Dissenters in GOP rethink Electoral College [Fred Thompson joins those trying to destroy it]

The Washington Times ^ | June 2, 2011 | Valerie Richardson

[EternalVigilance]

Popular-vote pact picks up steam

A once-sleepy movement that would upend the Electoral College, reverse two centuries of constitutional practice and elect presidents by direct popular vote has quietly picked up momentum in recent days, with Republican Party leaders scrambling to stanch a steady stream of defections by GOP state lawmakers to the plan.

*snip*

Under the idea introduced in 2006 by Stanford University consulting professor John Koza, states that join the NPV compact pledge to give all of their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote - even if a majority of the state’s voters supported another candidate. If a group of states with an accumulated tally of 270 electoral votes - the bare majority - sign on, the practical effect would be that the popular-vote winner instantly becomes the Electoral College winner as well.

*snip*

A rash of Republican state legislators have signed on as co-sponsors and even sponsors of this year’s spate of NPV bills. At a May 12 news conference, two prominent Republicans — former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former Gov. Jim Edgar of Illinois — endorsed the compact.

“We’re perpetually kind of rolling the dice in presidential elections in this country and risking electing someone who didn’t get the most votes,” Mr. Thompson said at the event. “It’s an unnecessary risk.”

[BillyBoy]

The owner and founder of FreeRepublic endorsed Huckabee in 2008 after Fred dropped out, arguing (as I did) that Huck was more conservative than Romney or McCain. Does that negate everything else he says?

[SunkenCiv]

Thanks EternalVigilance.

Under the idea introduced in 2006 by Stanford University consulting professor John Koza, states that join the NPV compact pledge to give all of their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote -- even if a majority of the state's voters supported another candidate.

This will finish off the Demwit competitiveness -- unless they manufacture even more votes somehow. California's electoral votes will have to go to the Pubbie if the Pubbie wins the popular vote, and that means California is up for grabs. Turnout in the red states will go up in order to grab those extra electoral college votes.

My view is, either eliminate the Electoral College altogether and elect the president at-large from the entire country, or set up specific rules on how Electoral College votes *must* be cast.

[justiceseeker93]

This National Popular Vote initiative can only help the 'Rats and encourage them to engage in even more widespread and extensive fraud, as 'Rat-infested big cities become the obvious focal points for fraud with their large concentrations of popular votes. No Republican should be pushing this! If this popular vote system were in effect in 2000, Al Gore would have cheated his way to the White House and we'd probably still be taking man-made global warming as a serious threat and have even more dumb environmental regulation than we do now.

I can't believe that they are trying to eliminate the Electoral College, practically speaking, without going through the necessary procedure to amend the Constitution to achieve it.

I don't like interstate compacts in general, because they take away from the autonomy of the individual states, and states involved could collude against the rights of their citizens. That's why there is a little known "interstate compact" (as distinguished from "interstate commerce" ) clause in the Constitution which requires congressional approval for interstate compacts. In this case, however, the specific compact is so repugnant to the existing Constitution that a constitutional amendment is obviously required to achieve such a radical (and foolish) change.

[conservativebuckeye]

I have to admit, I’ve had the same thought.

[conservativebuckeye]

Well, JFK was certainly better than Nixon. At least JFK cut taxes and fought Communists. Nixon gave us the EPA, wage and price controls, the end of the gold standard, and “friendlier” relations with the Chicoms.

[conservativebuckeye]

The 17th Amendment was a progressive plot, as anybody who frequents this website should be aware of. Also, considering who the people choose as their Senators, I’ll take my chances with the state legislatures. The way the legislature is configured in Ohio, it would certainly be better than Sherrod Brown. Satan himself couldn’t come up with people worse than Barbara Boxer and Chuck Schumer.

[conservativebuckeye]

Nixon also thought Reagan was dumb. I’ve always felt Nixon was an arrogant POS.

[Eleutheria5]

Warm up your lawyers. This is one that can’t be lost. They’re trying to nullify “flyover” country.

[Impy]

I’m on the fence about that. You worry about any kind of dictator. On the other hand medicine tastes bad sometimes.

[GOPsterinMA]

“I have to admit, I’ve had the same thought.”
“On the other hand medicine tastes bad sometimes.”

Something has to be done, because the sh*t sandwich we’re getting shoved up or down whichever hole tastes really, really bad.

That’s also why I’ve been calling for a split for years now. There is way too much of a chasm between the “Red” and “Blue” sides to be remedied.

[itsahoot]

Nixon also thought Reagan was dumb.

I thought Nixon was pretty dumb as well, I would have called a press conference on the white house steps and burned the tapes. It certainly couldn't have turned out any worse for him.

[GailA]

He is shilling the reverse mortgages or was.

[conservativebuckeye]

Oh, I think Nixon was plenty smart. He just had horrible character. Nixon was arguably the smartest President we’ve had since WWII, but lacked wisdom and character. I also think he had a massive inferiority complex not to mention the well documented paranoia.

[cradle of freedom]

Expect more stealth RINOs in this election. Already they are using the 2008 strategy of filling the field with too many candidates just to confuse us.

[cradle of freedom]

The rural areas could always threaten to withhold food from the urban areas. That’s one way to get respect.

[piasa]

Jim Edgar is one of the 200 idiots that endorsed Kamala Harris.

I wonder if he has connections to Pakistan or China, too, as several of those signers seem to.

[piasa]

Stanford U. ping
Note Jim Edgar is one of the 200 RINOs who endorsed Kamala Harris.

“...Under the idea introduced in 2006 by Stanford University consulting professor John Koza, states that join the NPV compact pledge to give all of their electoral votes to the presidential candidate who wins the national popular vote - even if a majority of the state’s voters supported another candidate. If a group of states with an accumulated tally of 270 electoral votes - the bare majority - sign on, the practical effect would be that the popular-vote winner instantly becomes the Electoral College winner as well.

*snip*

A rash of Republican state legislators have signed on as co-sponsors and even sponsors of this year’s spate of NPV bills. At a May 12 news conference, two prominent Republicans — former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee and former Gov. Jim Edgar of Illinois — endorsed the compact....”