Electoral College [View all]

I think we need to keep strong on the issue of either reforming or getting rid of the electoral college. By reforming, I mean changing it so that states get electoral votes that are proportionate to their actual numbers, and where we do not have it so rural states get extra votes to help them catch up with the more populous states.

Some observations on this.

1. I am getting pretty sick and tired, and I know I am not the only one, of coddling these ultra conservative states, especially from the South and by extension the Midwest, and should note, I am a life long Nebraskan. Ever since the Civil War, we have been forced to treat these states with kid gloves. It is time that this ended,

2. President Obama said, in his keynote address to the 2004 Democratic Convention, that we are not red states, we are not blue states. We are one United States of America. But I have concluded that in some ways, this is only partially true. We will never be one United States of America until we stop treating some states as if they are special based on some arbitrary value that gives each voter in their state more voting power than other states.

3. The problems with the electoral college is made worse when you count the Supreme Courts recent decision that overturned key parts of the Voting Rights Act.

4. Most people have suggested a Constitutional Amendment to fix this, but if we can't do that, I think we must hit hard with a long term goal of winning back Supreme Court and lower court seats, because we already have an Amendment in the Constitution that can be used to address this. The Fourteenth Amendments' equal protection clause should have always been sufficient to deal with this. Guaranteeing some people more voting power based on what state they live in makes others unequal before the law. We should start stressing this in public dialogue. Enough is enough.