I know it's not as popular a view these days, but I think the EC serves a very valid purpose. It recognizes that we are a federal republic of states and that the president is president of that federal republic, not of a unitary country. Our system of government is set up to reflect both that that the populace as a whole and the states should have a say. In Congress, the House represents the popular vote/will and the Senate represents the states. The EC, as it has developed, represents the states by having the states' electors elect the president, but having the popular vote within each state determine the state's electors. It's a balance of interests, giving both the populace and the states a voice in the choice of the president.

While I don't get excited about the NPVIC, I wouldn't necessarily object to it because it would (theoretically at least) preserve the balance I describe in that the participating states would voluntarily be choosing to designate their electors based on the national popular vote.

I do the same.

Well, I may have been overly optimistic about the timing, since even though the polls have closed in Virginia, there are still lots of people in line. They're saying they may not be through with voting until 11:00, and they've suspended count reports until everyone has voted.

I love vote-by-mail...even more after seeing some of the chaos erupting today. People trying to vote by email, lines so long that people have to take a day off work, polling places without power (and only electronic voting machines), voting machines with "glitches." Washington and Oregon: I love you!

I went to vote at 6:30 tonight and had no line at all. Walked right up to the table, signed my name, and walked into the booth. Everything is electronic, which makes things so easy. Press buttons, your choices are marked with a lit up X, press 'Cast Vote.' The end. I was in and out in 5 mnutes.

It's official: GOP Home State FAIL.

Last time I saw that was with Al Gore in 2000.

Florida's poll stations were a mess, as usual.

Yup. When was the last time it happened for a VP? That's the crazy part; usually a VP is supposed to deliver his/her state.

ETA: Dumb question, I only had to go back to 2004.

Elizabeth Warren! Tammy Baldwin! Clair McCaskell!

I don't want to get up at 4 am. Seriously. I want to stay up and watch :(

Well that ended sooner then I thought. Fox News just declared Obama as winning reelection.

There is none of the excitement or unbridled joy I felt in 2008, but it is almost better this time around. Without tons of flash or drama or Sarah Palin, we still got it right. That is a whole different kind of hope.

I'm not excited.

I feel nothing about this election. I voted for Romney but wasn't excited about it, and now I'm not feeling particularly disappointed that he's lost. I just don't think either candidate has a good plan for our country.

I will, however, laugh if Romney pulls it out in Ohio after all this, especially with all the "proud to be an Ohioan" statuses on Facebook right now. What, you wouldn't be proud if Romney had won? Seems ridiculous to me.

I hate the idea of calling a winner based on projections. Reminds me of Truman vs Dewey.

I don't think either one would have a particularly strong effect on my life, but I feel that Obama's policies are better for more Americans. Let's be honest: for well-off, straight, white people, the actual effects of one administration or another are pretty slim.

ETA: but on a personal level, man, does Romney seem like a dick

I can't stop laughing. Facebook is lighting up with the political memes. I am wheezing, I've been laughing so hard!

Tonight's take away: most people (well, most of my fb friends) don't really know anything about our government, and therefore don't have much of a foundation for their opinions and are very sensitive about them. And one click unfriending is really really awesome.

Agree. My favorite quote of the night, "We need to get rid of the electoral college and go by the popular vote!" Yeah, President Gore agrees with you. :rolleyes:

Agree. My favorite quote of the night in response to how unfair the results of the night were, "We need to get rid of the electoral college and go by the popular vote!" Yeah, President Gore agrees with you. :rolleyes:

My feelings re: president are more of relief.

My feelings as a Washingtonian tonight are of joy. We're all mail-in ballot, so votes are still being counted, but it appears we've voted to legalize marriage and marijuana for all!

Watching CNN project Obama as the winner and having the four-five hundred people around me immediately erupt into screams/cheers/tears has to have been one of the single most powerful moments of my life.

Also knowing I had a hand in ensuring Todd Akin was never given a chance to have a say in our government is a wonderful feeling.

