Read my original post again. I said some proportional representatives should be added. Did I ever say that they should replace all the geographical representatives?
And can you honestly say that your congressman knows or cares about the issues facing your community? These days, they're more interested in toeing the party line so that they don't lose in the primaries.
And the importance of geographical location has greatly declined in the last half century. Not only is long distance communication much easier, but people are moving around more than ever.
> Doesn't adding representatives necessarily decrease the influence of local representatives?
Yes, that is the whole point of my suggestion. Political power is a zero sum game. In order to give a voice to groups who are geographically dispersed but make up a significant portion of the American electorate, it will be necessary to include proportional representatives.
This will result in the formation of 3rd parties with real political power. If those parties have fresh ideas and don't just succumb to lobbyists' and campaign donors' wishes, then they will gain popularity and eventually be able to challenge the Democrats and Republicans. This could cause a sea change in American politics, since politicians would know that they'd have to do more than just be better than the other guy, since there would be more than just one "other guy".
Moreover, there are ways to include a geographical aspect to this, as in the Norwegian system explained by vidarh.
> Yes, I honestly think my congresswoman knows and cares about issues in my community. YMMV.
Mileage varies for a large number of Americans. For example, if you live in a congressional district that is 60+% red and 40-% blue (or vice versa), you are essentially disenfranchised in the House if you're in the minority. This has increasingly become the case over the last 20 years[0].
Also, if you do not agree with either major party, you are disenfranchised.
And can you honestly say that your congressman knows or cares about the issues facing your community? These days, they're more interested in toeing the party line so that they don't lose in the primaries.
And the importance of geographical location has greatly declined in the last half century. Not only is long distance communication much easier, but people are moving around more than ever.