Tag: presidential election

The Electoral College

I’ve written about the Electoral College before in a previous incarnation of this blog. So again I am revisiting this important topic on the eve of our national election.

The United States is a Constitutional Federal Republic. Notice that the word “democracy” is not in our form of government. Our Founding Fathers were brilliant men and knew the dangers of a democracy. This is why they gave us a republic.

The Electoral College is the greatest example of our republic. It ensures that every state in the union has a say on who becomes our president. Without it, the large cities on the coasts would decide by a popular vote. And those of us in the “fly over” country would never have a voice. We lack the numbers to overrule their voices.

Our Founding Fathers were aware of this, even in the 18th century. Thus they created the Electoral College to level the playing field and so every state would have a fair voice.

In the Electoral College system each state gets a 1 vote for each Senator and Representative. Thus Iowa, my home state, currently has 6 votes in the Electoral College.

How these Electors are chosen is up to each state. And what rules they must follow are also up to each state.

Do I think that the Electoral College should be replaced by the popular vote? Absolutely not. For all the reasons already stated and why the Founding Fathers created it in the first place. Do I think there should be changes. Yes there should be some changes.

I do have a couple of reforms that would make the system better than it is today. And be a vote generator for tomorrow. And I think they would help preserve the Republic as well.

At the state level, all the states must follow the lead of Maine and Nebraska and do away with the rule of “winner takes all” method. Thus the number of votes becomes proportional to the win.

This is far more equitable and fair to the candidates. If you get 49% of the popular votes, you should get 49% of the Electoral votes as well. It would also cause the candidates to take every state seriously and improve their campaigns.

The 2nd reform would have to take place at the Federal level. It has been many decades since the last time the House of Representatives was increased due to the increase in population. And now each Representative has far too many constituents to adequately represent them.

Thus, raise the number of Representatives. Lower the maximum number of constituents for each Representative. This also increases the number of Electoral votes available which would in turn increase the number needed to win the Presidency.

Right now, the total of Electoral Votes is 538 and 270 are needed to be President. A simple majority. Hypothetically, if we increase each state my just 1 House member the available Electoral Votes would be 588 and the number needed to win would be 295.

Perhaps, even a 3rd reform would be in order. And it could be taken on it’s own or added to either one of the other 2 reforms. Instead of using a simple majority vote for the Electors, change it to a 2/3rd majority vote.

If this change was made on it’s own. The number of needed Electoral votes would change from 270 to 359 or 360. This would definitely make the candidates and the electorate pay more attention to the campaigns and the issues. And again every state in the union would be important.

The Joy Offensive

Since Kamala Harris picked Governor Tim Walz to be her running mate for the 2024 Presidential election (all without dealing with the silly little detail of getting actual delegates through the primary process), the Left and the media (but I repeat myself) have been working overtime to fluff up the ticket like it was on a porn set. Not that I know anything about that, mind you…

The result has been glowing reviews, lots of money being raised, and social media abuzz with talk of joy surrounding the ticket. Polls that showed Harris less popular than an STD have flipped, leaving the Trump/Vance ticket to scratch their heads in amazement. Either that or they need Head and Shoulders. Regardless, it’s the political equivalent of Lazarus being raised from the dead.

On the surface, it’s a mystery. How could a Vice President known more for word salads and failed initiatives than success get the upper hand on a former President known more for word salads and odd initiatives, but still can count successes on both hands? It starts with the framing of the Harris/Walz ticket. And for that, we can thank the Walzster. He had the bright idea of calling the Trump/Vance ticket “weird” which caught on like wildfire. Then again, TikTok videos catch on like wildfire, too, so it’s not exactly a high bar.

If you missed my tepid take on the “weird” controversy, I got your hookup. Although I have panned the notion, I can’t argue with the results. It’s become a Leftist squawking point and a clear point of irritation for Trump/Vance, which takes attention away from the issues, thanks in part to the media.

