NBC reporter Ken Dilanian tweeted on Sunday that states with varying population sizes should not get the same representation in the U.S. Senate.
Dilanian suggested in his tweet that it was unfair that Brett Kavanaugh was confirmed to the Supreme Court on Saturday, quoting a Washington Post article that said, “Senators representing less than half the U.S. are about to confirm a nominee opposed by most Americans.”
“It may not happen in our lifetimes, but the idea that North Dakota and New York get the same representation in the Senate has to change,” Dilanian tweeted.
It may not happen in our lifetimes, but the idea that North Dakota and New York get the same representation in the Senate has to change. “Senators representing less than half the U.S. are about to confirm a nominee opposed by most Americans” https://t.co/DAZWYT9Txg
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) October 6, 2018
Several responses to Dilanian’s tweet pointed out that the Constitution set up a bicameral legislature to make sure less populated states still get representation in government.
This attitude of intellectual superiority over the “flyover” states, with no understanding of the needs of the millions of Americans who raise the food you eat and make the goods you depend on, is exactly why we’re in this polarized predicament.
— Marcus Anderson (@mynameismca16) October 6, 2018
Dilanian responded to one such argument with “Yeah, no.”
Yeah, no
— Ken Dilanian (@KenDilanianNBC) October 6, 2018
It’s called a Constitutional Republic. The Founders set up for precisely this reason – so the large states couldn’t impose their will on the smaller states. If you don’t like it, move.
— Paul Michael (@paulalfieri) October 6, 2018
It’s called the US House of Representatives. The Senate is to avoid mob rule. The Constitution is to explicitly protect against a direct democracy.
— TB (@tanburt42) October 6, 2018
Dilanian is NBC’s intelligence and national security reporter and frequently appears on MSNBC.
In 2014, The Intercept obtained emails between Dilanian and the CIA that showed an incredibly cozy relationship. Dilanian, then a Los Angeles Times reporter, ran his stories by the agency and repeatedly promised them favorable coverage.