Tyranny of the Minority

Ron Brownstein: “Though Republican nominees have won the popular vote only once in the five presidential elections since 2000, the GOP has controlled the White House for 12 of the 20 years since then. Similarly, Republicans have controlled the Senate more than half the time since 2000 even though GOP senators, when attributing half of each state’s population to each senator, have never represented more people than their Democratic colleagues.”

“The American political system has long contained features designed to constrain the ability of majorities to impose their will — what John Adams, among other founders, called ‘the tyranny of the majority.’ But the current situation is unusual in that it has consistently empowered a minority to drive the nation’s agenda.”