The coalition of Democratic Party interest groups is in high level disarray but there are individual organizations within the aggregate mix that are funded, focused and working towards their goals. Althouse links to early coverage of the National Popular Vote proposal, to adjust the constitutional method of conducting the Presidential elections. This horribly bad idea needs to be addressed in a serious way.
A Horribly Bad Legislative Idea: Legislative houses in Colorado and California have recently approved this plan, known as the National Popular Vote proposal, taking it partway to passage. Other states, too, are exploring the idea of a binding compact among states that would oblige each of them to throw its electoral votes behind the national popular-vote winner.This is an attempt to subvert one of the foundation principles of our constitution, by legislating circumstances where a state MUST cast Electoral College ballots for the winner of the national Presidential vote tabulation, REGARDLESS of the state’s Presidential vote tabulation. This is an attempt to override one of the primary structural safety checks against tyranny written into our constitution.
America is Federal Republic composed of individual states, which utilizes democratic public voting within a multiple step process to determine a legitimate Presidential leader. The Electoral College is insurance against the mob rule potential of pure democracy. It is a federal right granted to the states with the passage of the constitution. It can not be modified at that state level without federal approval.
More importantly, the rational for the Electoral College is intimately entwined with the logic granting two Senators to each state. If the historical reasoning creating the Electoral College is wrong, then two Senators from each state are also no longer justifiable. Elements within the Democratic Party desire a pure unfiltered “winner takes all” popular vote Presidential election, which creates opportunities for individuals like Hugo Chavez to seize power. The National Popular Vote proposal needs to be aggressively rebuked whenever it is presented for consideration.