But that’s only the first part of the equation. Although Trump and Vance have been refuting the allegations they are “weird,” Harris/Walz have taken a step into another phase of the campaign: reimagining their ticket as the ticket of joy. Since being chosen, Walz has been seen as more of a father or grandfather figure, and Harris has been emphasizing how she represents hope and joy.

Hmmm…hope as a campaign platform. Nah, it would never work!

Harris has also tapped into the youth culture by adopting a “brat summer” approach. For those of you who don’t know what that means, be glad you’re uninformed because it’s just as stupid as it sounds. But, again, the results speak for themselves at least for now. Whether the young people inspired by the Harris/Walz joy offensive get inspired to vote is still in question, but I’m sure there’s a Kinko’s in Washington, DC, already working on printing up prefilled ballots for Harris/Walz.

So with all this joy and positivity going around, there can’t be a down side, can there? As your resident cynical curmudgeon, I can say there is, and it’s pretty easy to spot if you’re paying attention.

Which means Leftists are completely in the dark about it.

The first thing to point out about the joy offensive is it’s based on nothing. No policy statements, no real interviews or press conferences, not even an updated campaign website with policy positions (but more than a few ways you can donate to the campaign). Which, if you really think about it, is pretty on-brand for Kamala Harris, but that’s not important right now.

Now, compare the joy the Harris/Walz/media narrative spins to what’s actually going on right now. If you listen to the squawking heads like perpetually-wrong-but-never-in-doubt Paul Krugman, everything is fine and you’re just too dumb to realize it. (And, yes, that’s really what they’re suggesting/saying.) Yet, if you go to where the people really are, things aren’t good. Inflation is higher than Willie Nelson in Amsterdam on 4/20, goods and services are more expensive, and you need a third mortgage to get a tank of gas, mainly because you used your second mortgage to get groceries for the week. No amount of joy is going to make any of this go away, but by God, Harris/Walz is gonna try!

And there’s a good chance they may succeed, at least for now. But try paying your mortgage with joy. Just let me know what happens after the foreclosure sale.

The great irony of this approach is it’s policies like the ones Harris/Walz have advocated that has caused the pain. Appealing to people’s desire to be happy is designed to get people to ignore that little fact. Who cares if Harris was the Border Czar in spite of the media saying otherwise? Who cares if Walz made it okay to take away parents’ children if they didn’t want to mutilate the children if little Timmy feels like little Tammy for a hot minute? Who cares if the COVID lockdowns caused more problems than they allegedly solved? Just be happy, dammit!

I can’t deny there are times when we need diversions from the flaming dumpster fire that is America 2024. Video games, movies, writing semi-well-received blogs with marginal humor, those are all ways to tune out the world and plug in to your inner peace. Your mileage may vary, but the point’s the same. We shouldn’t expect politicians to provide us joy. Unless, of course, your joy comes from spending billions of dollars you don’t have on stuff that doesn’t work. That’s retail therapy on steroids, kids.

More to the point, if you think government has the ability to bring you the joy you seek in life, you’ve already succumbed to the trap. The more a government can “give” you, the less likely you are to find it yourselves. And that’s by design. Leftists believe Big Daddy Government is the sole provider of all things good, nice, and, well, joyous. The more Leftists get you to believe that, the more likely you are to support them, which helps them perpetuate their power and money bases.

And the less likely anything really positive will get done. After all, government isn’t in the problem-solving businesses because a problem solved is a revenue and power source lost. But as long as they get you to believe the Left will fix things if given enough time, money, and power, they don’t care!

I’ll be interested to see how long the Harris/Walz joy offensive will work and if it will evolve or get tossed aside once Trump/Vance start landing rhetorical punches. At some point, Harris/Walz is going to have to stop talking about joy and start talking about policy, and that time is coming soon. With a matter of weeks left before Election Day, the joy offensive is going to have to give way to substance.

And no amount of joy can hold back the hands of time.