GOP battle plan: If you can’t compete, cheat
Taking its cue from the likes of Lance Armstrong, dozens of Atlanta Public School teachers and Bernie Madoff, the Republican Party is embracing a bold new solution to its political problems:
If you can’t compete, cheat.
And cheat big.
In Virginia, for example, Barack Obama has carried the state and its 13 electoral votes in the last two elections, becoming the first Democrat to carry the state back-to-back since Franklin Roosevelt. But rather than work harder to win back the state, or adopt policies more relevant to the needs of its voters, Republicans are advancing another solution.
Under a bill passed out of a state Senate subcommittee this week, Virginia would no longer award its electoral votes to the candidate who won the most votes. Instead, the state’s electoral votes would be allocated by congressional district, which are heavily gerrymandered to favor the GOP.*
Had the bill been law in November, Barack Obama would have been awarded just four of the state’s 13 electoral votes, even though he carried the state.
Mitt Romney, who lost the state, would have won nine electoral votes, more than twice as many as the winner. As one observer put it, Virginia is in the process of moving from a winner-takes-all system to a loser-takes-most system.
The bill now moves to a Senate committee, where Republicans hold a 10-5 advantage. It would then be voted on by the entire Senate, which is split 20-20 between the parties. A tie would be broken by the lieutenant governor, a Republican. Republicans control the Virginia House and governor’s office.
But as one GOP senator assured the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “There’s no partisan ax to grind here.”
Presumably, there is also no partisan ax-grinding underway in five other large states won by Obama, where Republicans are pushing similar legislation.
The scheme is so blatant in its election-stealing intent that it has pushed Larry Sabato, the well-known and nonpartisan elections expert at the University of Virginia, to condemn it in unusually harsh terms. The plan is “a corrupt and cynical maneuver to frustrate popular will and put a heavy thumb — the whole hand, in fact — on the scale for future Republican candidates.”
(BTW, the sheer gall of this effort adds credence to Democratic claims that the GOP has been trying to game the system in other ways, such as restricting access to the ballot box.)
The Republican Party faces a choice, Sabato writes. It can choose the Reaganesque, optimistic approach, “convinced that it can win the future by embracing it.” Or it can turn to a Nixonian attitude in which “it sees enemies everywhere, feels overwhelmed by electoral trends, and thinks it can win only by cheating, by subverting the system and stacking the deck in its favor.”
Sabato also cites the work of a colleague and fellow political scientist, Alan Abramovitz of Emory University, who has studied the potential impact of the GOP scheme. As Abramovitz notes, Obama won the popular vote, and thus the electoral votes, in Virginia, Ohio, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, Florida and Wisconsin. In all six states, Republicans are eying passage of some version of the Virginia plan.
Had it been in place in 2012, Abramovitz concludes, the Virginia plan would have given Obama just 45 electoral votes in those states, while Romney would have reaped 61. And again, Obama carried all six states.
Abramovitz writes:
“Under current circumstances, the congressional district system could well result in a Republican victory even if the Democratic candidate were to win the popular vote by a substantial margin. Such a situation would undoubtedly lead to widespread questioning of the legitimacy of the election and, potentially, a public backlash against the victorious Republican candidate and the GOP itself. Before engaging in a cynical attempt to rig the electoral system, Republican leaders and strategists should consider the potential harm that their actions could do to our democratic form of government and to their own party.”
Once upon a time, such a scheme would have been unthinkable. Once upon a time, no major political party would have dared to be associated with it, because the bald-faced thievery is too obvious. Even Nixon would be appalled at the shamelessness of it all.
But in these times, Republican National Chairman Reince Priebus has publicly endorsed the election-stealing plan. “I think it’s something that a lot of states that have been consistently blue that are fully controlled red ought to be looking at,” he said this month.
Such is the desperation and moral bankruptcy of the party that he leads.
—-
*On Monday, Senate Republicans in Virginia took advantage of the fact that a Democratic colleague — a well-respected veteran of the civil rights movement — had traveled to Washington to attend the inauguration and for MLK Day observances. In his absence, they rushed through a surprise bill redrawing the state’s districts once again, to squeeze still further advantage from the system.
– Jay Bookman
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443 comments Add your comment
TaxPayer
January 25th, 2013
10:01 am
Tom Price and Paul Broun should battle for the GOP nomination for senator. Paul will sling a bottle of holy water, while still in the bottle, at Tom and Tom will give a nasally whine of “I Object” that will floor the wobbly-kneed Broun. It will be a true fight to the finish that only two Republicans could pull off–the first to give the other a wedgie in their Depends wins.
skipper
January 25th, 2013
10:03 am
Jamvet,
I was strictly talking about Gore, and no amount of your partisan rants will convince me that his idiotic a$$ would have been a good prez…………….
