With the recent talk of the National Popular Vote Initiative, I thought it would be interesting to monitor what politicians and former politicians are saying about it, to get an idea of where different ideological groups might sit. Here is one I just caught today: http://nymag.com/intelligencer/2019...?utm_campaign=nym&utm_source=fb&utm_medium=s1 Wow.
On the one hand, I understand why people want to do away with the electoral college, but on the other hand, the framers put it in place so as not to marginalize a less populated state. The way people bitch about how Portland runs the entire state of Oregon would be expanded to a national level.
Basically if it hurts your agenda, you'll be against it. People only freaked about this whole electoral college thing because Trump won the EC. He campaigned strategically in the states he needed to win, while Clinton dropped the ball. I'm fine with it, personally. Electoral college seems lame. Fuck the farmers! But basically the Presidential campaigns will then only be concerned with the biggest cities, like LA, NY, etc. Big mega cities will be the absolute focus on the country, smaller cities, states, rural areas, will be ignored for the most part as far as campaign promises go. Most dems think that it will be their savior to win elections over and over again, but it will probably backfire in their face and they'll want to change it back again if it doesn't suit their agenda.
Rather than starting the thread with an inflammatory, race-baiting opinion piece about a washed up racist whose knowledge of the topic appears skewed, how about views from people in office or Constitutional Historians or even the 1%er Deep State billionaires pushing for the “popular vote” to replace it.
Keep in mind that the end result of the absence of the EC would be the end of the USA as a 50 State country, and possibly another civil war before that.
The end of a 50 state country would be fine. We don't need states anymore, huge waste of money. Civil war probably not a good idea though. barfo
Which would be fine. Having the minority bitch about what the majority decides is better than having the majority bitch about what the minority decides. barfo
As much as some people would like to think this is one country where everyone is the same, we're not. It's a massive country comprised of different cultures and beliefs. Allowing parts of the country to govern the entire country completely, without giving them a fair say in those decisions, will most likely lead to war. I say this because it has already happened twice in our history. We fought the Revolutionary War because of "taxation without representation" and we fought the Civil War because the south felt that the north was trying to tell them what to do. We already have huge tensions in this country, and marginalizing the less populated states would only exacerbate that issue.
I started this because I had just read that particular article. This is not about sides. This is a thread for others to share opinions on the EC in general whether that is their own ideas or opinions of others. It seemed relevant to the thread. Feel free to share other things here. Personally, I am torn on the EC subject, and do not have an opinion that is set in stone about it.
... as would marginalizing the majority (which is what is happening now). At the end of the day it comes down to what we think is more important - people being equal or arbitrary lines on a map being equal. The Electoral College is a relic of times when it took weeks to see the news from one side of the country to another, just like the end of slavery and women rights - it is an out of date idea that benefits the few while hurts the many.
No it doesn't. The majority in a Majority of States, win their day. You do know this is a Union of States, aptly named the United States. It never was one nation that subdivided into States.
I was clearly referring to the majority of citizens. This country is failing this declaration if the vote of someone in Vermont is worth more than the vote of someone in New York.
It's not just about "the many" in terms of overall population. It's about the many states. It's a government that was designed to pull together and combine many different states with many different governments, wants and needs. It's not just "arbitrary lines on a map." Do you really think the South is the same as the NW? Do you think we have the same beliefs and culture? Just because we're all Americans does not make us the same. Hell, there are parts of Oregon that do not agree with or believe the same things as Portland. There was legitimately some people that wanted to divide up Oregon and join Idaho. The system is not marginalizing the majority. The majority gets a say in their state, and their state gets a say in our Democratic Republic. That's how our Congress and our Senate works as well. Should we just put all of our government up to mob rule? Pure Democracy?
