Should we Abolish the Electoral College?
Jkirk3279
2012/08/10 06:46:28
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In the beginning, there was an argument on how to elect the President.
Some wanted to have Congress elect the President. Sort of how Parliament in England picks the Prime Minister.
They thought regular Americans wouldn't be smart enough to pick a President.
Others thought that idea was creepy, and wanted Direct Election by the People.
They had to compromise.
They created a Shadow Congress; you vote for your Elector, not the President.
The Electors were supposed to be smart people, with lots of experience.
They would look at both candidates, and if one of them was a scumbag, the Electors that had promised to vote for him would back off, change their vote, and thus pick the honest Candidate.
Yeah, well, that didn't work. We haven't had an Elector actually use his brain for a hundred years. And half of the States have laws that say, if an Elector changes his mind, he gets punished.
And in no case did the Electoral College protect us; not even when the Supreme Court overstepped their Constitutional Authority and chose to stop the legally mandated Florida Recount in 2000.
That was the moment, that the Electoral College could have DONE something.
It did nothing.
And the downside of having to vote indirectly; if you live in a Blue State, and vote for the Republican, your vote is thrown out.
So, should we keep this outdated system or trash it?
Some wanted to have Congress elect the President. Sort of how Parliament in England picks the Prime Minister.
They thought regular Americans wouldn't be smart enough to pick a President.
Others thought that idea was creepy, and wanted Direct Election by the People.
They had to compromise.
They created a Shadow Congress; you vote for your Elector, not the President.
The Electors were supposed to be smart people, with lots of experience.
They would look at both candidates, and if one of them was a scumbag, the Electors that had promised to vote for him would back off, change their vote, and thus pick the honest Candidate.
Yeah, well, that didn't work. We haven't had an Elector actually use his brain for a hundred years. And half of the States have laws that say, if an Elector changes his mind, he gets punished.
And in no case did the Electoral College protect us; not even when the Supreme Court overstepped their Constitutional Authority and chose to stop the legally mandated Florida Recount in 2000.
That was the moment, that the Electoral College could have DONE something.
It did nothing.
And the downside of having to vote indirectly; if you live in a Blue State, and vote for the Republican, your vote is thrown out.
So, should we keep this outdated system or trash it?
Ever think of just letting the two candidates meet on a shooting range at high noon and just shoot it out?
Hell no! The Electoral College is doing exactly what it was designed to do. The founding fathers put it in there for a reason.
EDIT: Notice that the only people who ever call for eliminating the Electoral college are progressives and leftists. These are the same people who welcome every illegal alien into the country and insist that showing identification to vote is discrimination against the poor.
Liberals want to do what makes the election fair, righties just want to help republicans win, notice you chart.
Before the fake Voter Fraud assault began, voter fraud was so rare it was less likely than getting hit by lightning.
You could walk in to vote, with up to fifteen different types of ID.
Don't have a driver's license?
What about a SS Card?
Veteran's Assistance Card?
Dogtags?
The actual, OFFICIAL Voter ID card that you're supposed to have?
Paid Utility Bill with your address on it?
Bank Statement?
Lease Agreement?
Your Birth Certificate?
ID Card from work?
The list went on and on.
So, IF you didn't have a driver's license, that was okay.
Show a bunch of the other kinds of ID; they all match, you're good.
Birth Certificate plus Voter ID card; you're fine.
Utility Bill, Checks with your address, Military Dogtags?
Welcome home, Soldier.
But AFTER the Voter Purge began, and Republicans began loudly insisting that, with no proof, there MUST be massive voter fraud going on; THEN the kinds of ID you could bring in were pruned down heavily.
I went to vote in the Primary, and I'd just gotten my Voter ID card renewed by mail,
(Cardboard, no photo).
It's a legal document. But they didn't want it. Not interested.
They wanted my driver's license.
Okay...
They ran it through a mag reader, hunched over the screen; then they gave me a useless li...
Before the fake Voter Fraud assault began, voter fraud was so rare it was less likely than getting hit by lightning.