As an independent, I am not loyal to any extreme philosophy. Repubs (some who would die if they had to publically admit it) did well economically under Clinton. I choose the man, not the “plan”. I would have written in tha late Pat Paulson before I would have voted for Gore. It is not a liberal or conservative thing. The man is a self-serving jackass (Gore.)
DownInAlbany
January 25th, 2013
10:03 am
rightwingextreme
January 25th, 2013
9:38 am
Jay,
How is this different from the dims when they wanted to scrap the Electoral College back in 2000 and just go with the straight vote?
I’m not saying I’m in favor of this btw.
Oh heck, you KNOW that hypocrisy is only associated with pubs!
Welcome to the Occupation
January 25th, 2013
10:04 am
Mick, Jay: ” The republican brand is about to become a toxic waste if they pursue this!!!”
Why are you so sure. All you’re doing is HOPING there will be a backlash. But there is no guarantee that there will be any backlash because the cynicism of the population has grown tremendously, fueled by a morally and intellectually corrupted media that ultimately has lost sight of its moral role as acting as a true watchdog and instead insists on treating the increasingly brazen escalation of political tactics by a radical faction as an acceptable form of political gamesmanship. The debt ceiling extortion is the classical example. Before the latest GOP change of strategy, the press had already predictably dropped its tone of amazement at the brazenness of these nihilistic tactics and had already integrated it into its narrative frame of just one more step in a harmless, normal evolution of political horse-racing..
So the political press is partly to blame here, too, in the fact that the attempt is being made. Remember that it wouldn’t be happening if they didn’t think that ultimately it will work, will be able to fly under the political radar for the majority of the stressed and distracted citizens.
Thulsa Doom
January 25th, 2013
10:05 am
“Blanket statements are stupid and I should always avoid them because I always gotta walk ‘em back. In fact, ALL blanket statements are stupid! All of ‘em!”
No more stupid than making racist comments about “Asian insects”.
Keep Up the Good Fight!
January 25th, 2013
10:06 am
Unable to defend their stupidity on a rational basis, the conned here have gone to pure deflection. While they may represent the extreme base, they do not represent the entire GOP party.
A very good analysis: http://www.americanprogressaction.org/issues/civil-liberties/report/2013/01/24/50459/grand-theft-election
Liberal Nightmare
January 25th, 2013
10:06 am
“Second, weren’t you pinkos whining up a storm when Gore won the popular vote? Now you’re HUGE electoral college fans, huh?”
Note Cookman only responded to the first part of the post and not this statement – selective as usual.
“So you guys are arguing that a rural vote ought to count more than an urban vote? That 20,000 rural voters ought to be able to trump 30,000 urban voters?”
Yep – 20,000 rural working class Americans should trump 30K entitleist leaches. I personally think we should just require IQ testing to be able to vote.
“Every study that I’ve ever seen on the question documents the fact that urban areas heavily subsidize rural areas. In Georgia, for example, a Georgia State study documented the fact that in 2004, the Atlanta metro area generated 61 percent of state revenues, but received 47 percent of state spending.”
Reference please? None of that selective stuff. Careful, I’ll expose you on this one. I really want to see the one on Georgia. Before stating such blatant ignorance you might want to actually understand (not just read) said “studies” and understanding state spending in recent years. Nice job referencing a “study” with data almost 10 years old.
Andrew B
January 25th, 2013
10:06 am
One of the reasons why the Electoral College has remained in effect for all of these years is because it is assumed that all of the swing states benefit so greatly from the attention and advertising dollars, that no politician from these states would advocate eliminating it. However, if the state republicans are willing to sacrifice the attention and money that comes from these contests, then they can not logically oppose shifting to a popular vote, at least not on those grounds. This could be a unique opportunity to push for the elimination of the Electoral College. Sign the petition at:
http://wh.gov/yd76
Spread the word. Let’s make this the first petition to hit the new threshold of 100k signatures. Thank You.
Sam
January 25th, 2013
10:07 am
Those mean, mean Republicans. Democrats, on the other hand would never do such a thing. Oh really? Look at Democratically controlled Maryland, with the most ridiculously gerrymandered districts in the country. Nobody cares about this sort of thing when it promotes their political party, just when it helps the other one.
JonG
January 25th, 2013
10:08 am
I’m actually ok with this. I just hope that this puts another nail in coffin of gerrymandering.
If gerrymandering was outlawed, this is the way it should be.
the cat
January 25th, 2013
10:08 am
Thulsa-that is rich coming from you. Don’t you sell “insurance” to poor widow women at an astronomical price? You have no clue at all what I do you poor delusional fool. Have you shot any kids today?
TBS
January 25th, 2013
10:09 am
Losing the popular vote 5 of the last 6 elections is hitting home more than many on the right will admit, especially those at the RNC. RNC and certain states must not foresee any changes in those trends
Desperate times, call for desperate measures.
