[everdev]

Wild guess -- Rep. & Dem. political parties are more motivated by self-serving interests than guided by any sustained principles.

Both will easily flip on war, justice, tax reform, voting, etc. as needed.

Part of the problem is it's easy to complain and spitball ideas when you're out of power, it's a lot more complex to gain consensus and implement policy when you're in power.

[dashundchen]

Republicans are definitely not interested in enfranchising eligible voters, especially demographics they think will vote against them, and it shows:

Whether it's removing polling places where demographics work against them [0], purging voter rolls with a heavy bias against black voters [1], placing polling places in gated communities [2], cutting down polling places in cities, onerous requirements to obtain a voter ID [4](essentially becoming a poll tax), or refusing to renew and update the Voting Rights act, it's clear the Republican party is not interested in allowing every legal citizen the right to vote.

[0] https://lawandcrime.com/civil-rights/gop-removes-sole-pollin...,

[1] https://www.snopes.com/fact-check/georgia-black-voter-regist...

[2]https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/politics/elections/south-f...

[3] https://www.texasobserver.org/election-identification-certif...

[4] https://www.nbcmiami.com/news/local/Amendment-4-Former-Felon...

[5] https://www.thedailybeast.com/republicans-have-a-secret-weap...

[pfranz]

This is just anecdotal, but the individuals I've talked to seem to mirror this. I'm imprinting my own perceptions of this, but it's often an elitism that populism (following the will of the majority) is self destructive and there's this privileged class that knows better--whether that's a certain class of voters (people responsible enough to hold an ID) or a political class.

When I try and dig in, their opinions seem very shallow and self serving. I don't think their idea, in concept, is entirely without merit. Senators used to be elected by the state legislature because the intention was they represent the state's interest, not necessarily the voter's. Things like capping the House has really skewed representation and the Electoral College...which has undermined any "genius" that might have been intended by the EC. These otherwise well-read people don't seem interested in these problems, they're just supportive of the approaches you describe.