Rosen: Electoral College dropout

Friday, February 9, 2007

He's baaack! Sen. Ken Gordon is at it again. After failing to undermine the Electoral College in the last session of the state legislature, he's hoping to have better luck this year with a Democratic majority in both houses and a Democrat as governor. Senate Bill 46 would include Colorado in a compact of other states that pledge to cast all their electoral votes for whichever presidential candidate gets the most popular votes, nationally, regardless of who gets the most votes in our state.

In other words, Coloradans would sacrifice their own choice for president to a scheme designed to kill the Electoral College. For example, let's say a majority of Coloradans vote for John McCain in 2008, with Hillary Clinton finishing a distant second. Hillary goes on to lose, as well, in a total of 35 states, winning in only 15 Democrat "blue" states like California, New York and Illinois. But because she racks up big numbers in those more populous states, Coloradans would be forced to give her all nine of our electoral votes, with none going to the Colorado winner, McCain. Hence, New Yorkers and Californians dictate how Coloradans vote and a candidate lacking in broad national appeal wins the presidency. This is preposterous.

The supporters of this goofy idea are overwhelmingly liberal Democrats. Their first goal, obviously, is to win the presidency for their party. They believe this will be easier if they can circumvent the Electoral College, which leverages the voice of less populous states, like Colorado, that have tended to vote Republican in recent years. SB 46 contrives to tip the scales in favor of northeastern states and California with large Democratic majorities in heavily populated cities.

Additionally, liberal populists like Gordon have an ideological bias against the Electoral College, preferring a national popular vote for president. They say that's the way it's supposed to be in a democracy. But we are not a democracy, never have been and most definitely never should be. The Founders abhorred pure democracy and purposefully created a constitutional republic, an ingenious combination of democratic institutions and anti-democratic safeguards: a Bill of Rights to protect individuals from the tyranny of the majority; representative government, filtering majoritarian passions; a Senate with two seats for each state, regardless of population; federalism; the separation of powers; judicial review; the presidential veto; and, yes, the Electoral College.

We're not a collective, amorphous blob, but a confederation of individual states, each retaining some sovereign powers, unique qualities, values and agendas. The Electoral College is a constant reminder of that. We do not have - nor have we ever had - a national popular vote for president. We have 51 separate elections in each of the states and the District of Columbia to determine how Electoral College votes will be cast. It's only out of curiosity, devoid of legal status, that we aggregate those 51 election results to produce a national total.

SB 46 would render Colorado irrelevant. Why would a candidate waste time and resources, here, to pick up a relatively small differential when 25 million votes are at stake in New York and California?

Doing away with the Electoral College, straightforwardly, by amending the U.S. Constitution would require ratification by three-quarters of the states. Gordon and his partisan cabal know there are enough small states to block any such move. So they've come up with this cynical ploy.

If Gov. Bill Ritter is truly the principled moderate he campaigned as, he'll veto this deceitful bill should it reach his desk.

(I debated Sen. Gordon on this issue last April. You can hear it on line at: www.850koa.com. Click on "Shows," "Mike Rosen," then "Rosen Podcasts," then scroll down to "Ken Gordon.")

Mike Rosen's radio show airs daily from 9 a.m. to noon on 850 KOA. He can be reached by e-mail at mikerosen@850koa.com.