>

*nor did it ever.
The system has been broken for a long time:

Mississippi’s Legislature is thoroughly controlled by white Republicans, who have redrawn districts over the past 30 years to ensure they can pass any bill without a single Democratic vote. >

a cardinal mistake in the American Experiment. >

Not doing away with the Lost Cause and seditionists through a coordinated national effort after the Civil War ended was a cardinal mistake in the American Experiment. >

Wouldn't the cardinal mistake be when the constitution was written? The founders never made equality a reality for black people, women, or the poor. >

I won't disagree with you on African Americans or women, intersection being Black women. But John Rutledge the slaveholding lawyer: 
"When the proposal was made that only landowners should have the right to vote, Rutledge opposed it perhaps more strongly than any other motion in the entire convention. He stated that making such a rule would divide the people into "haves" and "have nots", would create an undying resentment against landowners, and could do nothing but cause discord. He was supported by Benjamin Franklin, and the rule was not adopted."
The U.S. Constitution's requirements to hold federal office don't contain property requirements and all 3 branches' federal officials get a salary from the U.S. Treasury--IIRC the UK didn't even pay its MP's (members of Parliament) until 1911 (House of Lords veto abolished). There were poll taxes and property requirements to vote, but the USA was way ahead of Western Europe for White male "universal" suffrage (by 1860 all White male citizens could vote). >

But... this just highlights the truth of the original statement.  The concern wasn't the theft of political power from the poor, the concern was doing it in such an obvious manner that the disenfranchised poor would rise up against the land owners.  Instead they gave the appearance of political equality (one (white male) one vote) while putting other institutions in place (the electoral college, gerrymandering) to allow the wealthy to wield actual political power in less obvious ways.  They still wanted political power in the hands of landed wealth, just obfuscated to limit the risk of rebellion >


while putting other institutions in place (the electoral college, gerrymandering) to allow the wealthy to wield actual political power in less obvious ways

Even the SCOTUS is designed as a fundamentally regressive/conservative institution. 
The nature of lifelong appointments and interpreting law according to past actions enforces an inherently slow-moving branch of government.
Blocking change secures the established power. Ensuring consistency in interpreting the law that has previously benefited people in power also helps secure the established power. 
It's a whole song and dance of "we have always done it this way" which is great for the people at the top and continues leaving everybody else in the cold.
That's why rich people tend towards being conservative. They're securing their power. >

Conservatives should not be allowed to vote or hold public office. >

There is value to conservativism in the abstract. Conservativism is simply the notion of "if it ain't broke, don't fix it." If you've been wearing shoes your whole life and see no reason to start wearing sandals instead, that's conservative.
Contemporary 21st century American "conservativism" is conservative in name only, it advocates for a lot of radical positions. Fascism is a distinctly right-wing ideology but one could argue that it is not conservative, as it is too focused on revolutionary strength, and the "conservative" movement in America resembles fascism far more than just, like, advocating caution. >

Fun fact: Mississippi was the last 1865 state to ratify the 13th Amendment. They did so in 2013. >

pretty sure they were still holding segregated high school proms are recent at the Obama administration 
~~MI~~ MISS is one of those states that needs to be dragged kicking & screaming into nearly every common decency >

*MS, not MI. >

wish i could say it was a typo or i hadn't had my coffee yet
but no, i told my brain "abbreviate mississippi" and my brain said "it's miss...but we can shorten that" 
indeed, to michigan apparently - thank you, you clever brain >

Tbf like 20% of our states start with M and I never realized how weird that was until I did the math… >

In case anybody needs the refresher:
MA- Massachusetts 
MD- Maryland 
ME- Maine
MI- Michigan
MN- Minnesota
MO- Missouri
MS- Mississippi 
MT- Montana
(I’m shocked I did that by memory.) >

Don't worry, we did it during Black History Month, therefore it isn't racist! >

Conservatives will look at you with a straight face and tell you systematic racism doesn't exist anymore.