by LoveUniHateExams 27 Replies latest jw friends
A serious question for American voters.:
A Q&A program by the ABC Network here in Australia, had Kim Hoggard on the panel who was a former advisor to Ronald Reagan and George W Bush Snr.
And she made a comment that one of the problems in American elections was that the Electoral College favours smaller States than the bigger ones ?
Can anyone explain why this would be the case ? And what it means to the outcome of the elections ?
Strictly based on population of state
What makes this arrest illegal? - it's titled 'illegal' because it was posted by free inhabitant enthusiasts who actually think the young lady in the vid was treated badly.
As it was, the cop stopped the young lady and her boyfriend, asking for a driver's license. The man didn't have one, neither did the girl. The girl claimed she didn't need one because she claimed to be a 'free inhabitant', using some centuries-old Confederate law. The cop wasn't having it and wanted to tow the vehicle.
The girl initially refused to leave the vehicle, then exited the vehicle but refused to comply with the cop (at one point, she even screamed 'rape!', lol).
The cop was pretty patient with her and gave her lots of chances to act like a mature adult.
the Electoral College favours smaller States than the bigger ones ?
Can anyone explain why this would be the case ? And what it means to the outcome of the elections ?
First off, state governors are elected by popular vote but not our president. The reason is quite convoluted and many Americans do not understand it or how it came about.
Some claim that the Electoral College was developed in order to balance the interests of states with low population with those of high population. The number of electors in each state depends upon the population of that state. It's the electors who actually vote for the president, and they usually vote the same as the people of that state, however there have been times when they didn't. And if that isn't convoluted enough, there have been five times where presidential candidates have won the overall popular vote but lost the election due to the electoral votes.
In early 19th century there was a push to end the Electoral College (12th Amendment) but by then, there developed a division between the North and South and the population was greater in the North so the South pushed to keep the Electoral College and include slaves in their population count. Neither the free slaves in the North or the slaves in the South could vote, but the number of electors in each state depended upon the population, so the South had a large number of slaves which boosted their electoral count even if a black slave only counted as a fraction of a white person.
Although slightly altered, the Electoral College still stands today. While not a true democracy, each of our major political parties have learned to use it to their advantage at one time or another.
Electoral college protects against the tyranny of the majority.
Imagine if California and Florida between them decided what happened to everyone in the rest of the US? That would be unfair.
It also protects against a tyranny of a minority that can occur with proportional representation where they control the balance of power and gain disproportionate power as a result.
Electoral colleges aren't perfect but are perhaps the least worst of all systems.
... stating Trump would not start a war because there was nothing in it for him.
... explains why he only does things that directly benefit him
This is another of those lame bogus charges that you imagine sounds good and convincing but really falls apart quickly.
Do we want the president to do things that benefit him? Of course we do!
When the presidents approval rating is linked to his performance, then what he does benefits him if he does a good job.
As long as that benefit is political reward for doing good things, like ... ooh, maybe not starting another $7tn conflict!
Trump isn't making money from being the President in the way that the Clintons and Obamas did. But he should be rewarded when he does good things as the president. The peace deals, the inroads into child trafficking, these are not minor things.
Lol now the electoral college is about slavery. 😴
The US government protects against all sorts of majorities. States are sovereign entities in the US.
The president is elected by a majority of state representatives
The senate is elected by a majority of the population within the states but limited to 2 senators per state
The house is elected by a majority of the population outright
Thus you have a bicameral system where neither the 'mob' nor the 'state' has a legislative majority.
