Abolition of the electoral college

[Duke David]

Also this thread is weird. Where is the thread starter's first post?

LOL

I'm asking that question myself.
The moderators seem to leave no doubt that they hate me.

[Duke David]

Never

Tiny states like Nebraska benefit from the disproportional allocation of the electoral votes, of course...

[Duke David]

Of course.  But my point still stands.  Nebraska (and Maine) have made changes to take away much of the (marginal) advantage small states have.  The bigger states could make these changes too, but they don't. 

But yes, the real "winners" under the electoral college system are the mid sized swing states.

The reason Nebraska splits its electoral votes is its function as a stronghold.

Its government wanted both the GOP and the Dems to campaign in Nebraska.

[Duke David]

The Electoral College will be abolished once a third party has established itself.

As soon as that happens each presidential election will get redirected to the House of Representatives, which will result in random winners.

Displeasure within the population will motivate the powers that be to rethink.

[Duke David]

The Electoral College will be abolished once a third party has established itself.

As soon as that happens each presidential election will get redirected to the House of Representatives, which will result in random winners.

Displeasure within the population will motivate the powers that be to rethink.

Except as long as the EC exists, we won't get a third party.  We might get a new party that replaces one of the other two, but not a stable three party system.

You'd better take a look at the British election maps:
There you have a stable three party system,consisting of:
the Conservatives (Tories), the Labour Party (British spelling of "labor") and the Liberal Democrats. (plus some other small parties)

Once a third party enters the House of Representatives or even the Senate - it'll presumably be the Libertarians - it is talked about as a president-maker.

[Duke David]

When was the last time the Head of State was elected in Britain?  If we had a parliamentary system instead of a presidential system, third parties would be quite likely. 
[quote]

You're mixing up two things that don't relate to each other:

systems of government and election systems.

For example, if the US parliament were elected by proportional representation, your country would still be a presidential system.

Consequently I think the Libertarians, whom I scorn, will some day become a third party in the political system.
On the one hand they attract Republican voters who oppose war, Christian fundamentalism and restrictions of privacy, on the other hand they attract Democrats with anti-tax and anti-welfare stances.