GOP Plan to Gerrymander the Presidency is Unconstitutional
The GOP plan to undemocratically rig (gerrymander) the Electoral College in such a way that a popular vote loser could consistently win the presidency is proof that it’s time to dump the Electoral College and implement (via a constitutional amendment) the election of the president based on the national popular vote.
I had hoped that the recent election would have provoked the GOP to reflect on its future and how it needs to transform itself to become once again — as it was in the past — the loyal opposition that could also responsibly govern (think Eisenhower, even — ugh — Nixon). But instead it is doubling down on the fraud and dirty tricks approach. Horrible. It’s as if the GOP motto is, “Who needs democracy?”
Both parties have long been guilty of gerrymandering, but this is the first time this blatantly undemocratic process has been explicitly and openly advocated as a strategy to rig the Electoral College with the aim of winning national elections.
Here’s John Nichols writing in the Nation magazine about strategies to counter this assault on our democracy.
Three Strategies to Block the Gerrymandering of the Electoral College
John Nichols on January 25, 2013
As Republican National Committee chairman Reince Priebus promotes one of the most blatant assaults on democracy in modern times—a scheme to gerrymander the Electoral College so that the loser of the popular vote could win key states and the presidency—the number-one question from frustrated citizens is: What can we do about it?
After so many assaults on voting rights and the electoral process itself have been advanced, it is easy to imagine that Priebus, Karl Rove and their team could get away even with so audacious an initiative as the rigging of presidential elections.
Read full article here.
2 thoughts on “GOP Plan to Gerrymander the Presidency is Unconstitutional”
You don’t need a constitutional amendment to switch to a national popular vote. It’s called the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact, and once enough states representing 270 electoral votes sign on, it’s activated. It’s already halfway to the goal, and Nevada is one of the states that can join because, while Sandoval might not sign on, Nevada has an initiative process. Take a look:
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2013/01/24/1181394/-Republicans-WILL-take-the-White-House-in-2016
Maybe you should contact people you know in Nevada Democratic circles and have them take a look at this.
Thanks, James, I didn’t know about that. I’ll study it.
By the way, I’m not in the state of Nevada but rather in the county of Nevada in the state of California, which — like your state of Washington — has passed legislation to make the switch.
Fascinating. Thanks!