Howard Dean Calls For End Of Electoral College
In a preview of Time Magazine hitting the stands this weekend, Howard Dean is quoted as wanting to do away with the electoral college.
“It’s unrepresentative of where the American people are. It was fine for the days of the Pony Express, but it’s not necessary to avoid a popular vote on Presidents now.”
This is by no means a new idea, and it is one which has only gained momentum since the 2000 election. Democrats are pushing the abolishment of the electoral college for a very simple reason, it benefits their political party. Of course they will not come right out and say they wish to abolish the electoral college for political gain, preferring to use the rhetoric of “one person one vote” but as this years Democratic primary reminds us, they do not really believe in the “one person one vote” mantra.
By the time the Democratic convention rolls around, it is very likely Hillary Clinton will have had the majority of the popular vote cast in her favor, yet the party leadership seems to be operating under the assumption that Obama will be the nominee.
But could Clinton take over the lead in all of the popular-vote tabulations? Quite possibly. In Puerto Rico’s last major election, two million people voted. Let’s assume that turnout for this historic vote - Puerto Rico has never had a presidential primary before - will be equal to or greater than that turnout.
If Clinton were to win Puerto Rico by 20 points she would pick up at least a 400,000-vote margin. This would allow her to swamp Obama in the popular-vote counts, which include Florida,
If Clinton were to go into the convention with the majority of popular votes, would Democrats hand her the nomination? Of course not, because in their party of “one person one vote”, there are 800 super voters. Their superdelegate system was established specifically for the purpose of overturning primary results that the party leadership disagress with, with each superdelegate’s vote being worth the same as approximately 10,000 citizen votes.
If Democrats are so concerned with the peoples voices being heard, they should start within their own party, before proposing amendments to the Constitution which would effectively end the Republican form of government we have had for over 200 years.
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I’m back, Charlie! Did you miss me?
You know, were your party in the same situation, and had your candidate–George W. Bush–won the presidency by dint of the popular vote, only to have lost it by virtue of a Supreme Court ruling, I think you would be just as bitter, if not bitterer yet.
And I want to correct your math a little, Charlie. The only way Hillary Clinton has a lead in the popular vote tally is if you seat ALL of the delegates, rather than half, giving her the appropriate percentage she won in Florida and Obama the appropriate percentage he won; and then, on top of that, giving her all of the delegates she won in Michigan, while giving Obama none of the delegates pertaining to the vote of ‘uncomitted.’–A kind of math that’s distinctly North Korean, or Russian–you know, like that guy into whose eyes Bush looked and saw such a kind soul… But then again, you are of the party that vehemently opposed a recount in Florida–a recount which likely would’ve declared Al Gore the next president of the United States. So when it comes to, let us say, skewed arithmetic, there’s no better advocate than a Bush conservative.
Now, what I find especially interesting is how persistently you’ve harped on this whole “Hillary Clinton won the popular vote” nonsense… Had I shown you this article, say, a year ago, I don’t think you’d believe me when I told you you were the one that wrote it. Defending Hillary Clinton? It’s… the GOP’s new low. Seriously. Are you that afraid of Obama?
P, I am by no means defending Hillary Clinton, I am merely pointing out the irony that Democrats are calling for the popular vote to decide the general election when they have setup their own primary system in a manner that allows them to disregard the popular vote altogether.
Well, as I’ve already communicated to you, the only way she leads in the popular vote is if in Michigan, Obama is apportioned no delegates and none of the caucus states–you know, Nevada, Colorado, Iowa, etc., all of which had a respectable turnout–are counted, which, again, is the kind of math I suspect was used in the recent Russian elections. Except… you know, you have it in the title. Constitutionally Right–it’s not. Though I think Constitutionally Right is a clever way of your saying, “We’re right wing here.” Correct me if I’m wrong.
Do you even like McCain? Because this seems to be much more anti-Obama than it is pro-McCain… One might even say it’s more pro-Clinton than it is pro-McCain. Then again, it is pretty difficult to be enthused about a 71-year-old curmudgeon who can’t even seem to read a teleprompter without looking like an idiot.
P, I do not like McCain, but I will be voting for him because he is the lesser of two evils.
Afraid of Obama? You’ve got to be kidding? Haven’t you ever heard of “Operation Chaos”? Who cares who wins the Democratic primary? Neither one of them can beat McCain, and he’s just as sorry as the two of them.
Oh, Deborah. What’re you on?
What you’re going to see in 2008 is McCain losing by a landslide–losing the popular vote by more than five points and the electoral college vote with a steep, steep plurality. Look at Iowa, Nevada, New Mexico, Colorado, Ohio, Pennsylvania… According to SurveyUSA, Obama is crushing McCain in all of them. Beyond even that, though, he also beats McCain in Virginia, he breaks even with him in North Carolina, AND he loses by two points in Montana and Alaska. Are you kidding me? As if that weren’t bad enough, the religious right is not enthused about McCain, who once called them agents of intolerance. Factor in all the lobbyists running his campaign–four have already been made redundant and more are likely to follow–the fact that he believes that we can somehow win a Civil War, and his weakness on just about every issue, running the gamut from the mortgage crisis to health care to social security.
Factor in turnout as well. Democrats and Independents will be swarming the polls; how about those far-right loonies? It will be a landslide, Deb. And the country will be better for it.