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[quote=rbohm;21686825
yes we should go back to having the state legislatures choose the US senators. that is the way it was originally set up by the founding fathers. senators were chosen by the state legislatures, and the representatives were chosen by the people in the various congressional districts.[/quote]
That's how it was. The House of Representatives was the People's House, which is why elections are held every 2 years. The Senate was supposed to represent the states, and they indirectly represented the people because the state legislatures sent Senators to Capitol Hill, and the state party in the majority influenced that.
No. It is a flawed system that needs some fixing mainly in the form of map revisions but it's the only thing protecting the few from being trampled by the masses. The Federal Government is supposed to be a representative republic, not a democracy. A democracy is two wolves and a sheep voting on what's for dinner. I would go further and suggest that states use the electoral college instead of popular vote. Here in California, every election I see Northern California sodomized by Los Angeles.
One issue I do take issue with is the winner takes all mentality used in most states, such as California and Texas. Leaning conservative, and being a Texan, my vote counted. Living in CA and being conservative, the primaries are all I've got. If the electors voted according to the districts they represented, LA and NYC wouldn't be ruling the whole freaking country.
Those points are exactly the reason the framers of the Constitution had no desire for a democracy. They were well read, and had read Plato's Republic over and over.
The US is modeled on Plato's Republic.
It is bad enough now that people in Ohio and Indiana have to suffer ravages of stupidity because New York and California dump insane amounts of money into elections in Ohio, especially on ballot issues. If we had a real governor that would stand up and enforce the legal sovereignty of the State that wouldn't be happening.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lorrysda
Our Constitution is just as important, well written and imperative to the well-being of this country as it was the first day it was written.
Those men displayed an incredible foresight that has not been seen in more than 100 years in this country.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lorrysda
Our problem is that our Federal Government has for many years overstepped the limitations imposed by our Constitution.
That's liberals, who have been attempting to move the US from a federal system to a unitary system for the last 70-80 years.
Quote:
Originally Posted by nicet4
If you want to see this country fly apart have it set up so New York, California and Florida pick the President.
I'd give it less than 6 years before there's a full-blown civil war.
when I lived in Calif, my blue vote doesn't really count because it's a given that the state is Blue. In Tex, my blue vote doesn't count because the state is overwhelmingly Red. Every four years, it's always the same swing states whose butts are kissed. It's disgusting to me.
Should the Electoral College be Abolished?
I used to think the answer should be yes, but not anymore. People vote for pretty faces, not capable minds.
The Electoral College actually serves a viable (if not exactly democratic) purpose.
Until such time as a Amendment is ratified that changes Article 4, section 4, clause 1 of the constitution, we are a republic and should continue to have the Electoral College.
When I hear this baloney about "The United States is not the way it was in the 19th century" I see red. Our Constitution is just as important, well written and imperative to the well-being of this country as it was the first day it was written. Our problem is that our Federal Government has for many years overstepped the limitations imposed by our Constitution. Get the Federal Government back within the boundaries and limitations of our Constitution and "most" of our problems go away.
This "modern" crap is just that...crap. It doesn't work, never has and never will! We can thank our educational system and the infiltration of Communists into same for really screwing up the thinking and ideals needed to function as per the foundation layed by our founding Fathers and our Constitution.
I only hope and pray the younger generations that have been so badly exposed to such anti-American propaganda will realize the jeopardy in which they put the freedom and opportunity for each of us to have a productive and worth-while life this wonderful America. It is currently being destroyed by leadership either ignorant, brain washed, deliberately following the steps laid out by Sol Alinsky (sp?) to go down the road to Communism and/or just plain foolish egotistical narcissism!
Please, open your minds and realize how this country became the greatest country in the history of man kind...we need to keep it that way!
Buying of French land west of the Mississippi without congressional approval
Invasion of states that legally left the union
Suspending of Habeaus corpus
Nationaliztion of the rail roads
Making marijuana, cocaine, and any other substance illegal without amendment to the constitution
The Korean war, the Vietnam war, Providing munitions and helping the British before our involvement in WWII, Iraq1 and II, the invasion of Grenada, etc.
All things that were outside of what the constitution laid forth.
You obviously have no idea of the history of your country. See red all you want, we have interpreted the meaning of the words in the constitution since it was written, period.
A strict adherence to the constitution would not have let us become the nation we are today, period. And people that don't know any different don't help their country.
The electoral college is the best method. What needs changing to see 3rd party viability is campaign finance reform, with strict, much lower limits on total expenditures. Campaigns should be prohibited from starting nearly as early as now (IMO 6 months is enough time), and if sitting representatives or governors run, their pay should be reduced to compensate for time away from their paid functions. The entity paying should be recused from exempt salary definitions for said time.
If you want to do it right...then go back to the original laws that allowed ONLY property owners and business owners to vote. That way you can be assured that those that "will not be impacted or have a personal welfare-type agenda or have nothing at stake or have never had to deal with our private economy, etc., etc.," will not screw things up more.
Again, just go out and talk to the masses and ask them important questions about the economy, their senator or representative, etc., and you will be horrified at the answers...you will definitely not want such unknowledgeable people to cast votes that will impact you. Voting is not only a "right," it is also a very heavy "responsibility."
No, I don't want to go back that far. Your glasses must have huge rear view mirrors attached because your posts read as if you've been locked up since the 1950s.
On one hand, I heartily agree that stupid uninformed people shouldn't vote and that there should be a test before voting to insure people know the candidates and issues on the ballot. But that's another thread.
No, not unless we want to make "Voter Fraud" for the Liberals, a lot easier!
Anyone who thinks as strongly as you do that liberals are responsible for all the problems in all possible universes has some pretty big issues to drag around.
I don't care so much about voter fraud as I do election fraud. Election fraud dwarfs voter fraud in every conceivable way. Our machine-run elections are a sham and a shame.
No.
A popular vote would allow a few largely populated states like New York and California to decide elections at the expense of smaller ones.
Elitist liberals love the idea of minimizing states rights in favor of a stronger federal government.
As it is the election is usually just decided by a handful of swing states at the expense of most states. If you're a Republican in California or a Democrat in Texas, your vote in presidential elections hasn't mattered for years. Same with smaller reliably Democratic or Republican states--no one campaigns in Idaho. If the election was decided by the popular vote, sudenly candidates are going to have to campaign nationally to all potential voters.
Then again we also have a primary system, where our candidates for both parties are basically decided at the whim of voters in Iowa and New Hampshire--not exactly the most representative states of the rest of America.
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