The Square Wheel of Congress

Did you know that you can ride on square wheels? Works great. You just need to make the road fit the wheels.

Of course, considering how much road would need to be modified compared to how much wheel would need to be modified, it isn’t a practical solution.  But that is what is at question in making Congress work again. We can modify all the rest of the government and the country around it, or we can modify Congress.

Once upon a time, Congress was a round wheel. In 1910, however, Congress decided it could trim a little bit from its size. It became a dodecagon (12 sided) wheel.  A little bumpy perhaps, but still rolled pretty well. Over time, with each census it was trimmed more and more, going down to a decagon, then an octagon, then hexagon. Now it is a square wheel.  The resistance required to move it is enormous and it moves with terrible stops and starts.  Some reform-minded people call for fixing it. Should we mold the road to the wheel or add a few sides to the wheel?

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