GOP to Change Electoral College Rules

Republicans alarmed at the apparent challenges they face in winning the White House are preparing an all-out assault on the Electoral College system in critical states, an initiative that would significantly ease the party's path to the Oval Office.

Senior Republicans say they will try to leverage their party's majorities in Democratic-leaning states in an effort to end the winner-take-all system of awarding electoral votes. Instead, bills that will be introduced in several Democratic states would award electoral votes on a proportional basis.

Though I am aware that both parties have tweaked the rules governing the electoral college, I felt compelled to post information on the latest attempt, this time by the GOP. The main reason for posting this is that, IMO, the real changes that the republican party need to make, in order to stay relevant, need to be made within the party itself, not in the game or our political process.

Upsetting, is the fact that the members pushing for this legislative action realize that they will be exposed for their political opportunism, but will just spin it as a righteous cause to level the playing field and make things fair.

Some Republicans acknowledge that the party would open itself up to charges of political opportunism, but that they would frame the proposal as a chance to make the system more fair.
"With the frustration of the current system—and the fact that almost everyone would agree proportional or CD is more representative and maybe more fair than the current winner-take-all—Republicans have a strong, righteous argument," Anuzis said. "However, the motivation would be viewed as being purely political since it hasn’t been done before."

Full article: nationaljournal.com...

What do you think of this plan by the GOP?
Are they digging a deeper hole than they're already in, especially with younger voters?

I think it's about time and long overdue. It's a change that can ONLY happen now...that is..the dead time between the election and the start of the next campaign season. No one knows who will be next up and this President can't be ...so it's not personal. It's as far as it can ever get.

However, Proportional representation is something I saw MANY Dems pushing hard for here before the election. (ATS has archives that recorded all that for posterity if anyone forgets..lol) It makes sense.

Now if Republicans were even joking about a change that would effect anything THIS year? I'd call it cheap political stunts of the worst sort.....but they're talking about a change BOTH sides have pushed for when they thought it would benefit them. In the end, it does benefit the American people, so it's very much past it's time to get done.

I would agree with this for California which is too large and I would agree with giving rural communities more weight than they have now compared to urban communities. They are just as important to our survival and completely shadowed by the large cities. I guess 'proportional' would work out in that case since most people outside of cities vote Republican and most inside vote Democrat.

It might actually make it possible for a 3rd party run as well. heee heee

reply to post by Wrabbit2000


I can definitely see how this could be a good thing, however, to truly be fair, shouldn't this reform be on a national level instead of just the states of their choosing?

Originally posted by apokalupsis33vital
reply to post by Wrabbit2000

 

I can definitely see how this could be a good thing, however, to truly be fair, shouldn't this reform be on a national level instead of just the states of their choosing?

I believe 2 or 3 states have already implemented this for a long time - Colorado, NH, and Alaska?

[quoteOriginally posted by ararisq
It might actually make it possible for a 3rd party run as well. heee heee


True, I would hope, however I believe there has to be a very public effort to make it clear to major party leaders that we, the American people, want a third choice, or fourth, or fifth, if anything just to bring this parties and candidates out from under the thumb of oppression.

In an effort to get more control over the delegate-selection process in the future, Romney’s people overstepped in a way that infuriated many conventiongoers who are otherwise supporting him. Yesterday, the Republican National Committee proposed a new rule that would allow the party’s nominee to overrule state conventions and choose his or her own delegates. This, many feared, would turn delegate slots into perks for insiders and donors, and further shut activists out of the process. The reaction was livid. In a widely circulated open letter to the Republican National Committee, Thompson wrote, “The audacity of creating a firestorm when there is an opportunity for unity and peace that is needed to win back the Senate and take back the White House is irresponsible and I seriously question the motives of those behind this attempt.”

www.thedailybeast.com...

reply to post by apokalupsis33vital

It can't be on the national level and that's been the whole problem. The Constitution spells out in detail how this system works from the Federal level and the 10th means it's up to the states to make their end of it work if they would like to participate. Obviously, that last part hasn't been tested that I know of...but that's as simple as it gets to my understanding of the system.

Nationally, it could be done if we had a Constitutional Convention, however, that's the worst idea right now and for all sides, I'd say. Conservatives could sweep a convention of that type and re-write the Constitution in the only setting it can be done. On the other hand, it could go the other way...what I doubt would happen is a fair, balanced and compromise approach to finding the best ways to make it work for the public. lol... Si I'll just accept the states fixing their ends of things since alternatives open bigger problems, eh?

reply to post by apokalupsis33vital

What do you think of this plan by the GOP?

What do I think? Well suppressing voter rights didn't work out for them all too well this year so they're moving on to give their own districts more power and influence to choose the next president, it's pathetic.

"Fixing" the EC will only lead to mob rules. Really.

Every election you hear how the EC needs "fixed", that it isn't fair. Really? Has kept all state having equal say for well over 200 years.

With how the FCC amended the rules so that the uber rich have more control over the media in the largest population centers (done under GWB), any "fixing" of the EC will only hurt out constitutional republic.

I mean don't we have enough election fixing with our primary system? Now we want to "fix" our EC? Anyone who is for that, D or R, is not a friend of liberty or our Republic.

Derek

Originally posted by ararisq
I would agree with this for California which is too large and I would agree with giving rural communities more weight than they have now compared to urban communities. They are just as important to our survival and completely shadowed by the large cities. I guess 'proportional' would work out in that case since most people outside of cities vote Republican and most inside vote Democrat.

It might actually make it possible for a 3rd party run as well. heee heee

edit on 12/17/2012 by ararisq because: (no reason given)

yeah, why would anyone here want a popular vote to count...all of those saintly real-american rural voters need to be counted more, than the those commie, pinko urban voters....how about people that just own land? maybe brown skinned people can be counted as only having a half vote?

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000
I think it's about time and long overdue. It's a change that can ONLY happen now...that is..the dead time between the election and the start of the next campaign season. No one knows who will be next up and this President can't be ...so it's not personal. It's as far as it can ever get.

However, Proportional representation is something I saw MANY Dems pushing hard for here before the election. (ATS has archives that recorded all that for posterity if anyone forgets..lol) It makes sense.

Strongly disagree. This is a follow up to the gerrymandering the local GOP legislatures employed over the last 18 months, which allowed the GOP to hold on to the House Majority by significant margin despite LOSING the popular vote by a couple million (congressional).

This would literally allow states where the majority vote for one President...to go to the opponent.

It is a profoundly ANTI-democracy strategy and follows the restricted voting period strategy and voter ID efforts.

Plans to replace that with a proportional system are under consideration in half a dozen states, including Pennsylvania, Virginia and Michigan.

All were presidential battlegrounds that President Obama carried last fall. But their state governments remain under Republican control, and some GOP lawmakers are pushing changes that would make it harder for Democrats to prevail in future contests.

AND...it should be noted that if these states had the new proportional electoral college last year...MITT ROMNEY would have WON...despite losing the popular vote by significant margin, both nationally and in these states.

That is about all you need to know...and if you are GOP...you need to remember the Dems will one day be the losing party and be able to exploit the less democratic process in a future election.

Many GOP realize just this and are strongly opposed to the changes.

In Florida, the Republican speaker of the state House of Representatives expressed opposition last week to changing the way the largest swing state allots electoral votes, almost certainly dooming any chance that it will happen there.

www.latimes.com...