Commentary: Challenging three Electoral College indictments

Philadelphia Inquirer ^ | January 6, 2017 | Allen C. Guelzo and James H. Hulme

[OddLane]

On the day the Electoral College met and elected Donald J. Trump the 45th president of the United States, the New York Times editorial board published a scathing attack on the Electoral College as an "antiquated mechanism" which "overwhelming majorities" of Americans would prefer to eliminate in favor of a direct national popular vote.

That did not keep the Electoral College from doing what it was required to do. But it was not the end of the debate, and as the official Jan. 6 date for opening the certifying the Electoral College ballots drew near, the Washington Post's E.J. Dionne joined the demand for "majorities" to prevail over the Electoral College.

We're not sure which majorities Dionne and the Times have in mind, but they don't seem to be the majorities registered by a Dec. 2 Gallup poll, which showed support for retaining the Electoral College rising from 35 percent to 47 percent since 2011. And this isn't the only dubious assertion we've heard from advocates of abolishing the Electoral College. Take, as an example, these three anti-Electoral College indictments:

[sig226]

I assume that neither of those writers are employed by philly.com. :)

[alexander_busek]

Thanks for the ping.

My sentiments exactly!

Regards,