Many on this blog will basically tell you that Obama barely won, yet are all in for this Hail Mary of an attempt to stay relevant on the Presidential level.
l
January 25th, 2013
10:09 am
“Please proceed governor” Can somebody please tell me How to get rid of these Republicans?
bbb
January 25th, 2013
10:10 am
Sounds unconstitutional … if a state’s electoral college reflects a state’s cohort in the House of Representatives, it is tantamount to pushing the election into the House of Representatives… which the Constitution only allows in case of specific exceptions
If You Can't Compete, Cheat - This Board Rocks
January 25th, 2013
10:11 am
[...] [...]
CommonSenseApproach
January 25th, 2013
10:12 am
Could this article be more biased!!! Also, the comments… Give me a break people. If you take out the cities the election would have been completely different and that is because of the demographics of cities. You can’t tell me that city life depicts that of the rest of the state and how that state is truly represented. I say well done Virgina and hope that the rest of the states do the same. We need change, but it is not the change that this biased article is wanting or that the standard city people are wanting.
RB from Gwinnett
January 25th, 2013
10:12 am
Post 43,592 in the long line of Jay’s “Republicans Bad/Demorats Good” schtick. Tired, stale, and never talling both sides of a story.
And the man still has the nerve to call himself a journalist….
Erwin's cat
January 25th, 2013
10:13 am
If gerrymandering was outlawed,
this is the way it should be.then only outlaws would be gerrymandering
the cat
January 25th, 2013
10:13 am
buh bye, saxby. This is the azzhat that denigrated Max Cleland, a true war hero. I hope Saxby rots on the golf course.
Dan
January 25th, 2013
10:14 am
This is the exact way election should be decided. Should all of Pennsylvania be marginalized in Presidential elections because of Philadelphia? The rest of VA because of the government workers commuting into Washington DC? Or WI, MI, MN & Illinois especially, be hostage to urban areas? Most of the map is RED. They should also split up CA & TX, where rural voters are marginalized.
There is nothing about cheating in this scheme. It is perfectly legal. I as a PA resident, am tired of seeing our whole map RED with a blot of blue in Philadelphia. That is ridiculous!
TBS
January 25th, 2013
10:14 am
Going to be great if Broun gets in the race.
He could run an an earth’s only 6000 yrs old commercial and have a depiction of Isaiah as a brontosaurus herder
Paul
January 25th, 2013
10:15 am
ad
“This idea that dead people voted or more people than were registered in some place voted has been debunked so many times I can’t believe people are still throwing it out there”
It’s a normal pattern for some. Read a lead, get stumped, realize it contradicts their cherished beliefs, get frustrated, still can’t face having to modify their views and admit they’ve been getting played by rich guys on talk shows and… dead people voting gets posted.
JamVet
January 25th, 2013
10:15 am
skip, and I am not convinced that Gore wouldn’t have been infinitely better that George.
it is hard to imagine a scenario where he could have been worse…
Columbus
January 25th, 2013
10:15 am
States ARE within their RIGHTS to do this but you call it cheating…..hmmm. LOL all you ignorants are funny. Lets see Obama had EVERYTHING going for him the last 2 elections and i mean EVERYTHING, I caould compile a list a MILE long starting with 400,000 UNION workers campaigning for him in the 4 key battleground states, and he still BARELY won the election and you are all saying the GOP is dead? ROFL….let me tell you ignorants something…you know who wins the elections since the time of most people having TV? The person with the most charisma, personality, is most likeable. The one you like after seeing both candidates after the first few minutes. You see its not you and I that decide the election, tis the people who dont give a crap enough to pay close attention to all the political BS. They dont care or dont have time and they see the candidates and they decide which one they like best by how they look, talk, personality, charisma and overall just you they trust and LIKE. Its not this deep. You dont get it. So keep talking all your smack but Obama ran against who? John McCain? Wow hes mr personality isnt he? He ran against Romney? Another one with charisma and the gift of gab huh? ROFL….you guys are full of it and dont even know it! You dont get the big picture because you are too close…..ROFL
TBS
January 25th, 2013
10:16 am
jam @ 10:15
With you on that point
Entitled
January 25th, 2013
10:16 am
God I hope they dont get this done. Next thing you know I will have to get a JOB. We would loose all of the free programs and handouts my family will starve will I do.
Jeff H
January 25th, 2013
10:16 am
I will agree that ‘responsible patriot’ does have more folksy appeal than ‘white racist’.
guy
January 25th, 2013
10:17 am
THERE IS NOTHING DECENT ABOUT AL GORE. PLEASE DON’T PEE ON OTHER PEOPLE’S LEGS AND TELL THEM IT’S RAINING. EVEN CONS ARE NOT THAT STUPID. COME ON NOW !
Nolan
January 25th, 2013
10:17 am
It sounds like the author may not have all his facts straight:
Fact: Each state has more electoral votes than congressional districts. Electoral votes are allocated as number of Congressional seats + number of Senate states. Therefore, a state’s electoral votes do cannot be allocated simply as 1 for each congressional district.
