GOP Moves to Scrap Winner-Take-All Voting

Republicans in swing states that went for President Obama are pushing for a big change in how the Electoral College works, reports the Washington Post. The idea is to apportion electoral votes according to congressional district, instead of the winner-take-all system that most states employ. In Virginia, for example, the difference would be dramatic—Obama would have taken only four of the state's 13 electoral votes in 2012.

Yes. Fortunately, we achieved the "win honorably" option.

You need to become more informed about WWII, both in terms of how we waged war strategically and on the ground. The use of the atomic bomb, the fire bombings of Tokyo, Dresden, Hamburg, etc killed hundreds of thousands of civilians, including women and children, and rounding up our own citizens and putting them in camps may not fit the definition of honorable depending on your perspective. And we didn't take prisoners in much of fighting against the Japanese. We adapted to the circumstances and the actions of our enemy. I have no problem with what we did, but to call them honorable is to redefine the meaning of the word. And make no mistake about it, we were prepared to do anything to ensure our national survival. No consideration was given to losing honorably.

I have actually been in a war. You seem to be living in a fantasy world. Unfortunately, many people today believe that the way we fight wars today is the norm. Actually, it is not. When you are fighting for your very survival, terms like honorable are empty and hollow. We have the luxury now of having so much military superiority over our enemies that we can try to fight them as surgically and antiseptically as possible. Our national survival is not at stake.

Some people just give up easily, because they're too darn lazy to bust their butts doing the hard work of persuading voters.

We have gone beyond that point. It is no longer a matter of convincing voters, but just pure numbers. The Democrats, under the banner of multiculturalism and diversity, have forged a political coalition that depends on individuals coalescing around racial and ethnic identities rather than the issues. The continuing and increasing flow of minority immigrants, mostly poor and uneducated, provides a natural constituency for the Democrats, which see them as their principal source of political power.

87 percent of the 1.2 million legal immigrants entering annually are minorities as defined by the U.S. Government and almost all of the illegal aliens are minorities. By 2019 half of the children 18 and under in the U.S. will be classified as minorities and by 2042, half of the residents of this country will be minorities. Generally, immigrants and minorities vote predominantly for the Democrat Party. Hence, Democrats view immigration as a never-ending source of voters that will make them the permanent majority party.

Irrelevant; nonwhite people can be persuaded by ideas just like white people. (Er... you don't dispute that fact, right?)

Irrelevant? Are you nuts? In 2012 Obama received 93% of the black vote; 73% of the Asian vote; and 71% of the Hispanic vote. Obama received 39% of the white vote. Do you think there is any correlation between race and ethnicity in the way Americans vote? Or the way immigrants vote? If so, why do you think that is the case?

Immigration, Political Realignment, and the Demise of Republican Political Prospects

The U.S. adds one international migrant (net) every 36 seconds. Immigrants account for one in 8 U.S. residents, the highest level in more than 90 years. In 1970 it was one in 21; in 1980 it was one in 16; and in 1990 it was one in 13. In a decade, it will be one in 7, the highest it has been in our history. And by 2050, one in 5 residents of the U.S. will be foreign-born.

Currently, 1.6 million legal and illegal immigrants settle in the country each year; 350,000 immigrants leave each year, resulting in a net immigration of 1.25 million. Since 1970, the U.S. population has increased from 203 million to 315 million, i.e., over 100 million. In the next 40 years, the population will increase by an additional 125 million to 440 million. Three-quarters of the increase in our population since 1970 and the projected increase will be the result of immigration. The U.S., the world’s third most populous nation, has the highest annual rate of population growth of any developed country in the world, i.e., 0.963% (2011 estimate,) principally due to immigration.

The nation’s immigrant population (legal and illegal) reached 40 million in 2010, the highest number in our history. The U.S. immigrant population has doubled since 1990, nearly tripled since 1980, and quadrupled since 1970, when it stood at 9.7 million. Of the 40 million immigrants in the country in 2010, 13.9 million arrived in 2000 or later making it the highest decade of immigration in American history, even though there was a net loss of jobs during the decade. Growth in the immigrant population has primarily been driven by high levels of legal immigration. Roughly three-fourths of immigrants in the country are here legally. With nearly 12 million immigrants, Mexico was by far the top immigrant-sending country, accounting for 29 percent of all immigrants and 29 percent of growth in the immigrant population from 2000 to 2010. The median age of immigrants in 2010 was 41.4 compared to 35.9 for natives.

Did it ever occur to you that how people vote is not simply an intellectual exercise based on who has the best ideas? Or that people vote their own interests based on their economic and social circumstances?

How does the message of smaller government and lower taxes reasonate with the almost 50% of the public paying no income tax? Or the 48 million on food stamps? Or the 70 million on Medicaid plus the 18 million more who will join the rolls under Obamacare?

The Dems excel at identity politics. Since the 1965 Immigration Act, our pro-population growth immigration policies have fueled major demographic changes in a very short period of time. In 1970, non-Hispanic whites comprised 89 percent of the population; today they are 66 percent; and by 2042, they will be 50 percent. The Democrats, under the banner of multiculturalism and diversity, have forged a political coalition that depends on individuals coalescing around racial and ethnic identities rather than the issues. The continuing and increasing flow of minority immigrants, mostly poor and uneducated, provides a natural constituency for the Democrats, which see them as their principal source of political power. Programs such as minority business set asides and affirmative action reinforce one's group identity.

Voting is more akin to how one acquires their religion rather than an intellectural choice. Peer group pressure from the community, one's parents, etc. are major factors on party identification and how you vote.

With out of wedlock birthrates of 71% for blacks and 50% for Hispanics coupled with high school dropout rates, you have the social pathology for failure in this country and greater dependence upon government. They are natural Dem constituencies and they will vote Dem, the party of free stuff. No amount of persuasion by ideas is going to change that for the vast majority of them.

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