What an election day!

Trump and Rove's melt = awesome. Can't wait for the daily show and colbert report covering the two melts.

I think if we get rid of the electoral college it's only fair to get rid of the Senate as well ;)

This x 10!

My friend and I were just saying this last night! The Preident's policies/"plan" can really only go so far - especially with such a polarized and extreme Congress. Partisianism is going to handcuff the potential for progress in the future, and would for either candidate. I do wish politicians on both sides of the aisle were more moderate in general.

I voted 3 weeks ago in Iowa. Love early voting

I was LMAO too
No more political ads...woot!

I love all of these statuses about "so glad I live in a democracy..."
Nope, it's a republic. You've even said it yourself if you've said the Pledge of Allegiance. Another hint to that is that if the fact we're using the electoral college instead of the popular vote.

http://forum.ship-of-fools.com/UBB-n.../notworthy.gif

The conversation got interesting on CNN after the election was called last night, centering on what the results mean long term for the Republican Party. The gist was Bill Clinton made the White House a viable goal for Democrats again (Carville noting that the Democratic candidate has won the popular vote in 5 of the last 6 presidential elections) by moving toward the center, and that the question now is who in the GOP can do the same for it. I know I've heard many Republican friends say a similar thing: Their base is shrinking, and they have got to find a way to broaden it or they're going to have a harder and harder time in presidential elections. And that will involve moving away from the Tea Partiers and more hard-core conservatives and toward the center.

The problem is that these days, moderates don't win primaries.

I agree wholeheartedly. I've always been pretty moderate and am registered independent, but my support has been more left leaning lately for this reason. The Republicans need to swing back to the center if they're going to be a viable party.

OMG they are! I died when I saw this one this morning:

https://sphotos-a.xx.fbcdn.net/hphot...15112287_n.jpg

Yup, the GOP arguably tea-partied itself out of control of the Senate. Several of last night's losers beat out much more viable moderate candidates in primaries, e.g. Akin, Mourdock.

One interesting thing is that the socially conservative message should play well with Latinos, but they aren't able to pull it off.

YESSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But we seriously had a praise break on campus last night when the results updated. The ratcheness was real, y'all.

Personally, I did a lot of work for this election and I'm extremely happy to see that work come to fruition. :)

I don't care if we get rid of it, it's just disingenuous to agree with it only when it suits you. The point is moot anyway, since Romney was only winning the popular vote before the West Coast votes poured in.

Thank you GeorgiaGreek. I keep banging that drum, and no one seems to get it. We're in a republic, people.

Now I'm going to put on Bob Marley and go make french toast.

What exactly was the marijuna resolution? Was it just that it wasn't illegal according to the state of Washington anymore? Because the federal laws are still on the books.

Got it right? So almost half of the country was wrong? I can accept that your candidate won, but I don't think that makes the other side wrong.

FYP

I'll be happy when this hype dies down.

My then-14-year-old from the back of the car one night last spring: "You know, nobody understands how our government works. They think we have a democracy, and that's just wrong. If we had a democracy, everybody would get a vote on everything."

"So what kind of government do we have?," I asked.

"A republic," he answered. "A federal, democratic republic. A constitutional, federal, democratic republic."

My = very proud.


On a different topic, I highly recommend listening to this past weekend's This American Life: Red State Blue State. The blurb:

Quote:

Everyone knows that politics is now so divided in our country that not only do the 2 sides disagree on the solutions to the country’s problems, they don’t even agree on what the problems are. It’s 2 versions of the world in collision. This week we hear from people who’ve seen this infect their personal lives. They’ve lost friends. They’ve become estranged from family members.

There's also an interesting story on polarization and the squeeze on the middle (as much between Republicans as between Republicans and Democrats) in the New Hampshire House of Representatives.

Agreed.

Washington and Colorado legalized the production, distribution, and sale of marijuana for recreational use. Lawsuits from the DoJ to block the laws should start heading west in 3...2...1....