Some background stuff for the Unfiltered setting, Part 3.

Part 4 and the whole thing will be on Patreon later. Gotta give the paying customers a taste, too…

Article V, Constitution of the United States
The Congress, whenever two thirds of both houses shall deem it necessary, shall propose amendments to this Constitution, or, on the application of the legislatures of two thirds of the several states, shall call a convention for proposing amendments, which, in either case, shall be valid to all intents and purposes, as part of this Constitution, when ratified by the legislatures of three fourths of the several states, or by conventions in three fourths thereof, as the one or the other mode of ratification may be proposed by the Congress…

In 2083, Lewis’s Dynamicists controlled two hundred and sixty-two seats in the House of Representatives, sixty-one seats in the Senate, and full control of twenty-seven state governments: easily enough of a majority for legislation, but not enough to pass new Amendments. The annexation of Central America added forty-eight states (while being promised statehood, Canada’s status had still not been resolved, due to the excuse of the ongoing civil war/rebellion). The annexation law of 2084 would thus add ninety-six Senators and forty-eight Representatives to Congress, to be elected in the 2084 elections; a full slate of new Representatives would take place in 2092, after the 2090 Census established the new population. That same legislation also doubled the size of the House of Representatives to an even thousand, starting in 2093. It was assumed that this would give the new states plenty of time to integrate themselves into the existing system.

Continue reading Some background stuff for the Unfiltered setting, Part 3.

Some background stuff for the Unfiltered setting, Part 2.

Part one here. There’s at least one more part, maybe two. Possibly three.

The 2080 election was a foregone conclusion, under the circumstances: President Lewis didn’t even bother to formally suppress the Columbian Party, given that its organization had been thoroughly disrupted above the county level. The Dynamic Party swept through Congress, managing to capture eighty percent of the House of Representatives, and sixty-five percent of the Senate. Most US states at the time did not have gubernatorial elections in Presidential year (this would later be ‘reformed’), which limited Dynamic gains in the upper chamber. Still, Lewis now had a strong majority in Congress with which to establish his policies.

Continue reading Some background stuff for the Unfiltered setting, Part 2.