becomes difficult for the legislators to reach collective agreement on important issues that relate to governance. When an overloaded congress becomes too compliant with the President, turns into the Presidents rubber stamp.However, if the Congress fails to put into considerations critical issues in the agenda or habitually rejects proposals by the goverment, the process of governance can be brought to a halt. This no doubt puts the future of a country at jeopardy. On the other hand, an ineffectual President may not be discharged from office unless heshe is implicated in criminal acts. Lack of impeachment ensures that president remains in office for a fixed term .The constitution protects the president from removal from office due to maladministration until the term in office is over. Citizens therefore may be unable to discharge the president from office because the constitution prevents re-election of a president until the fixed term in office expires. In case the candidate wins the elections, the running mate becomes the vice president. This is viewed as a flaw in the presidential selection process (Rose, pg.79).
The one year campaigning witnessed in the US before the general elections gives rise to undemocratic practices in the electoral system. Studies indicate that only one third of eligible voters participate in Congressional elections while only a half vote during presidential elections (Task Force on Inequality and American Democracy, pg 9). For instance, the presidential caucuses demand that participants to spend a lot of time in political discussions. Individuals who cannot fin enough time are unable to participate. Presidential candidates are nominated through primary elections and caucuses.Traditionally, primaries are first held in states with small populations such as Iowa and New Hampshire. Despite the fact that primary elections are first held these states as compared to other states such as California which has a large population, the outcome of the election in these states is very influential in the election of the presidential party nominee. This has made populous states such as New York, Florida, Texas and New York to call for a change in the schedule of primary elections where the elections held in states with small populations give more weight to the outcome of the presidential nominee .It is due to this reason that primaries held in Iowa and New Hampshire are considered vital in the nomination process of the presidential nominees.Furthermore,the system gives more power to some voters in certain states than those in others. A good example is whereby millions of voters including the undecided voters get ignored by political candidates during the campaigns if they live in states where the majority is expected to support one side.
The Electoral votes play an important role in US presidential elections and the creation of an Electoral College by the constitution enables all states to have an equal number of senators and representatives. All states provide electors who then elect the president (Mayer, pg.228). This has made less populous states assigned greater importance during the presidential primaries. Another problem that arises from the Electoral College is that the system results to confusion when a President is elected without a majority of the popular vote. The candidate may on the other hand win the electoral votes.Initially, there lacked an element of popular votes in during the elections. However, the birth of two-party system in the early 19th Century increased the need for elections to move towards increased democracy. This led to the incorporation of the principle of one person, one vote. The Electoral College has been maintained to ensure that all states are given equal importance during the elections .Despite the positive intention of the system, presidential elections where the winning candidate fails to secure majority votes undermines democracy because the electoral college gives victory to the individual who loses the the popular vote .For instance, during the 2000 US Presidential elections, the Republican George W. Bush won the elections through majority electoral college votes against Al Gore who got the popular vote. The electors within the Electoral College system have the responsibility to vote directly for the president. The electors comprise of the states US senators and representatives of the population.Currently, 538 members (435 representatives, 100 senators and 3 electoral votes for Washington D.C) form the Electoral College. A candidate who is elected as president needs to receive majority of the electoral votes (at least 270). However, the proponents of the Electoral College are convinced that the system to some degree encourage trans-regional appeal for the presidential candidates because they campaign in many states including those with smaller populations. This reduces political polarization .One of the founding fathers who questioned the constitution was Thomas Jefferson. He recognized the important role of the Framers of the constitution in America but he asserted that the Framers might have lacked the experience of the present. He therefore advocated for the rethinking of the constitution. He advocated against radical move to abolish the Electoral College. Instead, making a detailed plan for reforms to avoid the repetition of the 2000 presidential elections fiasco where George W.Bush won the lections by electoral votes but lost to Al Gore by majority votes is important (Posner, pg. 92). Apart from the selection process of a president through the primaries, the issue of selecting a vice-president in the US has received criticism. The means through which the vice-president is selected has been the focus of scholarly debate for a long time. The procedure of selecting the vice-president has always been an issue of controversy during the presidential selection process because the tradition allows presidential nominees to exercise unilateral power when choosing a running mate.Furthermore,the elections require great funding and that may attract funding from pressure groups and corporate groups which may undermine democracy(American Political System,np).