Fact: Two states have allocated electoral votes by congressional district for decades. Maine and Nebraska gives 1 vote to the winner in each congressional district and then gives the 2 “Senate-based” electoral votes to the winner of the popular vote in the state. I don’t recall anyone saying that either of these states are “cheating.”
Fact: Virginia (and other states) are not “cheating,” since they are playing within the rules. I’ll agree that they GOP may be trying to game the system (like the TX mid-decade redistricting orchestrated by Dick Armey a few years ago). They may be opening a can of worms, though, since they are assuming that these states will always be Republican-led and that congressional districts will never be gerrymandered to give Democrats an advantage at any point in the future.
Welcome to the Occupation
January 25th, 2013
10:18 am
So the news of the Saxby Chambliss retirement hits right now, guess we’ll be moving on to that pretty soon.
larry
January 25th, 2013
10:19 am
This is just a last desparate attempt by a once proud party to try to win an election.
They are saying the President is trying to bury the party to the dustbin of history.
I dont think the President has anything to do with it, and when this doesnt work, what will the GOP do next ?
getalife
January 25th, 2013
10:19 am
And you wonder why we have a cheating society?
It trickled down .
Tealiban Party
January 25th, 2013
10:19 am
Columbus
January 25th, 2013
10:15 am
States ARE within their RIGHTS to do this but you call it cheating…..hmmm. LOL all you ignorants are funny. Lets see Obama had EVERYTHING going for him the last 2 elections and i mean EVERYTHING, I caould compile a list a MILE long starting with 400,000 UNION workers campaigning for him in the 4 key battleground states, and he still BARELY won the election and you are all saying the GOP is dead?
Perhaps you missed the election results, but it wasn’t even close. If Obama is such a horrible president (as the CONS all say he is), and your guy couldn’t even get close, it says a lot about the policies and future of the GOP….
godless heathen - owner of many things he does not need
January 25th, 2013
10:20 am
I don’t defend this kind of crap. It’s likely to just come back and bite the Va. Repubs somewhere down the road. Just like the fine art of gerryMEANDERing was perfected by the Dems in GA but now used by Repubs to their advantage.
That district mentioned on page 1 went from Atlanta to Savannah, if I remember correctly and looked like it went out of its way to pick up individual houses on the way.
southpaw
January 25th, 2013
10:20 am
Jay, did I get put into moderation? My reply to sfd @8:48 hasn’t appeared.
Kevin Powers
January 25th, 2013
10:21 am
Good article valid points. I live in Illinois and gerrymandering happens to favor the democrats but stiil wrong.
Mike
January 25th, 2013
10:22 am
Winner take all is bullsjit! If a state has 16 electoral votes, and the dems get 50% of the vote and the repubs get 50%, they should split the electoral votes 8 to 8. What is not fair about that? Heck, that seems like the only fair way to do this.
If this had been the case in Ga. this past election, President Obama would have gotten 6 or 7 electoral votes from Ga.
another voice
January 25th, 2013
10:22 am
It is long past time that the electoral college be eliminated and the national election determined by popular vote. A positive side-effect would be the necessity of presidential candidates campaigning in all the states instead of a few.
Welcome to the Occupation
January 25th, 2013
10:23 am
So I’m assuming you’ll be preparing a little something on the Chambliss news.
But are you really going to let yesterday’s filibuster “reform” debacle go uncommented? Are you really going to take a yawn on that one when that very episode is another key exhibit in understanding the misdeeds you’re lamenting here?
Monty
January 25th, 2013
10:23 am
“It seems to me this is not constitutional”
A liberal concerned about the Constitution. You heard it here 1st. Now what about the 2nd Amendmant and stealing folk’s guns away? HUM! That sorta doesn’t seem um “Constitutional” either now does it? You guys are priceless.
Erwin's cat
January 25th, 2013
10:23 am
Enter your comments here
Thogwummpy
January 25th, 2013
10:24 am
Sweep asid briskly the silly, childish sterotypes that have been successfully indoctrinated into the public about conservatives (like Class Warfare itself, which slanders achievers in society and demonizes them). The fact is, the GOP is on life support because they’ve tried to court a media that is wired into hostility towards conservative values and common sense. For example, Obama—the President who’s added more debt than any other executive—gets away with claiming he’s reduced the debt; a blatantly obvious absurdity….while the press trashed Romney as a “liar” because he pointed out that Chrysler’s Fiat division was going to manufacture Jeeps in China (Obama’s campaign even ran ads calling Romney a liar on that topic)…and it turns out that Romney was correct….yet no media coverage or apology. Journalists decide what the majority foolishly believes. Thusly, the GOP is doomed because a deep partisan and unethical press corps fabricates false images and impressions. The “enemy” of Liberty, and the GOP….are journalists. And that’s what’s going to kill the American experiment.
