Eliminate the Electoral College

[Odin]

Ned, your Colorado argument shows why I think "strict contructionist" = idiot.

Oh, and the large population centers should dominate politics, THAT IS WHERE MOST OF THE PEOPLE LIVE! One person = one vote.

[GePap]

Virginia was the biggest state in the Union at the time-yes, poor little Virginia getting dominated by bad, evil Massachussets.....

[chequita guevara]

Originally posted by PLATO


Boston, Philadelphia, and New York were all population centers at the time. The Southern States were worried about these centers being able to dominate them politically...and they still are.

New York, with maybe 50,000 people, was not set to dominate the national scene. Virginia was the largest state, population wise in the union. Most Virginians lived in small town and the countryside. Back then it wasn't rural against urban, it was big state against small state.

[Sava]

Originally posted by PLATO


Funny you should say that. The founding fathers were much more into representation than democracy. I believe that our States should be fully democratic, but that our Union should be representative.

Much of the compromises used to justify the undemocratic aspects of the US government were from the Southern States who wanted to protect slavery.

But it's nice to hear that you still support those measures.

Personally, I think we should rid ourselves of the electoral college. Each person's vote should count in a NATIONAL election.

Ideally, I'd like to be rid of States altogether. Our nation has changed so much, we should reorganize our entire government... perhaps even reorganizing things in a balanced way so that large urban centers don't dominate.

But when it comes to NATIONAL ELECTIONS. ONE PERSON, ONE VOTE... anyone who doesn't agree with this HATES DEMOCRACY and should move to North Korea.

And I'd rather have large urban centers influencing politics more than a bunch of cracker states.

[The diplomat]

Originally posted by Sava
And I'd rather have large urban centers influencing politics more than a bunch of cracker states.

translation: I want my leftist buddies to always win elections against those right wingers!

[MRT144]

if you like the EC you have to like affirmative action. same principle. protect the minority from the majority and give them benefits.

[MrFun]

If you can find some way to maintain some form of equity between rural demographic groups and urban demographic groups while abolishing the electoral college, I am all ears.

[MRT144]

give them a 24 pack of bud light and a gun rack each election

[MrFun]

[PLATO]

Originally posted by Sava
But it's nice to hear that you still support those measures.

You KNOW that isn't true.

And I'd rather have large urban centers influencing politics more than a bunch of cracker states.

However, THIS does sound pretty racist.

[PLATO]

Originally posted by MRT144
give them a 24 pack of bud light and a gun rack each election

Ruralphobia?

[MrFun]

No, but maybe it will pass for vindicative hatred for rural voters.


I hate x-posting, by the way.

[MRT144]

ruralphobia? hardly! more like, hickphobia. I just dont think that rural places have that much to offer in the way of culture. The country is a nice place to visit (mendicino, shasta, etc etc) but to live there would be a different matter.

[Kuciwalker]

Originally posted by DinoDoc
We tend to be a little overprotective of the Bill of Rights.

Why? The only rights that I see as important are the rights of individuals, not glorified administrative districts. Clearly the ninth amendment doesn't necessarily serve individual liberties at all.

[Wraith]

--"Why? The only rights that I see as important are the rights of individuals, not glorified administrative districts."

Of course the only rights are the rights of individuals. The theory is that the states are closer to the individuals, and therefore better guardians of their citizens rights than the federal government will be. The same argument follows down to the local government level. Which is why the original intention was to keep all government at the lowest level of the hierarchy possible, which is why the "or the states" language is in there.
Not, of course, that the federal government any longer recognizes any such limits.

Wraith
"Unquestionably, there is progress. The average American now pays out twice as much in taxes as he formerly got in wages."
-- H. L. Mencken