Hillary has a point

Hillary Clinton is harking back to the 2000 presidential election and the dispute over uncounted votes in Florida. Democrats, she said, should be very sensitive about uncounted votes, and for that reason the Michigan and Florida primary results should be counted in the overall tally. I agree, but mainly because it wasn’t the voters’ idea to move up the primary dates — it was party leaders of the respective states. Voters were told the date to vote in the primaries, and they voted. It shouldn’t be a matter of “follow the rules or pay the price,” and if anyone should be penalized it should be the people who decided to change the primary dates. How? Who knows… maybe make go to bed without supper. Where I fault Clinton is for not framing the argument in this way, and in not making this precise argument all along.

She is also putting forth the view that the popular vote should count more than the delegate vote — and once again, I agree. But would she have taken this position were she ahead in the delegate count? Probably not.

A Constitutional flaw

For the most part I’m happy with the Constitution, although it could use some cleaning up here and there. But there’s one provision that drives me nuts — the Electoral College. Whatever possessed the Forefathers to come up with this cockamamie way of electing presidents?

My sense is that someone who’s philosophically a blue-stater who happens to live in a red state might say “what’s the point” come time to vote for a president. And vice-versa of course. When they encourage us to vote, they say every vote counts. But that’s hogwash. My vote for President doesn’t count in North Carolina.

But if we abolished the Electoral College, every vote WOULD count. I may live in a state, but I’m part of a country — and I’d rather be governed by someone I knew had most of the votes. The 2000 election should have been a wake-up call for an amendment to abolish the Electoral College, but it wasn’t.

I’m a big believer in the popular vote — and I believe it should be given more weight in the primaries as well. I like to think, with occasional exception, that most of the people will make the right choice most of the time. And even if they don’t, at least the results will be the people’s will, for better or worse.