Word is starting to leak out; a number of GOP politicians are flirting with supporting the idea of the National Popular Vote.
Let me be blunt: This idea must be stomped, and stomped some more, until the convulsions stop.
This is an utterly wretched idea, favored by liberal plutocrats with deep pockets to give the nation’s population centers a stranglehold on presidential (and eventually, all) politics.
The National Popular Vote means that presidential candidates will not, ever, need to campaign in flyover land. They need only to play to the coasts.
It completely guts the “protection of minority states” that the Electoral College has given this nation, to its immense benefit.
Need a reason to oppose it? Here are seven to start with, all of them worthy of a rhetorical death sentence.
The campaign to institute it has been sneaky, under the radar, and not a little bit sleazy. The supporters are clearly trying to gull a mass of low-information voters (swaying them with talk of “majority rule”) without fully airing out the consequences.
It’s even sucked in a number of Republicans who should know better. I’m not naming names. But it’s going to happen, sooner or later.
Republicans: I, for one, will support an NPV supporter about the same time I support a gun controller. You support NPV? We’re going to have a pointed conversation.
This shall not pass.
Fire up the tar pots and gather up feathers!!!
Remember Florida in 2000? Imagine a very close race, but that fight goes nationwide. In every congressional district, every city, tyring to find a few more votes for each side.
And guess who “finds” more votes……..North Dakota and Utah, or Chicago and Philadephia. Remember those districts in Philly that votes 12,500 to 0 for Obama?
And as individual states can withdraw from this pact at any time. So the first time Repubican wins the popular vote, but not the electoral…..well, remember New Jersery and Mass changing the election laws during a campaign to keep Democrats in the Senate.
It reminds me of noting that, with Bill Daley as his campaign manager, I was exceedingly dubious of the idea that Al Gore had won the popular vote when only honest votes were counted.
I find reason #4 very persuasive.
Right now, I only need to worry about a Minnesota voter fraudster countering my vote with extra ballots in her trunk.
With a National Popular Vote, I can rest assured that my vote will be more than countered by vagrants in LA, union goons in NY, and dead people in Chicago.
Never hoid of it. What’s the deal?
“The National Popular Vote means that presidential candidates will not, ever, need to campaign in flyover land. They need only to play to the coasts.”
And therefore, the fate of our laws, our constitution, and our way of life will be in the hands of those who live there.
“Flyover” means the states that are “flown over,” ignored, and politically irrelevant in presidential …
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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To the Barricades!!!!
I suppose a minority party needs to block majority rule.
“I suppose a minority party needs to block majority rule.”
Like dems are in favor of majority rule . . .
Spot on Mitch. We will no longer have a republic if it goes through. This is the best protection for minorities that we have. This is a bad idea.
We have been trading republic features for democratic features for 100 years, now. Look around. How is that working out.
The 17th amendment was an epic disaster. Terrible.
Oh, poor babies. Republicans are afraid of the popular vote because they are afraid, ultimately, of representative government. Your lot HATES the notion of government of the people by the people and most of all – FOR the people.
It guts your ability to gerrymander as effectively – which is a good thing. If you thought it would give you more power, you’d be pushing it as the best thing ever.
DG,
I’m sorry – it’s been hard to take you seriously for the past 3-4 years or so. And – hand to God – I do try. I really do. More than most of the commenters.
But you really don’t make it easy.
Oh, poor babies. Republicans are afraid of the popular vote because they are afraid, ultimately, of representative government.
Well, no. We thrive on it – provided that the government represents people who are living and entitled to vote, and who do so once.
Did you actually read the piece I linked? I’m going to guess not, since nothing you wrote reflects the foggiest understanding of the dissent, here.
Your lot HATES the notion of government of the people by the people and most of all – FOR the people.
It’s one of your slogans. No more.
And remember above, when I said it was getting hard to take you seriously?
It guts your ability to gerrymander as effectively
DG? Um…National popular vote deals with the presidential election.
