Tuesday, April 17, 2012
Constantly amazed
I'm still constantly amazed and disgusted by the extent of ignorance about America's "election" process. On any talk show, most experts and most callers on both sides operate from the idiotic assumption that every vote matters.
This was never true. From the start most states have given all the electors to the candidate who won in that state. At first the choosing was done by the state legislature; gradually it shifted over to direct votes. The source of the choice doesn't matter, only the method of proportioning the electors. All-or-nothing, which has been the default most of the time, guarantees that most states will be 'safe' for one party.
So the usual babble about the Electoral College compensating for large-state advantage is intentional propaganda. Size is irrelevant. Only 'safeness' versus 'swinginess' matters. As political operatives have grown ever more expert at locating and manipulating voters, the focus on swing states, swing districts, and swing precincts, has grown tighter and stricter.
This means that you DO NOT EXIST unless you live in a swing precinct. Your interests, no matter how widespread, DO NOT EXIST unless they can serve as a focus-grouped wedge for TV advertising in a swing precinct.
Medicare Part D says it all. A trillion dollars wasted by everyone to buy the votes of 700 rich widows in West Palm Beach. Would have been vastly cheaper to bribe them directly. ¶ 9:31 AM
This was never true. From the start most states have given all the electors to the candidate who won in that state. At first the choosing was done by the state legislature; gradually it shifted over to direct votes. The source of the choice doesn't matter, only the method of proportioning the electors. All-or-nothing, which has been the default most of the time, guarantees that most states will be 'safe' for one party.
So the usual babble about the Electoral College compensating for large-state advantage is intentional propaganda. Size is irrelevant. Only 'safeness' versus 'swinginess' matters. As political operatives have grown ever more expert at locating and manipulating voters, the focus on swing states, swing districts, and swing precincts, has grown tighter and stricter.
This means that you DO NOT EXIST unless you live in a swing precinct. Your interests, no matter how widespread, DO NOT EXIST unless they can serve as a focus-grouped wedge for TV advertising in a swing precinct.
Medicare Part D says it all. A trillion dollars wasted by everyone to buy the votes of 700 rich widows in West Palm Beach. Would have been vastly cheaper to bribe them directly. ¶ 9:31 AM
