Appliance Repair Services: John Nichols: Obama Will Win Too Big On Monday

Tuesday, December 18, 2012

John Nichols: Obama Will Win Too Big On Monday

Barack Obama on Monday will win the election for president by 62 percent to 38 percent.

That's a dramatically higher margin than he obtained with his 4.8 million popular-vote victory Nov. 6. While there's no question Obama earned a mandate when he beat Mitt Romney by 51-47 percent, it was nowhere near the 2-1 win he will get when the 538 members of the Electoral College gather in state capitals to vote Monday.

And it is vital to recognize " as unfortunate as the reality may be " that the Electoral College, not the American people, is the final determiner of who becomes president.

Anyone who doubts this need only consult the results of the 2000 election, when Democrat Al Gore won a solid popular-vote victory " 560,000 ballots " over Republican George Bush. It is often suggested that the U.S. Supreme Court made Bush president when it shut down the recount in the contested state of Florida. But once the court had engineered the assignment of Florida's electoral votes to Bush, it was the Electoral College that formally canceled out the popular will of the people and gave the presidency to the loser of the election.

In fact, a number of candidates who were defeated at the ballot box assumed the U.S. presidency because the Electoral College wiped away actual election results. In recent years, in addition to Gore versus Bush, there have been several instances where candidates who fell well short of a majority of the popular vote " John Kennedy in 1960, Richard Nixon in 1968, Bill Clinton in 1992 and 1996 " assumed the presidency with overwhelming Electoral College "wins."

Plenty of arguments are constructed for maintaining the Electoral College. Often they reflect the results of the moment. Many Democrats will delight on Monday in Obama's likely 332 votes, as opposed to Romney's mere 206. As the fiscal cliff wrangling drags on, Obama's backers will delight in a reminder of the president's substantial win.

Obama did win by a lot.

But not by as much as the Electoral College will suggest. And that's what ought to concern all of us.

If America aspires to be a democracy, no one should be happy with the fact that a centuries-old political structure " established when elites fretted that democracy might threaten the institution of slavery " will choose a president.

It's time to do away with the Electoral College and put the voters in charge of choosing presidents, as they are in charge of choosing members of the U.S. House and Senate, governors, legislators, mayors and school board members. We almost made the change in the late 1960s, after Nixon secured the presidency with just 43 percent of the vote.

But America should not wait for the next contested or inconclusive election to make the move. A number of states have endorsed the National Popular Vote initiative of the reform group FairVote, which has the potential to build popular support for amending the Constitution to do away with the Electoral College.

When Wisconsin's 10 electors are done voting for Obama Monday, the legislators among them should endorse moves to make Wisconsin part of the movement to establish genuine electoral democracy.

John Nichols is associate editor of The Capital Times. jnichols@madison.com

No comments:

Post a Comment

Content

Nothing at all can be a lot more ridiculous as compared to finding a shattered regular utilized home product. It is unquestionably the most sent moment once you find your evryday home use appliances in not working condition. This may probably limit your work as well as daily schedule. Further, when struck in such a scenario, you immediately need to look for an knowledgeable appliance repair service provider to try the home restore task, that can again spoil your other day. Consequently, it is good to test certain things ahead of calling the Las Vegas appliance repairman.

It will be quite previously to call pertaining to home appliance maintenance. There is no need that a machine will become useless after a particular period or even it would quit functioning following your guarantee time period is over. Nonetheless, if it can, go for those tips listed here and then make necessary action.

Set up the engine filters back together again with the dried up wax paper. The next time you are likely to use your washing machine, it's going to smell like vanilla flavouring. You can also alternative this using the scent you want such as lavender or lemon essence.

If your home business office is in disarray, the first task is to undergo everything. I mean every thing. Get yourself some containers or packing containers (depending on the volume of "stuff") and brand them such as so: Document, Shred, Toss, Put Away, Assign, and Action. Go through every thing and allocate it one of the above categories and place the idea in the package. This could require a couple hrs, a whole morning, or even a week depending on how behind you are however do it as well as do it till every very last item is assigned. It's important not to acquire sidetracked. If you come across something should be managed immediately, place it in a specific place to assault when you're finished with organizing for the entire day. Don't commence reminiscing or playing with stuff you haven't affecting awhile, merely stick to your objective until it can be complete!

There is an integrated fuse in many home appliances, which can be located to provide extra security to the power device versus excessive energy. Look at the integrated fuse and modify it together with the new one if neccessary.

When you accomplish DIYs, it's that you are playing. If you need that exact at the same time, then go to a trusted mechanic. Always employ companies that have proven their own caliber to many people customers.