California devises end-run around electoral college (Passed!)

CoCoTimes ^ | 5/28/06 | Jim Sanders

[musicman]

...And God Created California!

In the Beginning....

God was missing for six days. Eventually, Michael the archangel found him, resting on the seventh day. He inquired of God. "Where have you been?"

God sighed a deep sigh of satisfaction and proudly pointed downwards through the clouds, "Look, Michael. Look what I've made."

Archangel Michael looked puzzled and said, "What is it?"

"It's a planet," replied God, "and I've put Life on it. I'm going to call it Earth and it's going to be a great place of balance."

"Balance?" Inquired Michael, still confused.

God explained, pointing to different parts of earth. "For example, northern Europe will be a place of great opportunity and wealth while southern Europe is going to be poor. Over there I've placed a continent of white people and over there is a continent of black people,"

God continued pointing to different countries. "This one will be extremely hot and while this one will be very cold and covered in ice."

The Archangel, impressed by God's work, then pointed to a land mass and said "What's that one?"

"Ah," said God. "That's California the most glorious place on earth. There are beautiful beaches, deserts, streams, hills, and forests. The people from California are going to be handsome, modest, intelligent and humorous and they are going to be found traveling the world. They will be extremely sociable, hardworking and high achieving, and they will be known throughout the world as diplomats and carriers of peace."

Michael gasped in wonder and admiration but then proclaimed, "What about balance, God? You said there would be balance!!!"

God replied wisely, "Wait until you see the idiots I put in Sacramento."

[Zero Sum]

If you ever have a need to find a stupid poitician one place to start looking is the California legislature.

I don't think I'd have to travel that far to find one.

[MarkL]

Funny how leftists are all for democracy mob rule, until the mob votes for something they don't approve of. Then it's off to the courts to make sure the masses get what the leftists decide they need...

Mark

[Plutarch]

The linchpin is a proposed "interstate compact..."

I think the last time their was such an interstate compact designed to get around the pesky Constitution it was called The Confederacy.

[paul51]

Assemblyman Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat who chairs the Assembly Election and Redistricting Committee, said the basic premise is understandable even to children

Of course the concept of the electoral college is a little more complicated, thus children coming up through the ca public school system and democrats will have a hard time comprehending it

[lepton]

Doesn't the Electoral College system help ensure that the President represents the whole country? If the voters in a few heavily populated states could determine the outcome (because they would determine the popular vote) wouldn't Presidential candidates pander to urbanized areas and ignore rural states?

Yes. The Electoral College discourages regional candidates in several ways. It also moderates the effect of a regional disaster (like a hurricane suppressing votes in the east or south), and limits the effects of vote fraud (massive fraud in Florida doesn't directly affect Georgia).

[FreedomCalls]

They are so stupid (and ignorant of the Constitution) that they are even going so far as to call it "an interstate compact"! They aren't even using some weasel words to make people think it's not an unconstitutional compact among states.

[xrp]

Well, f-ck, why not just dissolve all of the states and have one central Politburo running the entire nation. That's worked well before.

[tet68]

If the voters in a few heavily populated states could determine the outcome (because they would determine the popular vote) wouldn't Presidential candidates pander to urbanized areas and ignore rural states?

You mean blue cities and red states?

Exactly.

[ThePythonicCow]

... so stupid ...

;).

[AndyTheBear]

A proposal to reward states that allow vote fraud with more political power.

From the real party of corruption, of coarse.

[don-o]

This is bullshit. When we vote for President, we are actually voting for the electors. The electors are reliable, political people who cast their votes per who elected them - Dem or Rep.

Compact? - me arse!

[Centurion2000]

This move would actually benefit the GOP far more than the Democrats. It effectively puts California into play with a high probability of going red, whereas right now it's a sure-bet blue state

The frist time that the GOP wins an election with this, it's a sure bet that it will be quietly rescinded the next sessions by the dems.

[monkeyshine]

It's a crap proposal, a crap idea, and not enforceable. The idea of this is akin to throwing fuel on fire. It could lead to serious disruptions.

[AndyTheBear]

So what happens when the nationwide popular vote is only separated by a few thousand votes, then you have to recount every single ballot in the whole county, as opposed to only recounting the ballots in one state.

Why then the most corrupt state finds enough votes for the candidate they like. Being pro-corruption, the Democrats favor such a system. They don't like photo IDs either.

[xrp]

No, 3/4ths of the states need to approve Amendments to the US Constitution. In short, it'd never pass.

[joebuck]

"Assemblyman Tom Umberg, a Santa Ana Democrat who chairs the Assembly Election and Redistricting Committee, said the basic premise is understandable even to children. "When you're in first grade, if the person who got the second-most votes became class leader, the kids would recognize that this is not a fair system," he said."

What an idiot. James Madison explained this very well in Federalist Paper #11. It's all about avoiding the tyranny of faction. Most kids learn this in High School but this guy must have gone to public school in California.

[NinoFan]

Are interstate compacts like this constitutional?

[don-o]

Secondly, first-grade classes do not consist of free independent states agreeing to join a Republic, a concept that takes a little more sophistication to understand than can be found in the first grade.

Oh, were that still so. See ya on the WONA threads.

Yet as long as that idea is still out there, "Keep Hope Alive!"

[AndyTheBear]

How many Texans stayed home because they knew Bush would take the state, that otherwise would have voted for him, had it been a popular vote?

And how many folks in the heavily republican Florida pan handle didn't vote when the state was called for Gore before the polls closed there?