A R C H I V E S
Thanks
for
visiting.
A letter
to the local
newspaper . . .
Cries
for dismantling
electoral college overblown
11.08.00
Dear Editor:
We shall no doubt be hearing cries for the dismantling of the electoral
college, especially from supporters of Al Gore. I think it overblown,
however, to say that Gore is being denied his "right" to office,
that the country is being forced to accept second-best, or that history
is being changed by an outdated or cynically political system.
Of the millions of votes cast, to say a statistically meaningless difference
makes either candidate the best man for the job in the eyes of a majority
is a whiny stretch. It is true, however, that a very significant majority
of those in "fly-over country" have made it clear that they
are more interested in having the ideas and values of George Bush promoted
in the government than those of Al Gore. The problems of mega-cities are
not those of suburban and rural areas, and should be addressed by local
governments, not by the federal government. There is not a "gun problem"
in Danville, nor in most of the country, for instance. I'm sure that if
I lived in Miami, New York, or LA I would feel otherwise.
Hillary Clinton claims "it takes a village": well, we "villagers"
have spoken very clearly. To say that George Bush does not have a mandate
may be true on the East, West, or Canadian coast, but does not seem to
hold true elsewhere.
If any adjustments need be made to the electoral college, it seems to
me that the best results would be gained from allowing each state to cast
its electoral votes as separate districts, preventing the desires of major
population centers from outweighing the desires of the rest of a state:
again, the problems of those choosing to live in a crowded, stressful
environment are often different from those of farmers or suburbanites
and need not determine national policy.
Splitting states' electoral votes into districts might be of benefit in
the area of campaign finance reform, allowing candidates to focus their
money on specific areas instead of spending millions trying to win an
entire state, thus requiring smaller contributions.
Bruce J. Willoughby
Danville, Kentucky
(Hillary Rodham Clinton subsequently called for the abolishment of
the college, to be replaced by a direct popular election of the president.)
