Bob Herbert: In 2008, Bush V. Gore Redux?

[Hissyspit]

Op-Ed Columnist
In 2008, Bush v. Gore Redux?

By BOB HERBERT
Published: September 22, 2007
Right now it’s just a petition drive on its way to becoming a ballot initiative in California. But you should think of it as a tropical depression that could develop into a major storm that blows away the Democrats’ chances of winning the White House next year.

- snip -

The Presidential Election Reform Act is the name of a devious proposal that Republican operatives have dreamed up to siphon off 20 or more of the 55 electoral votes that the Democrats would get if, as expected, they win California in 2008.

That’s a lot of electoral votes, the equivalent of winning the state of Ohio. If this proposed change makes it onto the ballot and becomes law, those 20 or so electoral votes could well be enough to hand the White House to a Republican candidate who loses the popular vote nationwide. Even Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, a Republican, has suggested that the initiative is a form of dirty pool. While not explicitly opposing it, Mr. Schwarzenegger said it smacks of changing the rules “in the middle of the game.”

Democrats are saying it’s unconstitutional.

The proposal would rewrite the rules for the distribution of electoral votes in California. Under current law, all of California’s 55 electoral votes go to the presidential candidate who wins the popular vote statewide. That “winner-take-all” system is the norm in the U.S.

- snip -

Laurence Tribe, a Harvard law professor and one of the nation’s pre-eminent constitutional scholars, believes the initiative is blatantly unconstitutional. “Entirely apart from the politics,” he said, “this clearly violates Article II of the Constitution, which very explicitly requires that the electors for president be selected ‘in such manner as the Legislature’ of the state directs.”

In Mr. Tribe’s view, the “one and only way” for California to change the manner in which its electoral votes are apportioned is through an act of the State Legislature.

Professor Tribe is not a disinterested party. He represented Al Gore in the disputed 2000 presidential election. And not all constitutional experts agree that this would be such an easy call. “This is not an open-and-shut case,” said Richard Pildes, a professor at the New York University School of Law.

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[rpannier]

1. I agree it's not opan-and-shut

Not while scalia,alito, thomas, roberts and kennedy sit on the court.

Someone tell me again how there is no difference etween gore and bush.

[Warren DeMontague]

2. No offense to Bob Herbert, but I don't think he's a Californian. If he was, he wouldn't be losing

too much sleep over this thing.

This deal doesn't have a snowball's chance in hell. We may have an action movie star for our governor, but we're not complete addled morons, out here.

[pennylane100]

3. Well a lot of californians voted for the boobengrabber,

that makes them, IMO, pretty naive.

[melody]

5. If you think that, you don't know Californians

Arnie was barely voted in the first time via a very strong appeal to the male Latino community.
The second time, the Democrats managed to run an environmentally antagonistic Mortimer Snerd
clone and Arnie had no competition.

[Warren DeMontague]

8. And that doesn't even take into account the phony engineered energy "crisis"

which was designed, IMHO, to get Davis out of office and a Republican in. And even with all that, the best they can do is a Republican-lite like Arnold.

The bottom line is, people like to slag on California when they have absolutely no clue about what goes on here. I think it's jealousy over our weather, frankly.

[melody]

9. Amen. Well said n/t

[Warren DeMontague]

7. Yeah, well, then you shouldn't be acting like our 55 Electoral Votes are YOUR property, then

...should you?

I don't know where you live, but my suggestion to you is that you mind your own store. Californians tend to vote a fuckload better than the average U.S. citizen. Thank you very much.

[melody]

6. Amen. Thank Eris for California :) n/t

[izzie]

4. Maine is set up the way they want to do it in Ca.

I think Maine's way is more fair than winner take all but the whole thing smells. Should be Popular vote every place and get rid of the college. Doing it right now makes the stink even more so. I am sure the GOP will do any thing to win this next time. If we thought 2000 was bad watch this. For one thing just to keep the money coming out of the tax payers pockets and into the big guys pockets, they have to take the WH.. This has been like a 6 year rape with Bush. He has sort of cleaned out the country of cash.