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Rig the Vote: Republicans Push for Soviet Style Elections Where the Loser Wins
Bob Shrum, Professor of Public Policy at NYU and Daily Beast contributor, was on the Ed Show discussing how Republicans are trying to gerrymander the Presidency when he announced that Republicans want to “Institutionalize a system where the loser wins… Soviet style election.”
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Ed Schultz started the segment off explaining that Republicans are trying to rig the next election, “Republicans in Virginia, Pennsylvania and Michigan want to change the way they award electoral votes. They aren’t trying to improve the system, they only want to change the electoral process for some people….”
Republicans aren’t trying to change red states like Kansas. Oh, no. Kansas is fine, thank you very much. Republicans want to change the rules in these blue states currently controlled by Republicans:Michigan, Florida, Ohio, Virginia, Wisconsin and Pennsylvania. Under their new rules,Republicans would have gotten an extra 45 electoral votes for Mitt Romney.
Bob Shrum summed it up as a felonious assault on elections, “What’s going on here is a felonious assault on free elections. It’s an attempt to gerrymander the presidency. If you think about it, you could argue that the Republicans haven’t won the presidency on the up and up since 1988.”
Yes, he went there. He continued, “They stole 2000, when they stole Florida with the complicity of the Supreme Court. In 2004, they engaged in massive voter suppression. People in Ohio had to wait 8-10 hours to vote and tens of thousands of them couldn’t wait 8-10 hours. They tried it again in 2012 and they lost. They can’t win the presidency so what they want to do is institutionalize a system where the loser wins… This is a kind of Soviet style elections.”
Not only did Bob Shrum just admit on national TV that Republicans stole 2000 and most likely 2004 (this is something not mentioned by MSM, but the facts are the facts), but he also likened Republican elections to Soviet style elections.
Republicans know they can’t win without cheating and disenfranchsing large groups of the electorate. At some point, it might be easier if they just changed their policies in order to actually attract real voters. Obviously they don’t feel that would pay off or they would do it.
The real question Americans should be asking themselves is just what is the huge payoff that makes Republicans so willing to risk continuing to lose elections and having to resort to cheating to win? We know their Southern Strategy is on its last legs, and has marginalized them to a regional party. But what exactly was the Southern Strategy meant to hide? That is the real question.
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24 Responses to Rig the Vote: Republicans Push for Soviet Style Elections Where the Loser Wins
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Virginia
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 8:30 am
Teapublicans HATE socialism, except when they don’t.
SinghX
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 8:31 am
Gerrymandering subverts democracy.
The Republicans are no longer hiding much of anything, except the real “Oz” behind the curtain…the only thing that makes sense is, follow the money. And, we know, every time we find the money trail, the usual suspects pop up on the screen. However, I say there are more suspects “hiding” under the radar; they are the ones who would gain/profit/rule by gerrymandering.
Why can’t we just get it in our heads that these colossal imbeciles are intentionally subverting democracy by any means possible? They are “only following orders” to replace America’s democracy with a theocratic feudal system. They’ve created a “velvet revolutions; all this gerrymandering/election stealing is big ruse intend to make them appear “legitimate”. The must; how else can they re-write the history books, indoctrinating future generations that democracy was once a quaint idea that will be met with swift reprisal if it resurfaces…
Bush once said of his family that they aren’t a part of history as it is; they “create” history the way they want it. (I’ll have to find the quote).
Reynardine
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 8:45 am
Believe our minds are running in the same gutter…er, channel.
SinghX
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 9:04 am
That’s why I got a “thumbs down” right out of the gate!
Reynardine
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 8:40 am
I’ve said this before: They only believe in majority rule when they can stampede the majority into agreeing with them. They have spoken (and I now forget if the source was a book by Deborah Lipstadt, one by Conway and Seligman, or another) of elections being reduced to a *pageant* and then eliminated. Ewepeople are to be *herded* by those who lead by divine right…in the case of Dominionists, literally.
PSzymeczek
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 11:29 am
They believe in majority rule when they can fabricate the “majority.”
