November 11, 2000

The post Bush-Gore election scene in America once more demonstrates America’s departure from "good". Al Gore, the Democrat contender for president, didn’t like election results in the state of Florida. What does a poor loser do in such a situation? Cry foul, of course. Indeed, crying foul is what Gore did and even goes further by threatening lawsuits alleging difficult to read election ballots. Presently Gore is demanding recounts of the recounts he requested earlier.

Meanwhile the rest of the world is bewildered and confused by the commotion in the States. Foreign perspectives range from confusion to arrogance. Europeans as example cannot understand the right to own guns therefore how could they understand something more complex such as the American Electoral College. How could they understand the right of each state within the United States to make their voice heard in a federation joined together as a league for the common interest of all!

Americans do not elect a president by popular vote. When the United States Constitution was made the framers did not want a direct vote by the people because they believed the people could not know enough about the qualifications of the candidates running for office, especially those candidates that were not from their region. Another factor was the susceptibility citizens had to rapid moods swings induced by events or rhetoric. Therefore, the Electoral College was created with the hope that electors- initially chosen by state legislatures or by popular vote- would be eminent and knowledgeable men in each state who would be best suited to select a president. Herein lies a fundamental flaw in the United States Constitution.

The development of political parties veered the system off in a direction not anticipated by the framers. Presently party leaders in each state usually choose the electors for their state. Electors are chosen based on their loyalty and reliability to a particular political party however by federal decree they are free agents and may vote as they wish. Indeed the free agent prerogative is rarely exercised due to partisan politics. Partisan selection of electors exemplifies the fundamental flaw in the Constitution. Instead of free agents free of partisan politics, highly knowledgeable in the workings of politics and intimately close to the Constitution and Declaration of Independence the electors are mired in bias.

Each state is entitled to electors equal in number to the number of its members in the House of Representatives in Washington DC, which is based on that state’s population and the number of its senators, which is two for each state. By law, however, no state gets fewer than 3 electoral votes. Within each state the electors cast their votes and the candidate with the majority wins all that states entitled votes. That state’s vote is then compiled along with the votes from the other states to determine the winner of the election. In this manner each state speaks from a single united voice before the forum of the United States.

The indirect system of electoral vote was born from a time more that two hundreds years in the past yet for all that we are now some attributes have not changed. Human nature is still the same and the wide spectrum of intellect has not changed. Perhaps the indirect system is needed even today. Greed, lust, envy, lies, deceit, and anger are no less human attributes now than in history.

In a direct system no buffer exists for the human condition. Direct election by the people in a democracy pure and simple has produced complicated results generally not in the best interest of the majority. Look to France with an elected body made up of multiple adversarial individuals representing political philosophies so far out that the results are idiots making decisions that affect the intelligent. This condition is not unique to France but simply more prevalent due to the overly loud voice of minorities, uneducated, and the aloof and corrupted.

The States are moving in a direction more aligned with corruption and all its attributes. A good indication of who and what Al Gore represents can be found in statistics compiled from voters as they left the polling place. The non-religious, undereducated, homosexual, unmarried, and pro-abortion voters (America's finest) favored Al Gore.

The Editor

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