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Absurdity of the Electoral College:
Here's one nice thing we can now say about the Electoral College: it's slightly less harmful to our democracy than it was just days ago. In a 9-0 decision, the Supreme Court ruled that states have the right to "bind" their electors, requiring them to support whichever presidential candidate wins the popular vote in their state. Justice Elena Kagan's opinion was a blow to so-called "faithless electors," but a win for self-government. "Here," she wrote, "the People rule."
Yet while we can all breathe a sigh of relief that rogue electors won't choose (or be coerced) into derailing the 2020 presidential contest, the Court's unanimous ruling is a helpful reminder that our two-step electoral process provides America with no tangible benefits and near-limitless possibilities for disaster. To put it more bluntly, the Electoral College is a terrible idea. And thanks to the Justices' decision, getting rid of it has never been easier.
[...] The Electoral College, in other words, serves no useful purpose, other than to intermittently and randomly override the people's will. It's the appendix of our body politic. Most of the time we don't notice it, and then every so often it flares up and nearly kills us.
[...] Justice Kagan's words – "Here, the People rule" – are stirring. But today, they are still more aspiration than declaration. By declining to make the Electoral College an even great threat to our democracy, the Court did its job. Now it's up to us. If you live in a state that hasn't joined the interstate compact, you can urge your state legislators and your governor to sign on. And no matter where you're from, you can dispel the myths about the Electoral College and who it really helps, myths that still lead some people to support it despite its total lack of redeeming qualities.
More than 215 years after the Electoral College was last reformed with the 12th Amendment, we once again have the opportunity to protect our presidential-election process and reassert the people's will. Regardless of who wins the White House in 2020, it's a chance we should take.
Would you get rid of the Electoral College? Why or why not?
Also at:
Supremes Signal a Brave New World of Popular Presidential Elections
Supreme Court Rules State 'Faithless Elector' Laws Constitutional
U.S. Supreme Court curbs 'faithless electors' in presidential voting
Supreme Court rules states can remove 'faithless electors'
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @04:55PM (25 children)
But I'm still grateful that the electoral College kept Clinton out
Mixed bag, but what the hell, it's up to us to nominate better people in the first place.
(Score: 4, Touché) by DannyB on Monday July 13 2020, @05:01PM (3 children)
Rephrased: I'm grateful the pendulum swung so absurdly far in my direction.
(Pendulums swing both ways.)
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @10:44PM (1 child)
I'm in Australia, and despite what a dumpster fire Trump is, I'm still glad he beat Clinton. The DNC-MIC-Media were clearly gearing up for a war in Iran. Given our treaty obligations Australia would have been dragged in. You may have an egotistical idiot for President, but he still saved millions of lives and a few trillion dollars just by accidently derailing that.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @11:20PM
You act like the danger has passed with his election, but the battle to eject him has continued throughout his presidency. We have an elections year, and the deep state, the media, and warmongers are geared up to put their Manchurian candidate into power.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @12:59AM
:-) I will assume your general rule applies here too...
(Score: 3, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @05:09PM (16 children)
Clinton gave Trump the POTUS by buying the DNC which blocked out Bernie who would have won. Blame Clinton for my vote for Trump.
(Score: 5, Touché) by DannyB on Monday July 13 2020, @05:38PM (13 children)
One of the things I have learned here on SN that I did not know before is that it is the Democrats are the ones responsible for:
* Trump running for president
* Republican party allowing him to run
* Republican party letting him survive the weeding out process
* Republican party nominating him
* Republican party NOT invoking party emergency measures to un-nominate him
* Republican party electing him
* Republican party members trying to dress up and put lipstick on every horrible thing Trump began doing once in office
It's all the Democrat's fault!
Blame the Democrats!
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @05:48PM (4 children)
>It's all the Democrat's fault!
Looking at the burning cities that have been brutalizing people with their police that have been in the hands of democrats for decades. Their fault sounds about right. :)
(Score: 5, Touché) by DannyB on Monday July 13 2020, @06:31PM (3 children)
It is amusing that Democrats are who want more police accountability and Republicans, starting with Trump, who oppose that because they "support" the police.
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @07:00PM (1 child)
It is amusing that Democrats straw-man Republicans as not wanting police accountability because Republicans don't follow ACAB (All Cops Are Bastards) and 'defund police' mantra. Yet, at the same time not address the core point that the problem of police accountability, brutality, and inner city violence is primarily an issue in areas controlled by Democrats at every level of power for decades. Why are democrats incapable of solving the problem and why do they need Republicans, who don't have this problem, do what democrats say?
