Posted on 07/08/2008 9:42:48 AM PDT by buccaneer81
Dukakis calls for end to Electoral College Dave Wedge By Dave Wedge Tuesday, July 8, 2008
Calling it “critically important” to eliminate the Electoral College system, former Bay State Gov. Michael Dukakis called on lawmakers to join a growing number of states supporting a switch to a national popular vote to elect the president.
“I think it is high time we got rid of the Electoral College and elected our presidents the way we elect every other elected official in the country - by a vote of the people,” Dukakis wrote in a letter e-mailed to state lawmakers yesterday. “The overwhelming majority of the American people do, too.”
So far, Maryland, New Jersey, Illinois and Hawaii have supported electing the president through a national popular vote. A bill to add Massachusetts to that list is pending on Beacon Hill.
In his missive, Dukakis, who ran for president in 1988, admitted that he focused mainly on swing states during the stretch run of his race.
“Under the current system, running for president means just one thing: focus on the so-called swing states,” he wrote. “I did it. Al Gore did it. John Kerry did it, and our Republican opponents did it, too.”
“A big turnout in Massachusetts and many other states is irrelevant to winning the election. Only winning the swing states matters.”
Dukakis said a national popular vote would help a smaller state like Massachusetts have a bigger impact on presidential politics. States get one electoral vote for each member of their congressional delegation but under the new initiative would give all those votes to the winner of the popular vote nationwide.
The underlying reason for this, also, is that Democrats can cheat more effectively, and easily, in the inner cities. Remember all those 100%, not to mention 105%, turnouts in Miami, Detroit, St. Louis, and Philadelphia in 2000 and 2004, 95% for Gore or Kerry? Those were battleground states where inner city "votes" (e.g., from live, dead, and imaginary voters) were needed to put Dems over the top.
If the Presidential vote were by popular vote only, then the Dems could replicate this very successful strategy in all inner cities in what today are not battleground states: NYC, LA, WDC, Chicago.
Don't know if you're all aware, but for most of the non-contested states in 2000 and 2004, the inner cities were the margin for the Dems carrying the state. Meaning:
* Without Chicago, the GOP takes Illinois.
* Without Milwaukee, GOP takes Wisconsin.
* Without Detroit, the GOP takes Michigan.
* Without Philadelphia, the GOP takes Pennsylvania.
* Without LA and SF, the GOP takes California (!).
NOW you see why the Dems want to abolish the Electoral College?
100+% voter fraud links:
Milwaukee: http://www.dummocrats.com/archives/000927.php
Ohio: http://www.commondreams.org/views04/1115-20.htm
Philadelphia: http://www.freerepublic.com/forum/a3a41f7e24141.htm
Karl Rove in writing and online video: http://www.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/013817.php http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/002982.php
Country Mouse versus City Mouse... nothing new.
So Dukakis doesn’t like the US Constitution. This might not be news. Actually, the only people who should elect the Pres would be Senators and Senators should not be elected by the general populace either. Let the general populace elect their Mayors and City Councils, anything above that is above their competence.
Why cant he, McG, Carter and BJ Clinton just STFU!
We should all be screaming to have this amendment repealed. If they did the govt would no longer be broken and the states would have rights again.
Its very rare that i see someone smart enought to recognize with the true problem with the present govt is.
There are a few here. The subject just doesn’t come up often.
Winning the “swing states” matters now. It didn’t matter a couple decades ago, and possibly won’t matter a few decades from now.
If they went for strictly popular vote, places like California would become much more competitive. I don’t think the Dems want that.
If they want direct election of the President, how about a direct impeachment, too? Why not? We can impeach the governor of California and we directly elect that office.
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