Chasing Popularity
Jonathan Horn ·
September 1, 2012 at 7:40pm
For those who missed CurrentTV this week, former Vice President Al Gore made some news. According to a clip posted on The Hill's website, the man who won the popular vote in 2000 announced he no longer supports the Electoral College, which coincidentally he lost.
"I think that it's time," Gore says of the need for a new system. "I think our country would be stronger and better if it went according to the popular vote."
The development comes shortly after The New York Times published a glowing article about how Gore had come to peace with his new life, even as a close friend conceded, "I doubt he’ll ever be totally-every-day-at-peace with losing in 2000." Apparently not.
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Jul '11
Re: Chasing Popularity
In between boilermakers, the former VP expounded on the theory that his new rejection of the electoral college could be made retroactive. His compound has been working on a green time travel unit to transport him back 12 years. Following a protracted period of praying to the porcelain god, Al half stood up with egg debris on his chin and said,"That election was mine and I am to claim it."
Aug '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
Oh, great. If the election's close, then we'll have to hold recounts in every precinct in the whole country.
Sep '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
Yes, because eliminating those checks and balances worked so well for Athens. Cue up the Nigel Farage stemwinder please.
Re: Chasing Popularity
Exactly. Rewriting the rules for recounting even more votes.
Aug '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
Hmmm... I wonder what will happen to his opinion if Obama wins the Electoral vote by winning swing states narrowly, but loses the popular...
Apr '11
Re: Chasing Popularity
Another failure to understand the foundations of this country. They would meddle with it to produce democracy for all and in the end have democracy for none.
The "high price"* of mediocrity is why we are where we are at in the first place. And Gore is in the dictionary, pictured right next to the entry of mediocre.
*Bill Veeck
Re: Chasing Popularity
Nathaniel, I suspect we would see a rash of articles about former Electoral College critics who suddenly discovered how wise our Founding Fathers were.
Edited on September 1, 2012 at 9:06pmMay '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
The ignorance of our Constitution (and in some cases, hostility towards it by the man who swore to uphold it) in the USA must be reversed.
The framers intended for the EC to protect state sovereignty by having the states, not the population or legislatures, to choose the chief executive. Considering how our population centers are focused on siphoning wealth from the less populated regions (read the producing regions), we shouldn't be surprised at Democrat party hostility towards the EC.
From my cold dead hands...
Edited to add link to BHO's 2001 interview regarding redistribution of wealth and the Constitution.
Edited on September 1, 2012 at 9:13pmAug '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
The EC also ensures that the President has a more "national" character than might otherwise occur. When Nevada is getting visits by the President and getting political concessions, you can see how it is actually a minority protection.
Oct '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
Democrats like to score points (or imagine they do) by bringing up the 2000 election, but I think that even many of them realize we all dodged a bullet that time. That man is a strange human being.
May '11
Re: Chasing Popularity
As if we needed more proof that the better man won in 2000.
Re: Chasing Popularity
Well said.
May '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
Because the popular vote is so much easier to fix.
May '11
Re: Chasing Popularity
Sorry- you lost me at "Al Gore." Does anyone- even in his own party- still pay attention to what he has to say?
Jul '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
Or, in other words, "everybody".
Mar '12
Re: Chasing Popularity
AlGore. From failure to failure to failure to failure. Time to bow out Al.
Dec '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
For a better discussion, this week's Law Talk podcast went into this. Actually, it has been changed several times since the Founding Fathers pieced that together, beginning with each state nominating one candidate that may be from that state, and one candidate that may not be from that state. It didn't work then, but neither will the Snookie system that Gore now advocates.
Jun '12
Re: Chasing Popularity
My biggest concern is that the present system provides some measure of consideration of small states, while the number of electors is roughly proportional to population, with direct election of the president, small states influence would become almost zero, and campaigning would happen in the big states on the coasts, and in Texax, maybe Illinois but for the rest of the country, NOT SO MUCH. Popular vote alone would be a bad system, making us more vulnerable to further bread and circuses.
Aug '12
Re: Chasing Popularity
Al who?
Jul '10
Re: Chasing Popularity
Every time Al Gore experiences a chakra relief he goes public about something.