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday July 13 2020, @07:45PM
It is the single AC on SN who brought up that burning cities and brutal police are the fault of Democrats somehow.
Doesn't one logical fallacy deserve another?
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 2) by Thexalon on Monday July 13 2020, @07:48PM
Neither the Democrats nor the Republicans really want major reforms to policing in the US.
You can tell this because neither major party presidential candidate has said they want major policing reforms, pretty close to zero governors are saying they want more policing reforms, and even at the local level politicians of both parties are offering their constituents everything they can think of to placate them except more policing reforms.
And before you say "But Joe Biden said ...", if you look at what he's offering, it's basically identical to what the Obama administration was doing, which was writing a bunch of new rules for local cops to follow if their department had been caught behaving badly, and then doing nothing when those new rules were ignored just like the old rules had been ignored. The watchword for American policing for decades has been to have all the right regulations on paper, and then the cops on the street do pretty much whatever they feel like, and when the public complains about an individual officer's conduct at worst that officer will get fired and hired by another department to do what they did before.
Politicians of both parties support the cops, including unjust and illegal policing, because they want to be able to have people who will bust heads on their behalf whenever they want. Never mind the law.
The only thing that stops a bad guy with a compiler is a good guy with a compiler.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @06:46PM (4 children)
Democrats just can't admit they are the reason they lost.
Last I heard Hillary was blaming everyone else except herself for losing.
Is she still doing that?
Poor Bill.
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Monday July 13 2020, @07:48PM (3 children)
That is a comfortable retreat for Republicans who just can't admit that their own actions are why we have Trump.
Free Clue: you're supposed to pick THE BEST candidate, not THE WORST.
Regardless of what the other party does.
But no, pick the most horrible human being there is, and blame the Democrats. It's all the democrats' fault.
Republicans: pick someone who is educated, understands how to govern, isn't controlled by obsession over ratings and the media.
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @10:36PM (2 children)
their own actions are why we have Trump
Yeah, they won! I mean, really! The gall!
(Score: 2) by DannyB on Tuesday July 14 2020, @02:26PM (1 child)
Since they won, they should be proud of it. Not blaming the Democrats that we have Trump.
Or is it also the Democrats' fault that Republicans blame the Democrats for Trump being president?
Every performance optimization is a grate wait lifted from my shoulders.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @09:59PM
No, you don't get it. I blame the democrats for not putting up somebody better, that is actually in opposition. The party leaders (financiers) are perfectly happy with Trump
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @07:41PM
It's all the Democrat's fault!
Damn right! Look what they put up against him, another transparently corrupt machine politician. It's the same crap they played against Nixon and got the same results.
It is by design. Now they use Trump to hold the country hostage with nowhere else to run. It works very well in fortifying the present power structure. Deny all you want, it is a one party system.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @12:39PM
RNC = Coke. DNC = New Coke. I voted Iced Tea.
Yes it is the fault of the DNC. Instead of being a populist party they became the other corporate party. It isn't that you win, it is what you win.
The DNC has not produced a viable candidate in 2020 either. Not because they don't exist, but because... either centerists don't want to work with the DNC, or the DNC doesn't want to work with centerists. In either case, it doesn't matter. They are still the other first party.
The only people participating in a two party system in the U.S. are those voting third party.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Tuesday July 14 2020, @10:32PM
They definitely should have followed the Democrat Party's example, blocking Sanders from the nomination. That worked out well for the Democrats.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @09:40PM
There. FTFY.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Tuesday July 14 2020, @06:09PM
Actually BLM did that when they crashed Bernies podium and made him look weak.
(Score: 2) by tizan on Monday July 13 2020, @08:14PM (3 children)
Huh no ...its the FBI announcing the reopening of the case against Clinton that swung the pendulum in PA, MI and FL...something less than 100K votes swing in these 3 states gave us the disaster we are in now.
Forget bad candidates ...any politician by definition is a bad candidate...anybody else would've better than Trump whether you agree or not... the state we are in proves it.
So it is a combination of EC, Bernie bros in a few states and the FBI director making announcement 15 days before the election.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @09:45PM
Which is why Comey got fired, they had to make a real good show about disavowing him after he gave the election to the GOP. Now Trump has normalized criminal behavior at the highest level so corruption will just get worse.
(Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Monday July 13 2020, @11:38PM (1 child)
You think as a Bernie supporter I need to prefer HRC over Trump? No, fuck you.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday July 15 2020, @08:26PM
So petty spite is what dictates your choice? You could have voted 3rd party. I'm guessing you're another troll using Sanders as another tool for your narrative.
Get lost you trumpsucker.