JamVet
January 25th, 2013
10:24 am
BARELY won the election…
BWAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!
He CRUSHED both McCain AND Romney.
Hello? Did someone go all Rip Van Winkle on us?
That is the funniest thing about these losers in Old Virginny.
Gerrymander nine EC votes to the weakling Mitt if that floats your loser boat.
Woo Hoo!
That means he loses this last election with 215 votes instead of 206.
The con beat downs will continue and I will continue to chuckle…
alex
January 25th, 2013
10:24 am
@Common.. Jay has increasingly gotten more biased and belligerent in the short time I’ve read this column, I sense a real boredom and insecurity and thus a need to say and think only those things that support a far left wing ideology, his readership, delighted with the last election are , ingeneral more ardent, emboldened. There is less and less discussion, mainly name calling, racism and an overall negative outlook on all things not far left. This is classic , really any far wing outlet does similar things and with the polarization of the public and idealogues such as Rush and Jay- there is less and less middle ground and room for intelligent discussion,well that’s the way I see it …see “the cat”…..”have you shot any kids today?”..how utterly ridiculous and disappointing that one has to consider such confrontational ideas….
Any party that uses sleezy techniques to get votes will eventually loose out in the general election, see chicago Dems in 1960 as a prime example…
larry
January 25th, 2013
10:24 am
So all of you think everyone in rural American is working ?
Boy , have they got you fooled.
There are more people recieving government program help here in rural America than in urban American.
But dont let a good stereotype go to waste.
weetamoe
January 25th, 2013
10:25 am
Maine and Nebraska have had similar rules for allocating electoral votes for some time now. I prefer the system advocated by Lani Guinere, best friend of the Clinton’s until they threw her under one of those ubiquitous buses. Although my political leanings are quite different from hers, her proposals make a good deal of sense. I still believe the literacy test is the way to go. All of those efforts to assure educational equality these past 50 years or so should have given everyone who cares to vote the ability to pass such a test. Please give readers a warning when you intend to mention Alan. Now I can’t get rid of the nightmare vision of him in those tiny tighty running shorts.
Erwin's cat
January 25th, 2013
10:25 am
Reps just want their “fair share”
JamVet
January 25th, 2013
10:25 am
Monty, how many guns have you had stolen?
(And no, I don’t mean that bully kid down the street who got your super soaker.)
jbill
January 25th, 2013
10:27 am
One cheater calling another cheater a CHEATER….way to go JB keep the hate up.
Mr Right, the FOXBOT,not the JAYBUTT
January 25th, 2013
10:27 am
Jay
January 25th, 2013
8:45 am
Skipper, that’s absolutely true. Those Dem-drawn maps were ridiculous. I’ll give Georgia Republicans credit for not repeating that mistake.
Wow, I was taken aback by this statement from Jay! I don’t really recall him ever giving them credit for anything! It’s alway a continual drip,drip,drip of negativaty about the GOP, you would think the Dems are saints!
Morality?
January 25th, 2013
10:27 am
Indigo – It’s never to late to save your soul from Obama. Ignoring and refusing to carry out the Fed laws on the books – which Obama pledged to do under oath – is unconstitutional and illegal. Are you a member of what I call the CULT Obama? Are you a dead brain zombie for Obama? Will you willingly follow Obama over the FISCAL CLIFF like a lemming to it’s doom? I am neither Dem nor Repub. I did not vote “W” nor Obama. They are PARTY LOYALISTS above USA loyalists. With them their party is more important than the FISCAL survival of the USA. They are both FISCAL LIBERALS. We need country LOYALISTS that are concerned with the FISCAL survival of the USA. We need a 3rd party and a BALANCED BUDGET amendment to the Constitution to do what the spineless party loyalist politicians won’t do – CUT UP THE CREDIT CARD and spend within your means to avoid the FISCAL CLIFF. We are giving away billions of tax dollars to China and Japan just to finance this debt. We are spending our children’s future. Time to the stop the INSANITY in D.C.
midtownguy
January 25th, 2013
10:27 am
So why isn’t Georgia pursuing this? That answer is where the true motive becomes evident. If it is a good Republican idea to have electoral votes divided by district, why are they not pursuing the idea in all Republican controlled states? Could it be because it would give Democrats electoral votes in the urban districts of “solid red” states?
Former Reagan Republican
January 25th, 2013
10:28 am
Two Points. 1) The Electoral College is outdated and should be abolished. Just use the popular vote. 2) Go back to the U. S Senate being elected by state legislatures. This will act as a check to Federal abuse of state and local powers.
JamVet
January 25th, 2013
10:29 am
I still believe the literacy test is the way to go.
Wow.
Jim Crow lives.
Incredible…
indigo
January 25th, 2013
10:30 am
Interesting
The more Republicans are exposed for the lying cheats they are, the more hystrical and shrill their con defenders here become.