Critics of the Electoral College system emphasize that the presidential election outcome should be based more on the national popular vote than the electoral votes. After 1968, the presidential elections primaries became the means through which presidential nominees were appointed. The presidential candidates during the primaries seek majority of delegates in the national convention in the Electoral College system (Steed and Moreland, pg.23). During the Constitutional Convention of 1787, deciding the outcome of presidential elections based on national popular vote was considered to be inadequate because the public was not familiar with candidates across the country. This made the public lack sufficient information about candidates in various states. Although the objective of using Electoral College votes to elect the president was good for democracy 200 years ago, the system currently seems to undermine the will of the people when the popular vote is nullified by the results of the Electoral College votes. The democratic value of every citizens vote is equally important. Despite the increasing demands to have the Electoral College eliminated, it enjoys support for its benefits. For instance, the Electoral College ensures that the political tradition of honoring state rights in the US is maintained. The system therefore makes sure that presidential candidates do not ignore states with small populations. Another advantage is that the Electoral College system is important in maintaining a stable political party system because electoral votes are allocated on winner take all basis. Although there have been strong support for direct election of US president by the voters, there are several challenges to this. One major challenge is that making a constitutional amendment that can abolish the Electoral College can be difficult to enact because a constitutional amendment needs to be approved by a two thirds majority in the Congress. Though calls for reforms in the system continue to be witnessed, changes in the system have been experienced progressively (Benett, pg.46).
The American political system is defined by the Declaration of Independence of 1776 and the US Constitution. The Separation of powers principle is the heart of the US constitution which ensures that power is divided amongst the legislature, the executive and the judiciary (US Senate, np). The principle aims at ensuring there are checks and balances .Despite the fact that power is counter-balanced and spread in a presidential system, the presidential system makes a government complicated, slow and legalistic. This is a disadvantage in a world where rapid economic and political development is being witnessed. The Framers of the constitution intended to reduce the excessive power of leadership experienced in monarchial systems. However, the expansion of US Federal bureaucracy has provided more power and greater role to the president in a political system. The presidential system has the president serving as the commander in chief of the military hence heshe has power over the federal government executive branch and the military. The executive branch provides the president with constitutional powers to manage national matters and to give executive orders in matters relating to internal policies. The bicameral legislature is the other important branch in government The House of Representatives forms the lower Chamber of the Congress. The Senate is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature. The Framers of the constitution intended the Senate to be a regulatory group. Currently, it has become the dominant chamber and the powerful upper house of the US legislature body.
The constitution supports an undemocratic legislative process where the Senate has great control over important matters in the state (Levisnon, pg.25).Some criticism about the US bicameral legislature relates to the composition of the Senate. The constitution requires that every state regardless of its population produce two senators to serve for a fixed term in office. This is considered to undermine the democratic principle of one person, one vote. Some states such as California have a population of about 35 million people while other such as Wyoming have a population of about half a million people. This means that states with smaller population are viewed as equal to those with huge populations.Consequently, nearly a quarter of the Senate is comprised of representatives whose population account for less than five per cent of the nations total population (about 14 million people).For example, in 2004, Barbara Boxer managed to retain her seat when she received about six million votes in California while in South Dakota, John Thune who defeated Tom Daschle received about 198,000 votes. This raises concern on how democratic the process of election is in the states. In the House of Representatives, the principle of one person, one vote is upheld because the representatives of the states are appointed based on the total population of the states. This does not translate to good representation because the Senate can stop the passing of legislation. As a result, a large national majority that intends to enact legislation may be prevented by a small minority within the Senate. This scenario has been attributed to the US government redistribution of resources from the highly populated states to the lowly populated states. Furthermore, the Senate composition has promoted disproportionate representation of racial minorities and this departs from democratic ideals. Based on its nature, the bicameral legislature makes it difficult for any legislation to be enacted. This is because legislation measures can be easily defeated whenever one House is not willing to approve the measure. Another objection to bicameralism legislature is that it provides for many veto points (Rhodes, pg.480). This often allows democratic will to be undermined. Since the Constitution was framed more than two centuries ago, the presidents rarely exercised the veto power and in cases where they did, the president believed that the relevant legislation was unconstitutional. Over time, this has changed. The president may veto legislation if based on policy he fails to favor the legislation. Although some critics of the constitution point out presidential veto power as undermining democracy, the veto power is considered a benefit to the nation when it increases consensus before legislation is passed. For instance, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt is viewed as a veto-happy president and one of Americas most popular presidents.
Finally, the difficulty of having the president removed from the office has been viewed as the US constitutions provision of great power to the presidency. When an electorate votes a party out of power in a decisive manner, it expresses its lack of confidence and trust in the party and its administration (Schantz, pg.89).The supporters of the constitution argue that the Framers of the Constitution were right to make it difficult to remove a sitting president from office by forbidding the impeachment of a president due to maladministration. They therefore intended to preserve a system of checks and balances by protecting the president against legislative reprisal. This is a great advantage to the country because it decreases the possibility of having the country destabilized when the presidents relative independence is undermined. In addition, negative impact of partisan efforts to remove the president from power is prevented.
Conclusion
The US Constitution is considered to be one of the most fundamental documents in governance and leadership. The document which was produced more than two centuries ago has been questioned on how it expresses the will of the current American citizens. The standard by which the constitution serve people well and meet democratic standards has attracted debate and critical analysis of the document. This has had a wide range of views presented to support or oppose the argument that the American Constitution is undemocratic. Competitive elections in a democracy should be procedural and fair. For citizens to be actively involved in governance issues, freedom of speech, freedom of political expression and freedom of the press are vital.
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