I Hate College?

by Greg Olear

The Electoral College, that is.  Out with it.

Let me explain.  I am, and always have been, an elitist.  Elitism is part of human nature.  It’s why communism didn’t work, why rampant socialism bogs things down, why film critics get bent out shape when the Julia Robertses of the world take home Best Actress awards.

The Founding Fathers, too, were elitists.  Some more than others.  The Federalists, led by George Washington and Alexander Hamilton, were republicans.  The Democratic Republicans, led by Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, were democrats.  The Jeffersonians believed that the rabble that was the backbone of America should vote for their representatives directly.  The Federalists, the elitists of the bunch, thought that said rabble should instead elect an elect, who would in turn elect one of the elect to high office.

Hamilton et al feared, and they were probably right to do so, at the time, that if left to their own benighted devices, the hoi polloi might install—who knows—an Austrain-born action film star to the White House.  So what they did is, they created the electoral college, which made sure that this would never happen, that even if the American people all turned out in droves to vote for the Second Coming of Christ, Jesus Redux would lose out to whichever of the major party candidates had more support.

Make sense?  It’s not supposed to.  The Electoral College is a vestige of eighteenth century elitism.  And it’s so obscure and strange, and anyway only is relevant every blue moon, no one gives it a second thought.

Until now.  An Illinois-based group of ex-Senators of both political stripes have begun a movement that we should all join—not to eradicate the E.C. (that would be too difficult), but to circumvent it.  What would happen is, each state would enact a state law vowing to give all that state’s electoral votes to whoever won the national popular vote.  In 2000, it’d have been Gore; in 2004, it’d have been Bush (the latter proves the point Hamilton was trying to make; most people are too stupid to be voting for our leaders.  But never mind).  This would go into effect as soon as enough states passed the law so that the election would be swung based on their votes.

Why would we want this?  Because if the E.C. were abolished, or circumvented, or anyway gone, then an independent candidate might actually win a national election.  Let’s say in 2008, the Republicans run Jeb Bush, and the Democrats run Hillary Clinton.  And most people are turned off by both.  Now, let’s say there is no more E.C.  And let’s say that Michael Bloomberg decides he wants to be president.  Now, if enough people voted for him, he could conceiveably win.

Under the old system, if, say, Ralph Nader captured 51% of the popular vote, and won, theoretically, the electoral votes, those electoral voters would probably not install him, but remain loyal to party lines.  But Bloomberg?  And the new system?  Could happen.

Why Bloomberg?  Well, he’s a hell of a mayor.  He’s rich on his own, so he’s beholden to no one.  He’s smart, he knows how to govern.  And when he makes mistakes, he admits it, and then fixes them.  Unlike some people we know. 

So down with the Electoral College, I say!  Let’s bring the vote back to the people, where it belongs!  And sucks to you, Hamilton!

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