From First Read: Republicans are looking to improve their standing in time for the
next presidential election. They want to do a better job reaching out to
Latinos, they want to soften their tone when it
comes to social issues, and they want to narrow their techno operation gap with Democrats. But here's another way you might
not have heard: Some Republicans are looking to change the Electoral College
system in battleground states that Democrats have won in the last two cycles.
As the Washington Post reports, Republicans in Michigan, Ohio, Pennsylvania,
and Virginia - all controlled at the state level (in some form or fashion) by
the GOP - have proposed awarding their Electoral College votes by
congressional district instead of the winner-take-all approach used by every
state except for two (Maine and Nebraska).
From
the Center for American Progress: The Republican Plan would reallocate
electoral votes so that a maximum of two electoral votes would go to the
overall winner of several key blue states. The lion's share of the state's
electors would then be allocated one by one to the presidential candidate who
won each individual congressional district.
There
were a few lone voices of reason amongst the right-wing, however:
According
to Think Progress: Florida House Speaker Will Weatherford (R) poured cold water
on a Republican plan to rig the Electoral College that is being considered in a
number of states to all but ensure that the next president will be a
Republican. "To me, that's like saying in a football game, 'We should have only
three quarters, because we were winning after three quarters and the beat us in
the fourth," Weatherford, a Republican, told the Herald/Times. "I don't think
we need to change the rules of the game, I think we need to get better."
Fellow
Republican leader, Senate President Don Gaetz, wasn't favorable to the plan
either. He said he would prefer a more progressive proposal: abolishing the
Electoral College and replacing it with a national popular vote. Said Gaetz:
"The farmer standing in his field in North Dakota should be just as important
as the factory worker in Ohio."
Whatever
happened to the party of Lincoln? Instead of entering into politics for the best
of possible reasons – representing their constituents comes to mind as a priority
– they lie, cheat and steal their way into office. Is it any wonder many of us
look upon the right-wing as a collective group of unhinged fanatics? They are hell-bent
on imposing their antiquated social edicts on everyone, taking away freedom of choice in most instances and then dismissing
the relevance of the growing population and ever-changing demographics of
America.
And
why don't reasonable big-name Republicans point out the dishonesty? NJ Governor
Chris Christie comes to mind, as does John McCain to a lesser extent (although
he has lost much of his credibility in recent years).
Or have they all gone over to the dark side?
