The Electorial College - March 11, 2011

[Thor]

Electoral college, popular vote.... you all are missing the one that Obama ran on and won... some refer to it as the Welfare Vote, others refer to it as the Progressive vote. All you have to do is promise more to those who do less, and you have successfully bought their vote. The stage is set... in his reelection run, all he has to do is promise more again.

[rod anode]

BECAREFUL thor you keep talking like that people will think you are nuts like me

[Thor]

That's all right in my book. They would probably really think I was nuts if I posted most of my anti progressive, anti liberal, anti socialist thoughts. So I just keep it simple.

[Stand Alone Defense]

Yeah be for you know it people will start calling you a Right wing loon like they do to me!!

[Thor]

Josh, Ed,

     Who is "loonier"... the Conservative or the Liberal? Liberals have convinced themselves that something that has never worked, anywhere, can now, somehow work here. I'll take the Conservative label anyday and avoid any ties to Sanders the Socialist or Leahy the Liberal.

[mkr]

Does Gary ever reply on these?  I respect you Mr. Gilbert, but if I had this type of follow up in your classes, I would have gotten an F.

[rod anode]

HHHAAAHHHHAAAAAHHHHHAAAAAAAAAAAAA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[slpott]

In my opinion, and mine only, I think what you said MKR is key to all of these discussions. Carolyn always answers and showes that she is for the people. Gary never does. That is the difference between working for the people and  not working for the people. I would vote for Carolyn over and over. It doesn't matter if people are for or against you. What matters in any relationship is communication. I don't see it happening. It makes you wonder.

[mkr]

Well said Shelly. It really disappoints me.  He was a super teacher and I expected more when it came to this...... Carolyn is SUPER and I will continue to vote for her. This is such a great resource for them to utilize and gain the input from the community with a minimal amount of time needed to respond and listen to the people who voted them in.

[Gary Gilbert]

I raised the issue of the Electoral College because the newspapers did not deal with the complexity of the issue. Vermont’s influence by either measure is small but what concerns me more is that federal policies do not recognize the unique needs of rural states. Particularly those that have a town form of government and provide services to its citizens from both the state and local level. Most states have a county form of government where decisions are made at the state level, administered by the county and local agencies do only what they are told to do.They do not understand the importance to us to be able to make our own decisions, right or wrong, about things that concern us.  Let me give an example from education.

   Last year the feds announced that education grants would be available to states that offered or created the opportunity for charter schools to be operated and financed with state dollars. Millions of dollars were at stake but Vermont was not eligible because we did not have any. The reason we don’t is because almost all of our school districts can already do everything that charter schools are allowed to do. Every town district is like a charter school. Charters must allow local communities to determine their curriculum, choose their own school board, hire and fire their own administrators and staff. In return they can be granted exemptions from some state regulation. Fairfax, Georgia, and Fletcher already do this. They can also ask the Commissioner of Education for waivers of state rules.

   They do not understand that a school district, like Fairfax, Georgia, or Fletcher has the right to join with or retire from operations with another district. Or that they can close their own school and reopen it as a private school serving the community needs. Or that a community can choose to close their school, or never open one, and tuition all their students.

   Other states create school districts, change districts and fully fund them from the state level. We let our local voters make most of these decisions for themselves. In fact, the federal government does not recognize town school districts. They define a district as under a superintendent. The most recent national change is from the NECAP tests to a new Common Core. The feds thought that our Dept. of Education could mandate a curriculum for all schools. They did not understand that their proposed change would mean that every school district in the state would have to go through the same process to match their curriculum of skills and knowledge to the new tests requirements.

   After reading the comments to the issue of the current application of the Electoral College, I am convinced that a winner take all position really distorts the will of the voters so that the minority has no voice at all. The biggest weapon Vermont has is, as one of the comments noted, the opportunity to have representatives and senators that serve for a long time: Aiken, Stafford, Leahy, and perhaps Welch and Sanders. The federal seniority system is becoming very important in order to prevent Vermont from being ignored. Our Congressional Delegation seems to spend quite a little time asking for wavers or shaping bill so that they can work in Vermont, not just New Jersey. This state is different and that difference lies in that our citizens have a greater voice that exists in other states.

   I appreciate the thoughtful remarks of many of the writers. I hoped to provoke some awareness of the issue. I guess I did.

[mkr]

THANK YOU MR. GILBERT!

[fletchtb]

Mr. Gilber,

I think what I read was that you favor Vermont keeping it's participation in the electoral college as is, meaning that Vermont's electoral college vote should reflect the vote of the majority of Vermonters?

Did I read that right? Can you confirm or deny?

Thanks,
Todd Baumeister

[petefitz]

Gary,

I interpreted your post to mean that you are still in favor of popular vote elections for president. 

Instructing Vermont's electors to vote for the national popular vote winner will decrease Vermont's influence.   A popular vote election will give more influence to the urban areas, not less.   Candidates will only have to win New York and California by wide margins and ignore the rest of the country.  That's just what we need in Vermont, more rule by urbanites.  If you think the rules are bad now, just wait until the Californians who have bankrupted their state take over!