TraderGreg, what is your opinion of a national primary?
Perhaps this has been discussed before, and if so I apologize in advance. However, it seems logical to me, and certainly works well at the local and state level. There would virtually always be someone who receives a "majority" of the votes, and the "minor" party candidates would not end up directly affecting a national election. I can see arguments against this, however the "minor" candidates could still have an "indirect" influence by giving (or withholding) their support to one the two primary winners.
Regarding changes to the Electoral College (EC). My gut says that in this day and age of the mass media (TV, Internet, mobility, mass mailings, etc...) covering every candidates slightest twitch, we are well beyond the horse-and-buggy days of our founding fathers. And a national presidential election should be determined by popular vote alone...period.
However, I do recognize the fairly brilliant and well thought out "checks and balances" vision of our predecessors. But perhaps some modification to our current EC system is now finally in order, in this age of virtually instantaneous global information dissemination. Heck, some little kid way up in any remote hamlet anywhere in the world can have access to more information about the details of this election (including this thread) before you or I, if we were just walking out of our local polling place. Perhaps a national system similar to Nebraska's and Maine's, which apportion their electoral votes based (in part) on results within their various congressional districts of their state.
Somehow, I would still like to have the popular vote "winner" factored into any "revised" EC change, which or course would require a constitutional amendment. Perhaps if the "new" EC (which would be much closer to the popular vote anyway) ended up a dead tie, or within say only a 10% difference of the popular vote, then the popular vote would override and take precedence over the EC vote tally.
Just a few random thoughts on this most extraordinary election in our nation's history, at least in my lifetime.
I would greatly appreciate any thoughts you might have, as I have come to respect for your well-reasoned opinions and thoughtful analysis on this thread.
Roger
PS. I hope you finally got some sleep last night. And again my thanks and congratulations to both you and Cisco for your incredible time, effort, and contributions to this thread for all of us! |
