Protect Electoral College,
defend against dictator
A goal of the new Democratic-controlled House of Representatives is to eliminate the Electoral College. Arkansans should strongly oppose this as it can eliminate Arkansas and 38 other small states from participating in presidential elections. The 11 larger states can theoretically elect a new president, leaving the other 39 states without presidential representation. Since the larger states, with the exception of Texas, are either Democratic or lean Democratic, this proposal is a barefaced attempt to put Democrats in power forever.
Our nation does not benefit if one party has control of Congress and the office of president at the same time. Witness the previous years that Republicans were in total control. It became my way or the highway. Not good. Now that the Democrats have partial control of Congress, the Democrats are totally wasting the opportunity to correctly legislate.
Their main goal is only to push Trump out. Again, not good.
This quagmire can continue forever if the Electoral College is eliminated and one political party takes total control.
Our forefathers saw this as a problem and correctly decide all states should have a say in presidential elections. No one section of our nation should be able to monopolize such an important election. Without a doubt, the Electoral College system is less prone to tampering and ballot stuffing than a direct election would be. Usually voices such as the Democrats cry out after elections similar to the last election and their candidate loses. You can crunch numbers backwards, upside down and inside out to advance your theories, but at least in that election, all political entities (states) had their say. Can you imagine what would happen if a close loser demands a nationwide hand recount? The Electoral College prevents this chaotic nightmare. (Would the Democrats be asking for the Electoral College removal if Hillary Clinton had been elected?)
It's time to stand up for the Electoral College. In 1990, Arkansas had only six electors, while California had 47. In 2001, Arkansas still had only six electors, while California gained 8 for a total of 55. You can readily see that California, in that time period, gained more additional electors than Arkansas had in its total. Do you also want to abolish the Senate as Arkansas has as many senators as California? This is another effort by wise forefathers to make certain large states do not totally dominate the small
states.
The Electoral College ensures that the president of the United States has both popular support to govern and that his popular support is sufficiently distributed throughout the country. He must have broad geographic support to win the presidency and small states have just as much right to gain his ear as the large states. The number of democracies who hold direct elections can be counted on one hand and one of these (Russia) is now being pushed back into total dictatorship by its latest leader. The Electoral College is a good defense against dictatorship. Friends, we must always fight against orchestrated manipulation.
Allen Kimball
Rogers
Commentary on 01/14/2019