You could walk in to vote, with up to fifteen different types of ID.
Don't have a driver's license?
What about a SS Card?
Veteran's Assistance Card?
Dogtags?
The actual, OFFICIAL Voter ID card that you're supposed to have?
Paid Utility Bill with your address on it?
Bank Statement?
Lease Agreement?
Your Birth Certificate?
ID Card from work?
The list went on and on.
So, IF you didn't have a driver's license, that was okay.
Show a bunch of the other kinds of ID; they all match, you're good.
Birth Certificate plus Voter ID card; you're fine.
Utility Bill, Checks with your address, Military Dogtags?
Welcome home, Soldier.
But AFTER the Voter Purge began, and Republicans began loudly insisting that, with no proof, there MUST be massive voter fraud going on; THEN the kinds of ID you could bring in were pruned down heavily.
I went to vote in the Primary, and I'd just gotten my Voter ID card renewed by mail,
(Cardboard, no photo).
It's a legal document. But they didn't want it. Not interested.
They wanted my driver's license.
Okay...
They ran it through a mag reader, hunched over the screen; then they gave me a useless little piece of paper that said
"I affirm that I am a Citizen of the United States. Check here".
Uh-huh. Funny story.
The legislature in Michigan had tried to pass a law that said you MUST sign this piece of paper and check a box in order to vote.
Now, we ALREADY have to be matched by our Voter ID card (supposedly) identified by address and Precinct, and then we sign a piece of paper applying for the privilege of voting.
So this extra slip of paper is meaningless. Somebody who REALLY wanted to vote illegally isn't going to be slowed down by an extra signature and checking a box.
It's redundant.
Anyway, that bill got to the Governor's desk. And he decided he'd rather keep his job than face Recall.
He's wayyyy out on the edge already; with the Fiscal Manager law found illegal, and his Fiscal Managers busily selling off public property all across Michigan.
He'll put the Fiscal Manager Law on the next ballot; and hope he can get enough signatures to keep it.
Otherwise, what happens to the Children's Park, sold off to the Golf Course next door?
Do they get to keep it? Do the kids get their Park back?
What about the public schools sold off to Charter Schools? Do we get those back?
But since the Governor refused to sign the bill, saying it would just confuse people and make it harder to vote, nonetheless, the Secretary of State proceeded as if the Law had passed.
Thus, we're asked for our Driver's licenses, the official Voter ID card is worthless, and we have to sign an extra piece of paper.
What's the deal, you might ask.
Well, the deal is, that piece of paper is part of a puppet show to convince the Republicans that illegal immigrants REALLY are lurking around the voting booths, trying to vote illegally and risk going to prison.
After all, we wouldn't be asked to sign another form unless Voter Fraud really happens right?
Wrong.
Remember the words "Poll Tax" ?
Down South, some racist bastards whose ancestors were in the Whig Party were desperate to prevent blacks from voting. So they decided you should pay a fee in order to vote.
Poor blacks got to the polling place, and were told to vote they would have to part with their grocery money.
Some of them turned away. And that was the whole point. It gave the racist bastards a better shot at running everything.
And now, we have a new poll tax.
If you don't have a CURRENT driver's license; you need to appeal for the right to vote.
That means gathering your Birth Certificate; some people have lost them, or never had one if they were born at home.
Your SS Card, etc, etc.
If you don't have any of these, you have to go stand in line at a government office during business hours; which means taking a day off work.
Some of the offices have mysteriously closed this last year. So you'll have to catch a bus to the nearest DMV.
You go through all that, then go back and try to convince them to allow you your right to vote.
Some people will be turned away.
Women change their names when they get married. Making their Driver's license invalid.
Poor people don't own cars.
Retired folks may have let their driver's license lapse, making it invalid. Some were born outside a hospital, meaning they never HAD a Birth Certificate.
If the people behind this were serious, they'd just let you fill out a photo voter ID card online or for free at the DMV.
The photo has to be yours for in-person voting; and simple facial recognition software is going to prevent a person from getting more than one card.
Don't know what you are smoking but it must be some great stuff.