Thursday, September 28, 2006

Proposal would kill Electoral College

Proposal would kill Electoral College

The local angle on the National Popular Vote campaign, which would pledge each state to cast its electoral voted for the popular vote winner, but ONLY after states contolling an electoral vote majority also pledge to do the same.

"We haven't considered it," said Sen. Robert Dvorsky, D-Coralville. "It wouldn't be good for Iowa, because small states benefit from the Electoral College."


I must disagree with my friend Bob here. I remember giving a presentation to a group of Russians on this issue, showing the 2000 vote and explaining that Gore got more votes but Bush won and they laughed at me. Russians, laughing at an American about democracy. They have, what, 15 years or so of democracy in the last 1000? Yet even they understood: the person with more votes is supposed to win. The Dems didn't make nearly enough of a big deal about this in 2000. Just one more election reform issue starving for oxygen while all we hear is paper trail, paper trail, paper trail.

Yes, perhaps Iowa's influence would be less. But it's not possible to justify a system where the person with less votes wins.




Football hype
is at fever pitch here in Iowa City - the Ohio State game is the biggest regular season game I've seen in my 16 years here. The Outback blimp flew over my head yesterday.

Between increasing time demands as election day approaches, the demise of my bicycles, and the spinach ban, my fitness program is taking a beating. I'm getting close to my scale's red "danger" mark (which is still 30 pounds below my peak). Unfortunately I've also been on a roll with the blogging. Got a couple interesting things in the works but some mornings I'm just going to have to work out instead of writing.

At least my face is healing well.

Thanks for all the feedback on the bullying story - I even got link love at Kos! What's odd is I feel really good yet people are being sympathetic - I'm OK. Really. All that crap happened 25, 30 years ago, not Monday. I just WROTE about it Monday.

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