It’s probably good news that California’s 55 electoral votes won’t be apportioned by vote (instead of winner-take-all, as is custom), but the whole thing reminds you why the Republicans are so good at winning despite their unpopular agenda. They’re always playing offense. If they’d gotten this initiative passed, what was once 55 solid dem votes in the EC would have been split 30-25 or whatever.
The question is, why aren’t Democrats pushing a similar initiative in, say, Texas or Ohio, where the Dems get 40 or 45 percent of the vote but almost never take the state. Dems play softball, the GOP plays hardball. Never give an inch.
The only compelling reason I’ve ever heard for why the Dems do this is that they are a naturally majoritarian party, but the Republicans aren’t, so they need to be relentless. And that’s fine as long as it works.
Now Playing: Episode 349
Troops needed in Afghanistan end up in Iraq, Obama punts on the FISA bill, and finally: the Supremes rule on the 2nd amendment.
Links Mentioned: The hunt for Bin Laden … the new Army Iraq report … the FISA bill … the Prof references Chinua Achebe and The Lives of Others … the Genarlow Wilson aftermath.
Yeah, but with all the Dem lawyers — what a defense! This would’ve never passed a Constitutional test (note that I base this on no information whatsoever); although maybe that would’ve been enough for the GOP to make it through ‘08.
But to your point … what if Gore would’ve kept fighting? If America never rights its collective ship, I think there will be some point in the future when people will look back and say “if only”, as in “if only we’d just had it out in 2000, come what may, at least we’d have gotten it over with, and probably in the courts, instead of on our streets.”
Apparently Maine and Nebraska have technically had proportional representationfor some time, although they’ve never taken advantage of it (?).