7/7 What Do We Do Now?
Assuming you’ve read all of these initial posts outlining the basic structure of the Framers’ Method and have bought into the belief that the Electoral College and the Hamilton Method can defeat populism and tyranny, there are still some major hurdles to enacting these reforms.
The most obvious is the need for constitutional amendments to implement the Hamilton Method to choose electors from each state and then bring them together in an elector convention. This is a tall order even in the most amenable of times in American politics.
In order to get to the point of actually passing a constitutional amendment, a multifaceted coalition must be built. This is more than simply bridging the bipartisan divide. This will require broad support from a variety of institutions and special interests. Public support is great but well-connected politicians and highly influential players need to be convinced.
To convince the public, the best talking point is to explain that the people as a whole will have more influence if the Hamilton Method is used. They may lose their ability to vote directly for candidates, but they never really had a choice with this method. The public only had a choice between two candidates given to them. However, if voters are able to see themselves as a group and not as individuals, this argument could be successful. Voters may choose electors that meet their same local and ideological interests.
The more difficult hurdle is convincing special interests and well-connected institutions of this potential reform. While these insiders may have an unbalanced influence on policy compared to regular voters, they are just as vulnerable to the brutality of tyranny and populism.
To paraphrase Aristotle’s Book Three of Politics, there are three forms of government in society: the one, the few, and the many. They all exist simultaneously, but usually, two will combine to oppress the third.
This is what makes the combination of tyranny and populism so dangerous as the tyrant will attempt to manipulate the public through populist rhetoric.
The few that control government may think themselves invincible but may find their power stripped away when populist movements are led by a properly skilled tyrant.
The framers referred to these tyrants as “designing men” at the constitutional convention. They built the Electoral College to filter out these designing men and prevent their access to the presidency.
Through numerous changes to the electoral system, this filter has been removed.
The path to the presidency is now open to all. But the advantage goes to those with the right skill sets in mass electoral politics. Candidates with unrestrained rhetoric that can sway large segments of the population have the upper hand.
This is populism. Simple catchphrases that fit into sound bites for the media and 30-second ads are more successful than policy wonks that understand details and nuance.
Through populism, the tyrant or the designing men may consolidate power over the people. And as Aristotle suggested, this combination of power may overwhelm the power and influence of the few, the wealthy, and the well-connected.
So here is my pitch to the few, to those with real influence in the United States: the tyrant is your greatest threat. If given the real tools of power that can supersede the constitution, the tyrant will use them against you. The tyrant is not your friend and you will be forced into subjugation under the tyrant’s rule.
Only the Framers’ Method will prevent tyranny by removing the populism that gives the tyrant true power. Decentralization and deliberation will filter out tyrants as no truly demagogic person may pass peer review. A deliberative body of educated leaders will see through their second-rate charms and gimmicks. While populist rhetoric may prove very effective on the masses, it will fall short at an elector convention.
The party primary reforms installed in the aftermath of the 1968 Democratic Convention chaos removed the filter that prevented populist tyrants. With the internet, the tyrants may communicate their populist language to their supporters.
Without the Framers’ Method, tyrants are free to roam and may agitate the masses into something you can never defeat. It is up to the elites and it is up to the people to find the next great compromise and close the door to tyranny.
