[qj4714]

The political system and Senate reflect the division in the country. There is no easy fix. The problem is people do not trust their government, which is reflective of the current political environment and is the primary reason these problems are not addressed.

[toyg]

> The political system and Senate reflect the division in the country.

I'd argue that, with voter turnout barely hitting 55% for the most important election in the land, the political system does not reflect much except a view of politics as media-driven spectator sport.

[noir-york]

Mixing cause and effect. The fundamental cause is how the constitution allocates power to the three branches. Power has a logic all of its own; each actor in the system acts in line with their power and this leads to the division and gridlock that you see.

It is impossible to fix the US constitution under the current political system. There has to be a fundamental realignment of power and that will most likely only happen via a major external shock, like a world war.

[mtbcoder]

I would think the cause of the ridiculous and nasty political divide stems more from campaign finance laws and media punditry masquerading as journalism rather than how the constitution allocates power to three branches of government. It seems to me that many Americans are taught daily to vilify anything that is put forth by an opposing party simply on the grounds of whether or not they have the correct letter prefixed to their title. I think the start of any fix would have to be campaign finance reform and a push for publicly funded elections.