Re: Electoral College Map
I dont Like that
Its showing Dayum Yankees and fruits and Nuts telling the other 3/4 of the country Whos gonna be the Boss !:mad:
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
olevetonahill
I dont Like that
Its showing Dayum Yankees and fruits and Nuts telling the other 3/4 of the country Whos gonna be the Boss !:mad:
Yep.
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SicEmBaylor
Yep.
Ive never agreed with the electoral process :mad:
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
olevetonahill
Ive never agreed with the electoral process :mad:
You should! It's an absolutely brilliant system even though, obviously, you can't always get what you want out of it.
First, it would be much much worse if there were just a nation-wide popular vote. Then you would have the major cities holding all the chips in choosing a candidate to the detriment of smaller states and rural areas.
Second, the true brilliance of the electoral college is the way in which it balances population and geographical interests to give both a healthy amount of influence in the election process. It's also the very last means by which the individual states can "check" the Federal government. If you take out the electoral college then you'd just have states that are purely administrative districts.
Third, the map actually typically favors Republican candidates though recent population trends in swing states are decreasing the GOP's inherent advantage in the electoral college count.
I love the EC though, and I am always against changing the system the Constitutional Framer's devised.
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
olevetonahill
I dont Like that
Its showing Dayum Yankees and fruits and Nuts telling the other 3/4 of the country Whos gonna be the Boss !:mad:
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SicEmBaylor
Yep.
3/4 of the country? Nobody lives in half of those red states.
As for the Electoral College, put me down as one who doesn't like it for two reasons:
1) The value of your vote depends on the population of the state you live in - a Wyominger's vote is worth more than a Californian's.
2) Smaller states that lean heavily one way or the other, like Oklahoma for example, get little attention from the candidates. Why would Clinton or Obama bother to come to Oklahoma during the general campaign when they know that even if they pull in another 100,000 votes they won't get squat for it?
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SoonerInKCMO
3/4 of the country? Nobody lives in half of those red states.
As for the Electoral College, put me down as one who doesn't like it for two reasons:
1) The value of your vote depends on the population of the state you live in - a Wyominger's vote is worth more than a Californian's.
2) Smaller states that lean heavily one way or the other, like Oklahoma for example, get little attention from the candidates. Why would Clinton or Obama bother to come to Oklahoma during the general campaign when they know that even if they pull in another 100,000 votes they won't get squat for it?
Why would they bother to come to Oklahoma even if there were a national popular vote? Oklahoma has what, 3.5m people? The only population centers that would make it worthwhile to visit would be OKC and Tulsa and neither of those are big enough to warrant much attention.
I think a good compromise is lobbying state governments to award their electoral votes based on congressional district. The winner of the majority of a state's congressional districts would be awarded the extra +2 electoral votes and in the case of a tie they would be split with each candidate getting 1 electoral vote. I think this is the very best way because it gives candidates the opportunity to break into states that are generally solidly for the other party, it increases the weight of the individual vote, and it stays true to the original vision of the electoral college system (the legislatures not selecting the slate notwithstanding.)
Re: Electoral College Map
You know what I'm hoping for? McCain to edge the popular vote but the Dems to win based on the electoral vote. Oh the hilarity and flip-flopping that will ensue. With SicEm's map that could easily happen, because a lot of the Blue states are going to barely be Blue.
Re: Electoral College Map
It doesn't look good for the Pubz. Even giving them VA, CO, NM, and PA isn't enough. They're going to need some upsets in the northeast, and they're going to have to have FL. With the way the economy is, it's going to be tough for them to pick up any Rust Belt states, so PA is probably going to go Dem, and then they're really screwed.
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SicEmBaylor
Why would they bother to come to Oklahoma even if there were a national popular vote? Oklahoma has what, 3.5m people? The only population centers that would make it worthwhile to visit would be OKC and Tulsa and neither of those are big enough to warrant much attention.
If they came to OKC with its 1.2 million people in the metropolitan area, they could get a few thousand extra votes that would actually count. Yeah, OKC and Tulsa aren't big enough to warrant much attention for a popular vote; but now they aren't worth any attention.
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mdklatt
You know what I'm hoping for? McCain to edge the popular vote but the Dems to win based on the electoral vote. Oh the hilarity and flip-flopping that will ensue. With SicEm's map that could easily happen, because a lot of the Blue states are going to barely be Blue.
I don't see Republicans acting like crybabies in that situation and asking for recount after recount until they get the desired results. Right now I'd be more concerned about what other radical elements of Obama's past will be dragged out.
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jerk
I don't see Republicans acting like crybabies in that situation and asking for recount after recount until they get the desired results.
Riiiiight....
Nobody seems to remember this, but the Pubz were bitching and moaning about the electoral college before the 2000 election when it looked like Gore was going to lose the popular vote but win the electoral vote.
Re: Electoral College Map
SicEm-the assumption of Alaska as a pure Red state may not hold in this election. I mean, it could be completely unrealistic, but talking to the party honchos they think that if Obama is the nominee that he has a pretty decent chance of taking the state. Clinton, not so much-Obama killed in the caucuses here and a lot of it was independents registering specifically to vote for Obama.
Re: Electoral College Map
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Originally Posted by
Mike Rich
SicEm-the assumption of Alaska as a pure Red state may not hold in this election.
You know both sides are going to be sweating that half an electoral vote. :D
That would be a pretty epic shift if Alaska goes Dem, wouldn't it?
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
SoonerInKCMO
Yeah, OKC and Tulsa aren't big enough to warrant much attention for a popular vote; but now they aren't worth any attention.
So McCain should cancel his April visit to OKC? :texan:
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
Jimminy Crimson
So McCain should cancel his April visit to OKC? :texan:
Yes. What's the point?
Oklahoma wouldn't vote Dem even if the Pub candidate was found in bed with a live boy or a dead hooker, as the saying goes.
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
mdklatt
You know both sides are going to be sweating that half an electoral vote. :D
That would be a pretty epic shift if Alaska goes Dem, wouldn't it?
It'd be unusual, that's for sure. Johnson was the last Democrat to win the state. And all three electors. :D
Re: Electoral College Map
its probably going to come down to states like ohio, florida, maybe even missouri. mccain could see trouble in the south if the race card is played enough.
Re: Electoral College Map
Quote:
Originally Posted by
shaun4411
its probably going to come down to states like ohio, florida, maybe even missouri. mccain could see trouble in the south if the race card is played enough.
Oh I'm sure the race card is going to get played in the South, but not on Obama's behalf. Look at the Mississippi primary--Hillary took the white Democrat vote by a large margin. In the South you've got two kinds of white Democrats: real Democrats in urban areas and southern "Democrats" everywhere else. The only difference between a southern Republican and a southern Democrat is that the Democrat still holds a grudge against the Republicans for the Civil War. In Oklahoma, the southern Democrats only vote Dem at the local and state level.
Re: Electoral College Map
No way Obama wins Florida.