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| Fifth Column |
| Illinois Dem party subverts the US Constitution and Electoral College |
| 2008-04-09 |
| Having passed the Illinois House in a 65 to 50 vote last week, the Illinois Senate is likely to send to the Governor a measure overturning the Electoral College system to elect U.S. presidents. The House vote on HB 858 was along partisan lines, except for one Republican -- State Rep. Paul Froehlich (R-Schaumburg) who sided with the Democrats in changing the electoral system. Electoral votes are awarded on a winner-take-all basis. That means a candidate getting 51 percent of the popular vote in a state would get 100 percent of the electoral votes. A candidate who narrowly wins some key states while losing big in other states can wind up carrying the Electoral College, even though most voters backed someone else. That's what happened in 2000, when George Bush won the presidency over Democrat Al Gore. But there's a nationwide effort to change that by having every state award electoral votes to the winner of the national popular vote. The new system would kick in once states representing a majority of electoral votes have approved the plan. |
| Posted by:3dc |
| #14 IIRC, the electoral college process is in the Constitution. Changing it would require amending the Constitution. That takes a 2/3 vote, not a majority. I think someone's about to get their a$$ handed to them in a top hat. |
| Posted by: Old Patriot 2008-04-09 21:41 |
| #13 Ah, what did them Founding Father's know? Just a buncha rich old hetero gun owning white guys. Probably not a member of the GLBT community among them, not even in the closet. Might as well have a buncha unenlightened friggin cavemen tell us what to do... |
| Posted by: tu3031 2008-04-09 14:23 |
| #12 Hell that's not even a majority, last I looked we had 50 states, 25 would be half not 23. |
| Posted by: Redneck Jim 2008-04-09 14:14 |
| #11 Maryland did the same thing last year. the majick number is 22 or 23 states, IIRC. |
| Posted by: Seafarious 2008-04-09 13:23 |
| #10 Of course Denms want this. They want to abolish the Republic, and substitute mob rule (Aka pure democracy), since they (via the MSM) can keep the mob ignorant, mal-informed, and agitated, instead of knowledgeable, well informed and rational. |
| Posted by: OldSpook 2008-04-09 13:05 |
| #9 More interesting is that they are going down this road in the midst of a primary campaign in which this sort of proportional representation nonsense is tearing their beloved party of slaveholder Jefferson and indian exterminator Jackson to pieces because it prevents a decisive conclusion. They are unable to learn from history when it is only 5 minutes old! Instead they prefer indecisive debate. Must be dominated by lawyers who value process over result. |
| Posted by: Nimble Spemble 2008-04-09 10:44 |
| #8 Menhadden: No, I don't think they could give their electoral votes to the Vatican. It would run counter to Article 4, section 4 - guarantee of a republican form of government. Autocratic selection of electors by an external theocratic authority definitely violates my conception of "republican form of government", and I'd like to think that this is a common-sense interpretation of Article 4, section 4. You couldn't give the choice of electors to the British Royal Family, either. |
| Posted by: Mitch H. 2008-04-09 10:09 |
| #7 So, they're voting themselves out of existence. Why have states? The Donks in particular want everything dictated from Washington anyways, so why not do away with 50 redundant intermediary administrative units? The reason you want an Electoral College is to maintain the integrity of the State against a totally defacto centralized government. When you remove the standing of the state and treat it as nothing more than a popular vote district, it loses it's rational justification to be an entity that the original framers of the Constitution intended as in the United STATES of America. |
| Posted by: Procopius2k 2008-04-09 08:40 |
| #6 This was signed by Gov Blago. The agreement kicks in once it's been approved by enough states to generate 270 votes, or a majority in the Electoral College. Blagojevich's support for the idea isn't a surprise. As a congressman in 2000, he co-sponsored a proposed constitutional amendment to abolish the Electoral College. The guy's a complete ass-hat. Another bill moving through the Ill. legislature would allow recall of elected officials. Much of it's support is due to this jerk. |
| Posted by: Spot 2008-04-09 08:11 |
| #5 I don't necessarily think it is a smart move, but it is not unconstitutional. The States have the individual right to choose their electors any way they see fit. If Illinois wants to ask the Pope (or even bin Laden) who he wants for President, and assign its electors that way, I think they can. |
| Posted by: Menhadden Snogum6713 2008-04-09 08:11 |
| #4 the IL electors will go for McCain. Nah, it is like the Florida-Michigan delegate debacle - they just make the rules up as it suits them. Whatever it takes to win. |
| Posted by: Woodrow Slusorong7967 2008-04-09 06:36 |
| #3 So, if Barack Obama carries his home state, but John McCain wins the national popular vote, the IL electors will go for McCain. You sure that's what you want? |
| Posted by: Mike 2008-04-09 06:27 |
| #2 Hello Rome. |
| Posted by: newc 2008-04-09 06:21 |
| #1 Screw the Ill state. They're having a wet dream; eventually they'll wake up and realize the rest of the country thinks they're crazy. I'm not surprised at their moonbattery, however; both BO and Her Thighness come from there. What a horrible thing to have to admit to, if you're from Illville! |
| Posted by: Pancho Elmeck8414 2008-04-09 04:37 |