CDR: Electoral college (was: Re: More blather from the DEMS on FL]

[Kevin Elliott]

At 10:51 -0500 11/9/00, Trei, Peter wrote:
>>  evanmcmullen at yahoo.com] wrote:
>>
>>  what the hell is the electoral college still doing in existance? it
>>  should have gone out w/ unlimited presidential terms.... voting with
>>  their conscience my ass.... voting in a partisan fashion is more like it
>>
>[Learn to use your 'Shift' key; it's there for a reason.]
>
>I expect that we still have an electoral college because amending the
>Constitution is a very laborious process, and fixing it has no constituancy;
>one party is about as likely to benefit from it as another.

I think underlying the electoral question is a more fundamental 
issue- as you said in later in your message, if the race isn't close, 
it doesn't matter.  The question then is "in a fairly close race is 
it better for the president to be the person who represents the most 
people or the person who represents the most territory". The 
electoral college is designed choose the president based on 
territorial representation.
-- 

"As nightfall does not come at once, neither does oppression. In both 
instances, there is a twilight when everything remains seemingly 
unchanged.  And it is in such twilight that we all must be most aware 
of change in the air--however slight--lest we become unwitting 
victims of the darkness."
-- Justice William O. Douglas
____________________________________________________________________
Kevin "The Cubbie" Elliott 
<mailto:kelliott at mac.com>                             ICQ#23758827