Letter: Influence of Small States

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Re "Smaller States Find Outsize Clout Growing in Senate" ("Democracy Tested" series, front page, March 11):

You report that "the basic disparity between large and small states is wired into the constitutional framework." So be it, as there is little likelihood for constitutional reform of that. But what the article also indicates should be shouted from the rooftop:

The disparity is worsened by Senate procedures that have in effect given veto power to a minority of its members. We not only do not have "one person one vote," but we have also surrendered the notion of majority rule to the Senate's arcane rules.

It may well be that the courts do not want to get involved in the procedures of the legislative branch, but this seems eminently judicable to me. Moreover, given the entrenched nature of the problem, it would appear that the courts provide the only recourse for those frustrated and ill served by the unjust status quo.

DAVID W. MADSEN
Seattle, March 11, 2013

The writer is an associate professor of history at Seattle University.

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