Comments on: ProJo Takes A Stand http://www.unlikelywords.com/2008/07/18/projo-takes-a-stand/ A blog with delusions of grandeur. Sun, 23 Nov 2008 11:34:29 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6.2 By: Rachel http://www.unlikelywords.com/2008/07/18/projo-takes-a-stand/#comment-100387 Rachel Tue, 29 Jul 2008 11:56:27 +0000 http://www.unlikelywords.com/?p=727#comment-100387 I'm not opposed to exploring the possibility of a national popular vote, especially because I'm guessing that the electoral college system was actually designed largely because the framers didn't have the technology and communications tools that we do to even make a national popular vote feasible. On the other hand, I do agree that there are some disadvantages to it. First, I don't actually disagree with the notion of slightly disproportionate representation, at least not on principle. (Anyone who does needs to start advocating for China to get a LOT more clout at the United Nations.) Second, while the voter fraud argument above is ludicrous, breaking a national vote down into state-sized units does allow us to focus on problems in convenient chunks. For example, as much as the Florida recount sucked, the national vote was also so close that we might well have been in the same situation nationwide if the vote had been counted that way. Devil's advocate aside most of the ProJo's arguments are questionable at best and completely asinine or nonsensical at worst. Yay local paper! I’m not opposed to exploring the possibility of a national popular vote, especially because I’m guessing that the electoral college system was actually designed largely because the framers didn’t have the technology and communications tools that we do to even make a national popular vote feasible. On the other hand, I do agree that there are some disadvantages to it. First, I don’t actually disagree with the notion of slightly disproportionate representation, at least not on principle. (Anyone who does needs to start advocating for China to get a LOT more clout at the United Nations.) Second, while the voter fraud argument above is ludicrous, breaking a national vote down into state-sized units does allow us to focus on problems in convenient chunks. For example, as much as the Florida recount sucked, the national vote was also so close that we might well have been in the same situation nationwide if the vote had been counted that way.

Devil’s advocate aside most of the ProJo’s arguments are questionable at best and completely asinine or nonsensical at worst. Yay local paper!

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