So with the 2020 election on the horizon, it appears the HOT TOPIC of debate is back on the issue of the National Election and the Electoral College. There is a major push underway to abolish the Electoral College and move the national election to a popular vote system. This simply is a BAD idea. In the words of Ricky Ricardo… Let me’ splain!!!
The country isn’t nor was it ever intended to be a true democracy. The country is a democratic republic... or limited democracy. The constitution does not establish a true democracy, nor did the founders intend to do so. A true democracy results in “mob rule” and ignores 49% of the population based on nothing other than majority rule. This type of system fails the nation by disregarding interests of major areas of the country that contribute to the growth and prosperity of the nation as a whole.
As David Harsanyi wrote in a November 2016 piece for Reason, the Electoral College helps "create moderation and compromise": “To some extent, the Electoral College impels presidents and their political parties to consider all Americans in rhetoric and action. By allowing two senators for both Wyoming, with a population of less than 600,000, and California, with a population of more than 38 million, we create more national cohesion. We protect large swaths of the nation from being bullied. We incentivize Washington, D.C.—both the president and the Senate—to craft policy that meets the needs of Colorado as well as New York.” Here is a good article about the current debate (from which the quote above was pulled)...
The intent of the founders was to prevent mob rule. Here is a good read on the topic:
To change our system from a limited democratic government to a full democracy would have catastrophic results. The voices of farmers in the Midwest, ranchers, miners and small business owners in the plains and rural America would be forever lost, drowned by the voices of the mega-cities whose needs and visions are different from other parts of the country.
The only reason this is a topic of discussion at this time is the loss of power by the democrats and the hatred the left has for the conservative policies of the right (and the disdain for Trump and elected republican leadership). They had power... lost it... and now need someone or something to blame. Taken from a recent news article op-ed published by Howard Kurtz:
These days, as The Federalist notes, the formulation doesn't always favor the GOP: "If you weren't born yesterday, you might recall that as recently as 2011, the Democrats controlled the White House, 59 percent of the House, and a filibuster-proof 60 percent of the Senate. Under the same laws, the same Constitution, and with an almost identical electorate, the Democrats controlled the political branches of government with huge majorities. How did they lose it all? Because the people did not like what they did with that power once they had it..."
And for another good read, here is an article from Walter Williams; a professor of economics at George Mason University. It is re-posted in Shapiro’s Daily Wire but is spot-on regarding the subject:
Now… There are a number of states deciding to enter into the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact. The NPV compact is an agreement among a number of U.S. states and Washington DC to award ALL of their respective electoral votes to whichever presidential candidate wins the national popular vote. The compact is designed to ensure that the candidate who receives the most votes nationwide is elected president, and it would only come into effect when it would guarantee that outcome.
Though I think this compact disenfranchises the voters of each state, I like the idea that each state is making their own decision how to move forward AS A STATE! The US is not a true democracy. It is a republic of states. Each state should have its say as a state; as a group of people with common interests.
I think this will eventually be challenged in court. There will once again be a candidate who loses the popular vote but wins the electoral college. When this happens, any state that decides to CHANGE their electoral votes will be challenged by the people of their state whose votes were overturned. But again… power to the states! That is what the Republic known as the United States of America was founded on.
14 states and DC have joined. Here is more reading on the subject:
But the truth of the matter…
The true issue we have in the U.S. isn’t the electoral college or the equal representation of states in the senate. The true issue destroying our nation is the rise and strength of political factions and the intense divisiveness they produce. I didn’t vote for Trump and am offended by what he represents, but the political factions ensured either he or Clinton would be selected. Candidates like Sanders were squeezed out by the Democratic Party faction through super delegates and processes designed to ensure Clinton’s nomination, while candidates like Kasich were squeezed out in the Republican Party faction. And candidates like Gary Johnson and Jill Stein never had a chance. The “factions” and loyalty of voters to party over purpose is the issue. The game is rigged. Here is a great article on this as well:
We “pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America, and TO THE REPUBLIC for which it stands... One Nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice FOR ALL.” A republic isn’t a true democracy, and a true democracy isn’t for all.... just for the majority.
Happy voting in 2020 ya’ll!
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