Is it time to scrap the Electoral College?

pMSNBC/MSN ^ | 10/21/08 | Tom Curry

[AT7Saluki]

...The system is a relic of the early days of the republic when electors were supposed to be independent agents exercising their judgment in choosing a presidential candidate from a list of several contenders.

Today, electors are party loyalists who almost always vote for their party’s nominee.

On Friday, a group of legal scholars, political scientists, and systems specialists gathered at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology for a conference on the Electoral College. Their focus? How to better engineer the system...

[TribalPrincess2U]

That’s “Dear Great Leader” /puke

[impeachedrapist]

Folks, this Presidential race is over

[This Just In]

Go sell Communism some place else, Curry. The Electoral College was set up by our Founding Fathers so that all people are represented and have a say on whom they choose to lead this country, even the “rednecks” from the fly over country.

L.A., NYC, and Chicago does not reflect most American’s and what we stand for.

[Paine in the Neck]

Here it comes again. If Obama gets in with a dem supermajority in both houses of congress you can expect a big push to get a constitutional amendment pushed out to the states.

[albie]

#1—Getting us ready for BO to rid us of the pesky Electoral College? —or— #2-Nervous about a BO loss via college but winning in the popular vote? Scenario #2 will help the media realize their dream of stores, cars and city streets ablaze on Nov. 5.

[elk]

Is this being trotted out because all the goldfish decided to stay home and not vote this year?

[SkyDancer]

Just what we need - a few populous states dictating to the rest of the country who’s to be president. The EC was instituted for the purpose of preventing that scenario.

[swain_forkbeard]

“Is it time to scrap the Electoral College?”

No.

[jagusafr]

Gee, it must be an election year...this topic comes up every time.

[Vaquero]

we live in a deep blue state that will give all its electoral votes to Obama.....I tell my kids they need to vote anyway just to keep the popular vote up.

[frankiep]

I think the better thing to do would be to require all states to abide by the Electoral College system in order to prevent what some states have already promised to do: award all of their Electoral votes to the winner of the national popular voter regardless of how the people of that particular state voted. This mob rule mentality must be confronted and defeated!

[MrB]

The libs would write a new “constitution” declaring all sorts of rights that aren’t rights -

right to a job (where you live)
right to housing
right to healthcare
right to childcare
right to die
right to kill (abortion)

[rightinthemiddle]

Ah, the Libs would love it. All they have to do is control the Ignorant Masses in the metropolitan areas.

Forget about small town/rural America.

This is the reason the Founding Fathers set up the Electoral College!

[Friend_from_the_Frozen_North]

If I recall my High School Civics correctly, such a change would require a Constitutional Amendment and Ratification by 38 State Legislatures? States that have very little influence (with 3 to 5 electoral votes) on the National Elections would be very hesitant to surrender complete control to the will of the Inner City "Ignoratti"...

[okie01]

Their focus? How to better engineer the system...

How to better engineer the system...to aid the Democrats.

And, for sure, giving voter fraud a chance to have a nationwide impact would do the trick.

[CatOwner]

Though it might be a salutory reform to force all states to go onto the Maine/Nebraska system.

I don't know about that either. Assume that an election ends with the loser being with 10 EVs (maybe within 20 EVs) of being the winner. Imagine the chaos as the parties look around the country to pick out specific congressional districts to contest. Sort mini-Florida 2000 or mini-Ohio 2004, but instead in dozens of congressional districts. Ouch!

[5thGenTexan]

The librats bring this up every Presidential election cycle they lose.

Fixed.

[MrB]

their dream of stores, cars and city streets ablaze on Nov. 5

those stores, cars, and streets will all be in "heavily democrat representation" areas.

[socialismisinsidious]

Yeah sure why not....then no sheople would have to actually get their sorry fat butts off the couch to vote. NY and CA can pick our President and all the politician vote buying can be done there. Yeah, there's a plan only a liberal could love.

Anyone who proposes this has to be an idiot with an agenda aka: loony liberal.

[Obadiah]

Oh, you mean like it was before FDR?