Let me first thank Spike for mentioning my recent article in his article, which he finishes with noting that it’s “planting a small seed.” It inspired me to review one of my earliest articles, perhaps my 3rd, to also plant a small seed, and it received some comments that I either overlooked or were posted after I stopped looking.
One of those comments mentions Nebraska, whose state house Karen Thoman and her husband visited during a summer road trip last year. When they returned to NH and she was telling me all about their vacation, it was then that I learned about their legislature being the first and only unicameral one since the 1930s.
I was unfamiliar with the Reynolds vs. Sims case at the time, but remember that Nebraska is a red state, and the change was made during the Great Depression, possibly as an act of thrift. Also, keep in mind that they have a paid legislature, and it’s a big state, which can make us private citizens take for granted the ability to be in Concord, for whatever reason, in a matter of minutes up to a maximum of about 2 hours without bad weather.
Senatorial duties call for roughly three trips to Concord per week during peak season, and let’s pick on Carrie Gendreau for a moment as she votes first and lives the furthest from Concord. That’s 500 plus miles on the odometer for her, which has to be more hours at the wheel than in committee or in the senate chamber. I won’t get into the weeds and split hairs, but you get the picture.
While I find a lot of procedural and structural things, for lack of better words, more pleasant in watching the live streams of the Senate than the House, I despise the “steamrolling” that occurs, which was noted in the comments. And then there’s the burying of bad bills in a bundle called “consent.” I certainly do NOT “consent” to an RTK Tax!
And just to cite another example to keep my complaint from being exclusively HB 1002-related, the Brookline GOP secretary called attention to SB 538,
an unhinged pure Dem bill (relative to zoning procedures concerning residential housing) that he dubbed an “ill-advised HOMEnibus bill,” that died in the House last Thursday. It should have never even made it out of Senator Gray’s committee. What in the name of all that’s holy is wrong with them? They’re as bad as Judiciary!
At least one chamber did something last Thursday that actually serves Granite Staters, even though I have no representation in that body. I would also add that the death of SB 538 should be as ceremonious as Gregory Peck stepping out of the courtroom to go shoot a neighborhood rabid dog rather than the unpleasant fallout from Kristi Noem having to shoot a dog in her new book.
One must ask, “How many other bad senate bills are UNANIMOUSLY passed in this subversive manner?”
And even if it wasn’t so subversive, what about the hive mind or Uniparty peer pressure? Suppose for a moment that there’s a popular feel-good bill that you and/or your Senator do not support. S/he gets “chilled” of free speech and has to suck it up in a roll call to avoid being labeled the cold-hearted snake. It’s not a hill to commit political suicide on, but it’s not worth risking losing the next election by being the only one to vote NO on (insert bill here). It can be anything from something that’s as non-lawmaking as accepting a picture or Rogers Johnson to Massing up NH, like enshrining MassHealth. In the House, a dissenter is often not alone and can blend in like a Camry in heavy traffic, but NOT in a body of 24 whose names are individually roll called by the clerk.
In addition to all the benefits noted in my earlier case for not having a senate, we can delve deeper into reviewing additional benefits. Mull it over yourself, but I’ll first direct you to the famous Henry Kissinger comment about whoever that controls(this commodity) controls(those people or populations, etc.).
https://www.azquotes.com/author/8103-Henry_A_Kissinger
If we abolish the Senate, we will solve the problem of the donors owning Sharon Carson controlling which bills make it to the Corner Office.
