Klarinet Archive - Posting 000152.txt from 2006/10

From: Bill Hausmann <bhausmann1@-----.net>
Subj: Re: [kl] Electoral College (was Library of Congress ticekts
Date: Fri, 13 Oct 2006 21:11:58 -0400

At 03:39 PM 10/13/2006 -0700, Tim Roberts wrote:
>NO ONE can explain the American electoral college. It exists in a
>spirit world beyond the realm of human comprehension.

I don't think it is all that complicated. Since the United States is a
representative republic, and not, as is so often presumed, a democracy, our
Constitution provides for the STATES to elect the President, not the
people. The vote of the states is weighted for population, so some states
have more electoral votes than others, but the very fact of being a state
also carries weight. The states can actually chose almost any method to
determine which way they will vote, but almost all have determined that the
best method is by a vote of the people in a winner-take-all format. This
method has proven to be very equitable, and it actually performs the
desired function of the Framers to reduce the tendency of a few large
cities to control the electoral process. Take a look at the famous
Red-Blue map. Without the Electoral College, the votes of New York City,
Los Angeles, and Chicago areas alone would decide elections and the rest of
the country (the red part) would have no say. That would be a VERY BAD
THING! And that is REGARDLESS of your opinion of the current or any other
recent administration. The government must represent ALL the people.

(Dismount soapbox.)

Bill Hausmann

If you have to mic a saxophone, the rest of the band is TOO LOUD!

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