8^/
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 8:44 am
what, proof that there sore loser’s?
j
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 8:59 am
Even their best buddy Netanyahu barely squeaked in, he had thought he would have a super majority, apparently his people are beginning to think he is a radical, also they were not impressed by his
attempt to swing the American election for Romney.
novenator
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 9:24 am
Conservatives are very open about hating democracy
djchefron(Moderator)
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 9:48 am
Cons better not go down this road.Like I keep saying all tactics no strategy.If they do try to rig the vote there is a remedy
The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the entire United States. The bill preserves the Electoral College, while ensuring that every vote in every state will matter in every presidential election. The National Popular Vote law has been enacted by states possessing 132 electoral votes — 49% of the 270 electoral votes needed to activate it.
www.nationalpopularvote.c...
Just like denying people the right to vote this scheme they are concocting will blow up big time in their face.
Shiva(Moderator)
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 9:58 am
I tweeted this yesterday, those who talk the most about the Constitution are usually in the foremost of those who oppress other people’s rights
Ardyann
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 10:35 am
We have shone spotlights on the true agendas of the Tea Party and the NRA. We have caused the Norquist pledge to become common knowledge. It is time to give unrelenting exposure to ALEC, it’s intentions in every state, and the candidates who have signed pledges to that outfit’s agenda.
…and to the Republic for which our flag stands–forward!
Nefer
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 10:43 am
I have a question about districting. Does anyone know if it is possible to set districts using some sort of computer population plotting system?
Something like population of the state = “x” people, so the state gets “y” representatives. Pick the largest population centers (starting point being their city, village, or township hall). The number of population centers used would equal “y. The plotting software would extend out from the centers to evenly divide up the population between the districts using only population density as a guide, demographics such as party affiliation being irrelevant.
Is this possible? If it is possible, would it be useful or would it have a bunch of unforeseen pitfalls?
The current system allowing warped and distorted districts that warp and distort elections doesn’t seem right.
Jessica
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 12:04 pm
Shiva(Moderator)
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 12:10 pm
I would like to leave this here so everyone can see what a homeschooled non-reading republican looks like
Joost Schuur
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 4:40 pm
Your reply was completely uncalled for, Shiva, especially coming from a moderator.
I read the article and had the same reaction. There’s no actual details on what the proposed rules are and what those states are doing. I can only assume they want to introduce splitting electoral votes like Maine or Nebraska do based on counties or proportionality of the state’s votes.
The article references a story on NBC news, but it looks like the video is improperly embedded. It doesn’t appear for me in Chrome or Safari on my Mac, even without ad blocking. I couldn’t even find it in the HTML source.
Please consider that there’s an actual problem with the article next time, before you lash out at your readers.
djchefron(Moderator)
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 4:47 pm
You tell me old wise one.Lets assume the better angels of the governors and states that are pushing the idea of splitting the electoral votes.Lets just forget on how they tried to suppress he vote.See no harm no foul.Then why are they doing it in blue states that have republican governors and not in any red states?
Shiva(Moderator)
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 5:04 pm
First of all, it talked about gerrymandering. That should have given you a clue.
The second item was the Republicans changing the electoral process in the states.
Other than that, if you follow the news you know that Republicans and most of the states wherever they can have been restricting minorities and other people from voting.
Lastly, when I’m commenting I am a commentor. When I am moderating I am a moderator.
If you keep up on the news you would fully understand what is being talked about here.
Joost Schuur
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 8:07 pm
The article still doesn’t contain a working link. Rather than trying to justify your reaction, please just look into why it won’t display. The video sounds like it provides details not in this post, specifically about where those 45 electoral votes would come from and why the losers would get them.
If everyone already knew what was going on, then what’s the point of an article like this? A video on another site seems to have spawned this story, and that original source can’t be seen (at least by some people), perhaps because it’s not properly embedded.
In order to combat injustice, you have to know exactly what’s going on. It’s not enough to talk something in vague terms like gerrymandering, and think that’s all it takes. Details allow us to provide more effective counterarguments.