Joe Hussein Mama
January 25th, 2013
10:31 am
Dan — “This is the exact way election should be decided. Should all of Pennsylvania be marginalized in Presidential elections because of Philadelphia?”
If there are move voters in Philly than in the rest of the state, then yes.
“The rest of VA because of the government workers commuting into Washington DC?”
You ever spent much time in Northern VA? I have, and the traffic there is as bad, if not worse, than it is here in ATL. If the voters in NOVA outnumber the voters in rural VA, then yes.
“Or WI, MI, MN & Illinois especially, be hostage to urban areas? Most of the map is RED.”
So you’re in favor of the Rush Limbaugh system, where whoever accrues more *acreage* in the election is the winner? Is that what you’re saying?
“They should also split up CA & TX, where rural voters are marginalized.”
Uh huh.
“There is nothing about cheating in this scheme. It is perfectly legal. I as a PA resident, am tired of seeing our whole map RED with a blot of blue in Philadelphia. That is ridiculous!”
What’s ridiculous is that you apparently want one rural voter to count more than one urban voter does.
alex
January 25th, 2013
10:31 am
@ Nolan, just read your post, thanks for an informative, non-political statement, ALL-please read,..Let’s move on, Deficeit anyone…
Thomas
January 25th, 2013
10:31 am
http://www.advisorone.com/2013/01/24/secs-16-biggest-penalties-since-financial-crisis?utm_source=compliance12513&utm_medium=enewsletter&utm_campaign=compliance&t=the-client&page=2
Speaking of if you can’t compete, cheat. Or in this case the punishment is not commensurate with the reaping
Simple Truths
January 25th, 2013
10:31 am
I don’t understand Jay’s outrage over this plan. Is it not moving Virginia from a winner take all method, to more of what Maine and Nebraska use?
If this was used in more states, would it not lead to the candidates having to campaign more widely? Obama didn’t campaign in Texas because it was a red state. With this methodology, he could have picked up electoral votes in Houston and Dallas.
By the way, Jay, both sides gerrymander. Lose the poutrage about the GOP doing it.
TGT
January 25th, 2013
10:32 am
…It’s something that could only be accomplished through an amendment to the Constitution…
So legal and constitutional action by the VA legislature is “cheating” but amending the U.S. Const. is not?
getalife
January 25th, 2013
10:33 am
Of course our cons don’t care if the gop lie, cheat and say facts don’t matter.
They chose to live in a make believe world last cycle so you can hang it up con cons choosing the right thing to do.
cons are horrible example for our children so we have to marginalize them as kooks like we are doing.
Mike
January 25th, 2013
10:33 am
Good point Midtownguy. It works both ways. But “winner take all” is not right either. As someone said earlier, the current system allows politicians to focus their attention on 5 or 6 states instead of fighting for every electoral vote in everey state.
skipper
January 25th, 2013
10:33 am
Jamvet/Guy,
Lets put Al Gore in his “lock-bokth” (thats his lispy pronunciation for lock-box, a term he so overused in the prez-debates) and move on. While I appreciate everyone’s view, the gathering of all the intellectuals, pundits, and avid star- trekkies of the planet could not convince me this arrogant self-serving snot-rag would have been a good prez.
Anybody out there know who would be a good one next time around? I know it is early, but already names are rumblin’………………
curious
January 25th, 2013
10:33 am
Mike
” If a state has 16 electoral votes, and the dems get 50% of the vote and the repubs get 50%, they should split the electoral votes 8 to 8. What is not fair about that? Heck, that seems like the only fair way to do this.”
Mike’s right.
F. Sinkwich
January 25th, 2013
10:33 am
“Two Points. 1) The Electoral College is outdated and should be abolished. Just use the popular vote. 2) Go back to the U. S Senate being elected by state legislatures.”
1) Very BAD idea.
2) Very GOOD idea.
Tealiban Party
January 25th, 2013
10:34 am
another voice
January 25th, 2013
10:22 am
It is long past time that the electoral college be eliminated and the national election determined by popular vote. A positive side-effect would be the necessity of presidential candidates campaigning in all the states instead of a few.
You might change your mind when Georgia starts to get inundated with commercials the way states like Ohio and Florida were last election
Paul
January 25th, 2013
10:35 am
Mike
“Winner take all is bullsjit! ”
You little soshulistcommielibfreeennerprisehater who thinks someone else is entitled to steal what the winner gets, free market-hating fake Amurikan, you!
willie lynch
January 25th, 2013
10:35 am
For a group that claims to be the brightest, the defenders of democracy, the protectors of American liberty and all that other lip service, the GOP is nothing but an angry mob using their Klan like tactics to take what they couldn’t get by a strong appeal.
These clowns and their defenders just don’t get it. You’re doing yourself a disservice by not putting together a winning platform. Go back to the drawing board and develop a new game plan that will sway people to your side.
