1. Our founders didn't come up with the Great Compromise of 1789 out of some highfalutin idea about the best form of representative government. They did it because it was the only way the individual states would agree to be United.

2. Think about it: there is no theory of political efficiency that opines that some set of arbitrary geographic borders should have representation independent of population. And we know this is a really dumb idea for two reasons:

3. First, while many mimicked our bicameral, constitutional government, NONE have copied the geographic representation of the Senate. (No state legislature provides equal representation to counties, after all!)

4. Second, EVEN OUR FOUNDERS knew this was a dumb idea. You can tell because in Article V (which details the process by which you can amend the constitution) they expressly prohibit amendments that would weaken the relative power of the states in the Senate.

5. In other words, the folks who refused to join the Union unless they got over-represented also understood that this could easily be amended away so they insisted on that carve out.

6. For further proof of that point, note the OTHER part they said you couldn't amend until 1808 - the first and fourth clauses of the 9th section of Article 1. That is, allowing states to "import" persons and to set taxes based on the 3/5ths clause. [ahem]

7. The filibuster of course serves only to make an institution *designed* to not represent the will of the American people incapable of even representing the will of the US Senate.

8. But in combination, that means that the primary reason we can't pass laws that American people want is because of the structure of the Senate.