our constitutional structure gives rural conservatives a built-in advantage
It gives low-population and very small states two senators just like big states, but how does it give rural conservatives an advantage in The House?
Two things: first, because every State also gets a Representative, even though that population is smaller than what an urban district's is; second, geography - rural districts take up much more space. When reapportionment occurs, low-density States get Representatives at a higher ratio than high-density States (I can't reproduce the formula, but it exists). Montana appears to be the exception, as its Representative represents 950,000 people, while the average is 770,000. Rhode Island has the least populated districts at 526,000, but illustrates the point.
My Congressional District - Census I admit the impact is small, but when the margins are close, significant.
The impact of this misrepresentation was most recently felt in the selection of George Bush, who won the Electoral College, but not the popular vote. Also, filibusters can be maintained by Senators representing less than a third of the population, so the effect is not immaterial.