Not Congress.
Gerrymandering doesn’t affect presidential elections, either under NPV or the Electoral College.
. If you thought it would give you more power, you’d be pushing it as the best thing ever.
Speaking of “pushing things that bring people power”, did you notice that the Soros combine is behind NPV?
Huh.
Oh, and DG? Since you are now an opponent of “gerrymandering” – could you please send a link to the piece you wrote condemning the flagrant gerrymandering in the last Minnesota redistricting? The geographic hoops they went through to avoid harming Keith Ellison or Betty McCollum?
You did write such a piece – right?
From 1932-2008 the combined popular vote for Presidential candidates …
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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In Gallup polls since 1944, only about 20% of the public has supported the current system of awarding all of a state’s electoral votes to the …
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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The indefensible …
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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With the current state-by-state winner-take-all system of awarding …
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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Since its origination in 2006, the National Popular Vote …
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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Not seeing a lot of good reasons to do NPV, despite the verbiage. *shrug*
Unable to agree on any particular method, the Founding Fathers left the choice of meth…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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States ha…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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Kohler is posting propaganda. Identical comments have been posted here, for example: http://www.nancyonnorwalk.com/2014/03/national-popular-vote-clears-first-hurdle/
One should ask, regarding NPV, “Who? Whom?”
Regarding NPV, direct election of Senators gives us a picture of what would happen. Freed from the need to appeal to state representatives, the Senate has become more or less a “rubber stamp” to government expansion, whereas the jealousies of state legislatures would have previously told Senators “do that and you will be recalled”.
Make the President unaccountable to low population states, and one can predict that the problem will be infinitely worse, as he’ll no longer be any barrier to schemes to tax states inequitably to build boondoggles like unprofitable railroads.
But relax; nothing bad happened with Lincoln proposed to tax the South to protect northern industries and build unprofitable railroads, did it? It’s not like the taxed shelled Fort Sumter or anything.
Sorry, Rick and Doggone. The electoral college is a safety valve that helps to prevent more populous states from using the federal government to plunder their neighbors. It needs to be kept.
The National Popular Vote bill would end the disproportionate attention and influe…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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With National Popular Vote, when every popular vote counts and matters to the candidates equally, successful candidates will find a middle ground of policies appealing to the wide mainstream of America. Instead of playing mostly to local concerns in Ohio and Florida, candidates finally would have to form broader platforms for broad national support. Elections wouldn’t be about winning a handful of battleground states.
Now political clout comes from being among the handful of battleground states. 80% of states and voters are ignored by presidential campaigns.
In the 25 smallest states in 2008, the Democratic and Republican popular vote was almost tied (9.9 million versus 9.8 million), as was the electoral vote (57 versus 58).
In 2012, 24 of the nation’s 27 smallest states received no attention at all from presidential campaigns after the conventions.- including not a single dollar in presidential campaign ad money after Mitt Romney became the presumptive Republican nominee on April 11. They were ignored despite their supposed numerical advantage in the Electoral College. In fact, the 8.6 million eligible voters in Ohio received more campaign ads and campaign visits from the major party campaigns than the 42 million eligible voters in those 27 smallest states combined.
Now with state-by-state winner-take-all laws (not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but later enacted by 48 states), presidential elections ignore 12 of the 13 lowest population states (3-4 electoral votes), that are non-competitive in presidential elections. 6 regularly vote Republican (AK, ID, MT, WY, ND, and SD), and 6 regularly vote Democratic (RI, DE, HI, VT, ME, and DC) in presidential elections. Voters in states that are reliably red or blue don’t matter. Candidates ignore those states and the issues they care about most.
Kerry won more electoral votes than Bush (21 versus 19) in the 12 least-populous non-battleground states, despite the fact that Bush won 650,421 popular votes compared to Kerry’s 444,115 votes. The reason is that the red states are redder than the blue states are blue. If the boundaries of the 13 least-populous states had been drawn recently, there would be accusations that they were a Democratic gerrymander.
