FIRST

[Guynemer]

Suck it, wankers.


Also, what the **** is going on with the Virginia Electoral College shenanigans?

[Ogie Oglethorpe]

Suck it, wankers.

I posted 7 minutes earlier than you.

[SlowwHand]

If you were first, why didn't you start a thread for Kuciwalker? Laziness? You sloth!

[Dinner]

Suck it, wankers.


Also, what the **** is going on with the Virginia Electoral College shenanigans?

The head of the RNC has decided that if Republicans can't win in free, fair, and open elections than rather than changing their positions to better appeal to voters they will instead just try to subvert democracy. They want to award electoral college votes based up extremely gerrymandered house districts instead of by popular vote. Virginia is not the only state being directed by the RNC to pass such anti-democracy measures as in fact EVERY state which is Republican controlled but which voted blue in 2012 as part of their popular vote (a total of seven states) has seen Republicans pushing for this sort of criminal gerrymandering.

So what would the effect of these changes be? If the voters voted EXACTLY like they did in 2012 then, under these new anti-democracy rules pushed by Republicans, Romney would have won the Presidency despite getting 5 million fewer votes than Obama. I think the Republican's game is very clear, don't you? If they can't win the vote then make sure the vote doesn't matter and **** democracy.

[snoopy369]

What? That doesn't even make sense, the election wasn't nearly close enough for any such electoral college shenanigans to be relevant. I think that it's silly for states to split their EC votes since it lessens their power in the election (and thus lessens the need for the Presidential candidates to pander to their electorates), but it's not illegal IMO or unethical - just part of the game.

[Dinner]

BTW I see their obvious attempts to violate our most basic democratic values as blowing up in their faces just like their attempts to make sure black people couldn't vote resulted in more blacks voting despite 5 hour long lines in black areas because people were so pissed. The Republican attempts to make voting no longer matter will only strengthen the movement for a national popular vote and seven states have already passed such legislation. The cool thing is no constitutional changes would be required to defacto kill the electoral college and make the a national popular vote the defacto way we elect our President. Here's how:

The constitution already allows states to assign their delegates how ever they want, this is exactly what Republicans are currently trying to abuse, but seven large states lead by California have already agreed no matter how their people vote they will by law award all of their electoral college votes to which ever candidate wins the national election. If just 7-8 more large states also adopt this law then defacto the electoral college will no longer matter and only the popular vote will matter. That means instead of just 6-8 swing states getting all the attention and all the money candidates will actually have to really campaign nationally because once again every vote in the country will matter and be counted. That will mean a lot more time spent in the other 42-44 states and a lot less time in the 6-8 states. Rightly so too.

[Dinner]

What? That doesn't even make sense, the election wasn't nearly close enough for any such electoral college shenanigans to be relevant.

MSNBC, especially maddow, has spent a lot of time on this topic in the last week. If those seven states change their laws the way the RNC has directed them to do (and which the state level Republicans are now doing) then, yes, Romney would have won the electoral vote count despite getting five million fewer votes in the national popular vote.

[Ben Kenobi]

The head of the RNC has decided that if Republicans can't win in free, fair, and open elections than rather than changing their positions to better appeal to voters they will instead just try to subvert democracy. They want to award electoral college votes based up extremely gerrymandered house districts instead of by popular vote. Virginia is not the only state being directed by the RNC to pass such anti-democracy measures as in fact EVERY state which is Republican controlled but which voted blue in 2012 as part of their popular vote (a total of seven states) has seen Republicans pushing for this sort of criminal gerrymandering.

Oerdin whining about gerrymandering? Cry me a river.

[PLATO]

Gerrymandering is a political fact of life and widely used by both parties. There is a reason why State elections still matter on the national scene and that is a good thing that they do.

[Imran Siddiqui]

It's not necessarily about gerrymandering (everyone knows that happens and has since forever). It's assigning Electoral College votes based upon gerrymandered house districts rather than statewide vote.

[PLATO]

It's not necessarily about gerrymandering (everyone knows that happens and has since forever). It's assigning Electoral College votes based upon gerrymandered house districts rather than statewide vote.

Aren't congressional districts required to be of nearly equal population? It seems to me that this is a continuation of the electoral theme down to the congressional district level.

Not sure if it is a good idea or not, but it does seem to have some constitutional influences.

[Dinner]

Oerdin whining about gerrymandering? Cry me a river.

I have been vocally anti-gerrymandering for the better part of a decade. Longer really, at least since 2004 so I have no idea what you're talking about. I guess you're just babbling stupid crap with no basis in reality again. Business as usual.

[Dinner]

It seems to me the fairest way to award electoral college votes would be based on the percentage of the popular vote. So if one candidate gets 55% of the vote then he gets 55% of the electoral college votes for that state. That's not how we do it currently but that is how we should do it as it would mean every vote in every state really does matter in national elections.

[Hauldren Collider]

Also, what the **** is going on with the Virginia Electoral College shenanigans?

I haven't heard anything.

[Hauldren Collider]

By the way, Virginia's electoral districts are paragons of reasonableness compared to most states.