Is The US Electoral College A Polite Fiction That Should Be Abolished? : The harbinger signs Vs. The head in the sand policy

By Dufour, Fritz

Book Id: WPLBN0100002584
Format Type: PDF (eBook)
File Size: 890.66 KB
Reproduction Date: 12/4/2017

Title:	Is The US Electoral College A Polite Fiction That Should Be Abolished? : The harbinger signs Vs. The head in the sand policy
Author:	Dufour, Fritz
Volume:
Language:	English
Subject:	Non Fiction, Political Science, US Constitution
Collections:	Authors Community, Politics
Historic Publication Date:	2017
Publisher:	Fritz Dufour

Member Page:	Fritz Dufour
Citation APA MLA Chicago Linguist, Mba, Des, F. D. (2017). Is The US Electoral College A Polite Fiction That Should Be Abolished? : The harbinger signs Vs. The head in the sand policy. Retrieved from http://www.worldpubliclibrary.org/

Description
Political polarization occurs when the views or expectations of one person or a group of people reflect those of a political party (in the US: Democrat or Republican) or an ideology (liberal or conservative). Political polarization isn’t something to fear. In fact, it’s a test for democracy and for progress. The most notable example of modern times political polarization was the French Estate General during which those who were for the revolution seated at the right wing of the Assembly, while those who were against the revolution seated at the left wing of the Assembly. If political polarization is a litmus test for democracy and progress, just like everything else, too much of it is detrimental. Usually, when polarization affects the outcome of the popular vote, that means the political bodies have already been polarized. Because of that, whoever is elected, either by the electoral college or the House of representatives, must do more than his predecessors to bring the country together thanks to bipartisan initiatives, decisions or policies. But here is the thing: presidents elected exclusively by electoral vote or by House of representatives’ vote are more likely to fail, which begs the question: is the benediction from the electoral college or the House of representatives in fact a curse? To understand the impact of polarization on elections, it should be examined at three levels, which are separate and intertwined at the same time.

Summary
This essay is an argument against the US electoral college as a concept. It looks at the policies and failures of the five electoral college-elected presidents – three of them in the 19th century and the other two in the 21st century. It explores the electoral college’s modus operandi and its hindrance to American democracy to deduct its irrelevance. Mr. Dufour looks at people’s expectations from democracy in the 21st century as well as the meaning of American democracy, which is linked to the American dream to infer the polite fiction nature of the electoral college. The merit of the article lies within the facts it explores and considers as irrefutable evidence against any kind of compatibility between the electoral college and progressivism.

Excerpt
The US electoral college started to cast doubt in American voters only 20 years after the 12th amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified in 1804, which provides for election of the president and vice president by the electoral college. Should there be no majority vote for one person, the House of Representatives (one vote per state) chooses the president and the Senate the vice president. Today, 213 years after the first harbinger sign surfaced in 1824 with the election of John Quincy Adams, the efficiency of the electoral college is still a hot and a highly moot topic… At the time the US constitution was written and ratified, it was, thanks to its vision, an endeavor that was entirely ahead of its time. It epitomizes American exceptionalism, which is characterized by a unique history, a unique mission, and unique values. Alexis de Tocqueville was the first to pinpoint that exceptionalism and to give it his approval or benediction in his book Democracy in America. He was a French observer of American democracy who traveled throughout the new American country and let his French colleagues and philosophers back home know, afterwards, that the ideas that were dear to them were working in America. However, as it is the case for everything that is man-made, the electoral college, the US constitution’s brainchild, is not failproof, and turns out to be the constitution’s white elephant, its bête noire.

Table of Contents
1. Introduction…………………………………………………………………………………….3 2. What is the electoral college anyway? How does it work?.........................................................4 3. Political polarization and presidential elections and their outcomes…………………………...6 4. The electoral college and the hindrance of democracy…………………………………………8 5. What is democracy?...................................................................................................................17 6. Why is the electoral college a polite fiction?.............................................................................19 7. Are there any potential replacements to the electoral college?..................................................20 8. Conclusion…………………………………………………………………………………….21 9. References…………………………………………………………………………………….22 10. From the same author………………………………………………………………………...22

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