You also can’t shake your moderator persona that easily while commenting, since it specifically says ‘moderator’ in your name here when you do. Whether that’s done automatically or not doesn’t matter. Anytime you post with the word ‘moderator’ next to your name, you set the tone for the site and the kind of community it encourages or condones.
Sarah Jones
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 10:55 pm
Joost,
As I mentioned in the article, this was a clip from the Ed Show. We have had technical issues all day due to something out of our control, and perhaps those issues messed with the video code. I am sorry it wasn’t working.
I’ve updated it.
As I wrote, the rules have to do with gerrymandering districts. This means they are planning to gerrymand districts to award electoral college votes instead of awarding them winner take all statewide as is normal.
lm945
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 4:18 pm
Perhaps its time we eliminated the electoral college.
labman57
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 9:37 pm
Republicans apparently don’t believe that they can win on an even playing field, hence their increased dependence on gerrymandered redistricting efforts.
It would be akin to an NFL team declaring that, when playing on their home turf, the opponent’s touchdowns count as 6 points, but their own scores are worth 8 points.
Now let’s play, and may the better team win.
SeekingTheTruth
Jan. 23rd, 2013 at 11:44 pm
We The People better wake up and smell the coffee. The Republicans are not at all hiding their intentions to thwart democracy in this country. They are bragging about their gerrymandering that allowed them to maintain the House even though Democrats received MORE votes! Since they were successful at doing this without much public knowledge of what was going on, they feel they can go forward with doing the same for Presidential elections!
The Republicans in the House are very clever in covering up their real intentions as they maneuver such actions as the “No Budget; No Pay” Bill. I applaud the Democrats in the House for smelling the rat of Republicans’game to continue holding the economy and investors hostage for 90 days as they enact their grand scheme to get their way on raising the debt ceiling!
Yes, the Senate should get a budget passed, but it should not be attached to getting the debt ceiling raised to pay for debts incurred!
Furthermore, this scheme to change the electoral college is designed to ensure that Republicans win enough electoral votes to win the Presidency! Please note how they are going after Blue States with Republican Governors!
The election of 2010,and the Tea Party have set American democracy back 100 years or more! No one dare say that much of their unrest comes from the election in 2008 of the first African American President of the USA!
Whenever any American rather see our country go down the drain, rather than cooperate with the President of the United States, it sends a clear message to the World about American democracy, about the “land of the free, home of the brave”
Now is the time for all who truly believe, “all men (women) are created equal and endowed with … rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness”, to come forth, get involved in the dialog, before it is too late to make a difference. The handwriting is on the wall that those on the fringe have no intentions of relenting, even after…
toto
Jan. 24th, 2013 at 3:48 pm
Instead, The National Popular Vote bill would guarantee the Presidency to the candidate who receives the most popular votes in the country.
The bill changes the way electoral votes are awarded by states in the Electoral College, instead of the current 48 state-by-state winner-take-all system (not mentioned in the Constitution, but since enacted by states).
Every vote, everywhere, would be politically relevant and equal in every election. Every vote would be included in the state counts and national count.
The candidate with the most popular votes in the country would get the 270+ electoral votes from the enacting states. That guarantees the candidate with the most popular votes in all 50 states and DC wins the presidency.
The bill uses the power given to each state in the Constitution to change how they award their electoral votes for President. Historically, virtually all of the major changes in the method of electing the President, including ending the requirement that only men who owned substantial property could vote and 48 current state-by-state winner-take-all laws, have been by state legislative action.
Most Americans don’t care whether their presidential candidate wins or loses in their state or district . . . they care whether he/she wins the White House. Voters want to know, that even if they were on the losing side, their vote actually was directly and equally counted and mattered to their candidate. Most Americans think it’s wrong for the candidate with the most popular votes to lose. We don’t allow this in any other election in our representative republic.
The bill has passed 31 state legislative chambers in 21 states with 243 electoral votes. The bill has been enacted by 9 jurisdictions with 132 electoral votes – 49% of the 270 necessary to go into effect.
NationalPopularVote
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