It appears that, all evidence to the contrary, it is possible for the R’s to embarrass themselves. Of course, not so embarrassed as to eliminate all possibility that they’ll stop.
In the weeks since the Presidential election, Republican governors and legislators in some states have considered the possibility of changing the manner in which they allot their states’ electoral votes. Rather than a winner-take-all system, where the candidate receiving the most votes in the state wins all of the state’s electoral votes…as is the case in all but two of our fifty states…these states would apportion their electoral votes by congressional district…i.e. the candidate that wins a congressional district gets that district’s electoral vote regardless of the statewide tally. In the one concrete proposal on the table, that of Virginia, the state’s two at large electoral votes would be awarded, not to the candidate winning the majority of the state’s popular vote as is the case with the two states that do apportion their electoral votes this way, but to the candidate winning the most congressional districts.
Now, the most interesting thing about these proposals is that the R’s have already managed to gerrymander most of the congressional districts in the states they control to assure themselves control of those states’ congressional delegations…and, thus, their electoral votes, as well, should these proposals go into effect. It is estimated, for example, that, had the Virginia proposal been in effect in the recent election, President Obama, despite receiving a majority of the Virginia’s popular vote, would have received only four of her thirteen electoral votes. Had it been in effect nationwide, despite receiving five million fewer votes, President Romney would have taken the oath of office last week.
In other words, as the R’s have come to the conclusion that, since they can’t win Presidential elections honestly, they have to steal them.
The R’s are facing quite a problem. Despite having a relatively sane candidate, they still can’t get a majority of the American people to vote for them. And they are facing a couple of problems they haven’t faced before. One is that their crazies are getting…well, crazier. And, second, they’ve alienated nearly every minority in the country, including blacks, Hispanics and single women. In other words, minorities who make up, more and more, the majority of the country.
We suspect they aren’t going to be allowed to change the rules in this manner. They probably won’t even try…the governors of two of the states where such proposals are being considered claim to oppose them, as do several other major Republican leaders. Still, the proposals themselves haven’t gone away.
It remains to be seen if the R’s will lie, cheat or steal to take the next election.
Comments