I guess this is what the GOP means when they say people need to work hard and determine their own destiny.
alex
January 25th, 2013
10:35 am
@Thomas, go with it, what do you suggest,…we all think these guys are sleezy…What is this”we report,you deside”??!!??
I Always Vote
January 25th, 2013
10:35 am
Republicans are low life scum, have always been low life scum, and will always be low life scum.
Dirty Dawg
January 25th, 2013
10:38 am
Now’s as good a time to deal with the idiocy of the electoral ’system’ as we’ll ever have. One man, or woman, one vote. This business of having votes from less-populated, even rural, states and areas within states count more than the votes of someone that happens to live in an ‘urban’ area – hell, it’s almost a return to the old 3/5ths doctrine they laid on ex-slaves – has got to be unconstitutional. We did away with the county unit system here in Georgia decades ago for this very reason. And if they insist on keeping it, then convert to a percentage of electoral votes based on the percentage of the popular vote…hell that ought to be The American Way, it used to be, only now it seems anything’s fair in winning elections…at least according to Republicans.
Paul
January 25th, 2013
10:38 am
Monty
“A liberal concerned about the Constitution”
Considering conservatives supported the British monarchy and free-thinking, break with the past, progressive liberals wrote it, well, yeah -
GOP plans Virginia redistricting | OWSj
January 25th, 2013
10:38 am
[...] http://blogs.ajc.com/jay-bookman-blog/2013/01/25/gop-battle-plan-if-you-cant-compete-cheat/ [...]
Roberto
January 25th, 2013
10:39 am
Jay, I know you have to write about something, but the people of Virginia elect their government and then that government decides to change the rules. That’s not cheating – that’s the consequences of elections. Kind of like Obama care and a weakened national defense is the consequence of reelecting Obama.
novenator
January 25th, 2013
10:39 am
Funny how the states where this is being pushed by the Republicans have all voted Democratic over the last 2 Presidential elections. If the Republicans really supported this, they would push it in states like Texas, Georgia, and Mississippi.
getalife
January 25th, 2013
10:39 am
The gop should disband after the majority grows in 14.
They are worthless to the majority of the American people.
Like jindal said,
The party of stupid.
Kooks.
Moonbat
January 25th, 2013
10:40 am
Man o’ man are they stooopid…They just don’t have that media savvy
like Hillary(she knows how to lie and make it sound like the truth)
& Barry is still pretending to support capitalism when we all know he
desires to be another Chavez of that guy for muslim brotherhood. Can’t wait to jack the guns from the law abiders so it will truly be MOB RULE, baby?
Paul
January 25th, 2013
10:40 am
and Monty, who’s saying peoples’ guns are going to get stolen? Besides the NRA, gun lobby and talk radio guys, that is? ’cause it isn’t anywhere in the legislative proposals or executive orders, is it?
Carl
January 25th, 2013
10:43 am
Jay said: I would also hope that Democrats have some remaining sense of shame.
Considering how the health care bill was passed…I think we all know that Democrats have no shame.
getalife
January 25th, 2013
10:44 am
The party of stupid (pos) are trying to fix the pos.
Can’t wait too see what changes they make because cons hate change.
Rafe Hollister
January 25th, 2013
10:45 am
This GOP ploy is wrong and ill advised, and this from someone on the right. They should be ashamed to propose this travesty.
Jay’s profuse outrage is situational, if the Dems did it and they would if it would help their position, he would be saying how it returns their voice to the minority.
A party, who for political reasons, refuses to debate, craft, or pass a national budget, has shown that they will put party politics above country, just as the GOP is doing here.
larry
January 25th, 2013
10:45 am
Can’t wait to jack the guns from the law abiders so it will truly be MOB RULE, baby?
Does anybody here remember what people were saying in 1938 when the supreme court said it was alright for the federal government to ban the sale of machine guns and sawed off shot guns?
I really would like to know , no joke. And the vote by the way was 8 to 0.
stands for decibels
January 25th, 2013
10:47 am
No more stupid than making racist comments about “Asian insects”.
“Thulsa Doom”, I have asked you directly, and more politely than you deserve, three times previously to tell me WTF you’re scribbling about, and you haven’t provided a link.
I’m just going to call you a liar and assume everything out of your fat piehole is a lie unless/until you can comply with this reasonable request, and advise other rational people to do so as well, because I honestly do not know what post you’re referring to.
The Dragon
January 25th, 2013
10:48 am
Oh, shush you all. Yes, it’s despicable what they’re trying to do, but come on – rezoning voter districts in counties and states to favor one party over another is what politicians do. Tipping the scales in their favor is what politicians do. Dems, Reps, the entire sodden bunch. Skewing facts, statistics, lying, cheating, it’s the norm.