Support for a national popular vote is strong in every smallest state surveyed in recent polls among Republicans, Democrats, and Independent voters, as well as every demographic group. Support in smaller states (3 to 5 electoral votes): AK -70%, DC -76%, DE –75%, ID -77%, ME – 77%, MT- 72%, NE – 74%, NH–69%, NE – 72%, NM – 76%, RI – 74%, SD- 71%, UT- 70%, VT – 75%, WV- 81%, and WY- 69%.
Among the 13 lowest population states, the National Popular Vote bill has passed in nine state legislative chambers, and been enacted by 4 jurisdictions.
With the current state-by-state winner-take-all system of awarding electoral votes (not mentioned in the U.S. Constitution, but later enacted by 48 states), it could only take winning a bare plurality of popular votes in only the 11 most populous states, containing 56% of the population of the United States, for a candidate to win the Presidency with a mere 23% of the nation’s votes!
The current state-by-state winner-ta…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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No recount would have been warranted in any of the nation’s 57 presidential electi…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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The National Popular Vote bill says: “Any member state may withdraw from this agre…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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Kohler spam.
Tell it to Socrates, Kohler. Tell it to Socrates how democracy tends to work out.
Federalist 10:
Why does this NPV project exist? How, exactly, is it supposed to influence the outcome of a presidential election? Who will win and whom will lose? Who is doing and whom is being done-to?
The Republic is not in any danger from National…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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More Kohler spam:
http://www.ctnewsjunkie.com/archives/entry/governor_throws_support_behind_national_popular_vote/
Like the NPV? This is what the NPV advocates think of you.
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the majority of Electoral Colleg…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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Saw 38 comments. Expected to see Dog Gone comment. Saw it. Then some commenter named “kohler.” It’s official; Mitch’s comment engine now includes everything including the kitchen sink.
Just plugged the term “presidential elections ignore 12 of the 13 lowest population states (3-4 electoral votes)” into Google.
Sweet Jesus, Mitch. There are spam-bots, and there are SPAM-BOTS!
I think that the idea is to spam conservative blogs with pro-nvp comments to fool the search engines. The “kohler” spambot shows the respect for democracy of the pro-NVP people.
DG – dr; UVBS
kohler – tl; dr
National Popular Vote is a nonpartisan coalition of legislators, scholars, constitutionalists and grassroots volunteers committed to preserving the Electoral College, while guaranteeing the presidency to the candidate who earns the most votes in all fifty states.
National Popular Vote supporters believe in education about the issues, including confronting critics with inconvenient facts and research.
National Popular Vote supporters do not believe opponents should share their myths, as supposed fact, without correction.
“The best case against democracy is a 5 minute conversation with the average voter.” -Winston Churchill
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/george-soros-supports-tea-party_590271.html
Indeed, the money flowing into NPV tells a very different story about who wants this “reform” and why. Koza—who hit the jackpot when he patented the scratch-off lottery ticket and then convinced states to sell them—has reportedly pledged $12 million to his organization. Koza has given tens of thousands of dollars to various Democratic Party committees and liberal candidates; he was an Al Gore elector in 2000. New York businessman Tom Golisano, who has also pledged millions to NPV, is quick to point out that he is a registered Republican—even though he supported John Kerry and gave a cool $1 million to the Democratic National Convention in 2008.
Wikipedia provides some more insight into Tom Golisano.
After New York’s Republican Governor George Pataki announced he would not run agai…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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With National Popular Vote, the United States would still be a republic, in which citiz…
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NOTE FROM MITCH
I’m normally loath to edit or delete comments.
But this comment apparently came from a ‘bot that is spamming anti-NPV blogs. It’s a stupid SEO trick.
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kohler, why would anyone step in any state other than CA, FL, NY, and maybe TX to campaign?
NPV……..Drive a stake through it!!
All I know is that even at the DoDE we find this Orwellian, and we invented that goddamn term