Want to stop it? Then toss it all out, and count individual votes. Good luck finding support for it.
stands for decibels
January 25th, 2013
10:49 am
(at the risk of getting all enmeshed in the stupid soap-operatics of this blog–I should add, I actually had Thulsa’s back when “the cat” had been claiming Doom had celebrated the deaths of children in Newtown. And this is how TD repays such a favor, apparently–by pulling allegations of racism out of his rear end.)
gary wilkinson
January 25th, 2013
10:49 am
Now we are going to add political corruption to our list of characteristics that is making us a third world country.
godless heathen - owner of many things he does not need
January 25th, 2013
10:51 am
Monty, how many guns have you had stolen?
Somebody broke in my truck once and stole a flashlight and a .22 RF rifle. I wasn’t too upset about the rifle because it was a POS but what did torque me was they took a damn good flashlight and left the POS they came with.
gette
January 25th, 2013
10:51 am
Oh brother, and now it is Dunce Redux, since he was just re-elected as RNC Chair, only had a Libertarian challenger and after Rand Paul’s charade on Wednesday, all hands on deck cause DWS is not gonna let these fools get the better of any option, especially the Democrats.
Mike
January 25th, 2013
10:52 am
Pauly…back at ya bro
Rafe Hollister
January 25th, 2013
10:53 am
In a light hearted way we could say the GOP has finally embraced redistribution, in the EC vote, in an effort to even the score. I guess turnabout is fair play!
ad
January 25th, 2013
10:53 am
Gerrymander two districts, each with 100,000 voters, so that one district is 51% Repub and 49% Dems and the other is 99% Dem and 1% Repub, each with the same number of electoral votes. Then 52,000 Repubs (51,000+1,000) can have as many electoral votes as 148,000 Dems (49,000+99,000). See how this works? This is like saying my team’s touchdowns are worth 14 points.
stands for decibels
January 25th, 2013
10:53 am
For a group that claims to be the brightest, the defenders of democracy
huh? the GOP has been specifically ANTI-democracy at home. Have been for many years. They stake positions on issues that virtually always are at odds with what majorities of Americans want.
That’s why you get the usual morons crying “we’renotademocracywe’rearepublisothere!” at fairly short intervals.
Uh Huh....“CHEATING is EASY. Try something more CHALLENGING like being HONEST.
January 25th, 2013
10:55 am
He who purposely cheats, would cheat his GOD.
The GOP are HYPOCRITES.
Next time they start talking about their christian beliefs
TURN OFF THE TV.
Mike
January 25th, 2013
10:56 am
I gotta go. I’m trying to be the winning bidder on a Taylormade rocketballz 3 wood on e-bay and time is winding down. Winning this club is way mo impotent than this stuff heah.
I knew y’all would understand. see ya later. Be nice!!! Especially you, Indigo. You tend to get a little nasty at times.
kimmer
January 25th, 2013
10:57 am
“States are within their rights under the Constitution to allocate electoral votes as they wish, so a legal challenge on that basis would fail. ” Jay Bookman
Jay you are overtly deceitful with the way you approach this column. First of all it is in no way cheating to do what you claim the Virginia GOP has proposed. You admit this yourself in your column. Call it sleazy, call it unethical, call it political suicide but cheating it most certainly is not. It is completely within the rights of the state legislature and it is completely up to the citizens of that state to throw them out if they don’t like it.
Secondly, you clearly are spinning this as if it is a stated national strategy of the GOP when it is not. From what I read it is just Virginia.
Lastly, gerrymandering is a political ploy used for hundreds of years by both parties. Please don’t pretend that the democrat party is above trying something like this. They would do this in a heartbeat if the situation presented itself and they believed they could get away with it. Personally I don’t see the VA GOP getting away with it either. This seems to be born out of the oddity of a state with a republican held legislature that votes for liberal democrats nationally which to my knowledge doesn’t exist the other way around.
VIVIAN HUNT
January 25th, 2013
10:58 am
Sounds like more of the voter id trickery. They dont need to cheat to win, it just undermines them as a party.
Stevie Ray..Clowns to the left and Jokers to the right..here I am...
January 25th, 2013
10:59 am
Seems to me that a congressional debate needs hearing to put on the table the real pros and cons of electoral college. For example, the electoral college as is enhances the status of minority voters while at the same time, discourages voter turnout in many instances.
I don’t understand all the whining by the left. Its kinda like suggesting one shouldn’t take advantage of all tax deduction opportunities..
godless heathen - owner of many things he does not need
January 25th, 2013
10:59 am
rocketballz wood?
Where did Mike say he was going. Pink Pony?
Doggone/GA
January 25th, 2013
11:01 am
“I don’t understand all the whining by the left”
Do you think it’s a good thing that the loser in a state should get more Electoral votes than the winer gets?
detritusUSA
January 25th, 2013
11:01 am
I’ve always considered republicans to be truly evil. This only validates my opinion.