{"id":12542,"date":"2024-09-05T20:21:23","date_gmt":"2024-09-05T20:21:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=12542"},"modified":"2024-09-05T22:01:23","modified_gmt":"2024-09-05T22:01:23","slug":"if-we-lose-the-electoral-college-we-lose-the-country","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/?p=12542","title":{"rendered":"If we lose the Electoral College, we lose the country"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>This post originally appeared at <a href=\"https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/if-we-lose-the-electoral-college-we-lose-the-country\/\">https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/if-we-lose-the-electoral-college-we-lose-the-country\/<\/a><\/p>\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong><em>Prominent defender to speak in Mequon about a bulwark against tyranny of the majority\u00a0<\/em><\/strong><\/h4>\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-full is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"720\" height=\"720\" src=\"https:\/\/e74sq7k37a8.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/08\/Maibach-Headshot.jpeg?strip=all&amp;lossy=1&amp;ssl=1\" alt=\"Michael Maibach\" class=\"wp-image-53099\" style=\"width:235px;height:auto\" \/><figcaption class=\"wp-element-caption\">Michael Maibach<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<p>As progressives begin to launch <a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2024\/08\/31\/books\/review\/constitution-secession-democracy-crisis.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">election-season attacks<\/a> on the Electoral College, Michael Maibach is coming to Mequon to remind Wisconsinites why it\u2019s worth fighting for.<\/p>\n<p>The Badger Institute and Concordia University have invited the distinguished fellow for <a href=\"https:\/\/saveourstates.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Save Our States<\/a> to speak\u00a0 next Tuesday, Sept. 10, at the campus.<\/p>\n<p>Maibach, in a conversation with Badger Institute Policy Director Patrick McIlheran, gave us a small preview of his presentation. Portions of the conversation are\u00a0 edited for length and clarity.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><em>Q.<\/em><\/mark><\/strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"> Save Our States\u2019 materials say the Electoral College spares us from \u201cthe risks of corruption, regionalism and backroom politics.\u201d Tell me a little bit about those risks.<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong>\u00a0Nine of our states have 50% of our population. If we had a national popular vote and Mark Zuckerberg used his billions to run a campaign and fly around the country, he could just visit about eight or nine states and win the metro-area region, I guess you\u2019d call it, and that would be it.<\/p>\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><em>Q.<\/em><\/mark><\/strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"> What\u2019s wrong with more influence for densely populated areas? Critics say, \u201cAcres don\u2019t vote; people do.\u201d\u00a0<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> Acres don\u2019t vote, people do, but people need the people who do grow food and do create natural resources.<\/p>\n<p>The great thing about our country is that we have an interdependency. If [influence] was just by population, we would have the tyranny of the cities, and Americans won\u2019t have that.<\/p>\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><em>Q.<\/em><\/mark><\/strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"> What of those who complain this makes some reliably partisan states, like California, irrelevant?\u00a0<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> California used to be a swing state. Illinois, where I grew up, had lots of Republicans. Now all they have is Democrats. States go back and forth. There are always voters that don\u2019t get their way. Every election has that. But the alternative would be to have the cities rule everything, and the Founders never would have signed such a constitution. That\u2019s why we have two senators per state. We have a republic; we don\u2019t have a democracy.<\/p>\n<p>It\u2019s really an ingenious system, but of course the left doesn\u2019t like it because the left comes from the two coasts, where all the news media is headquartered in New York and Los Angeles, and they want their two regions to rule the country. Do we want those people to always rule this country?<\/p>\n<p><strong><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"><em>Q.<\/em><\/mark><\/strong><em><mark style=\"background-color:#e4f2fd\" class=\"has-inline-color\"> What is the source of support for the idea you\u2019re fighting, for getting small states to agree to assign their electors not according to their own result but according to a national result?<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<p><strong>A.<\/strong> On this issue, the energy comes from the natural desire of human beings to have the majority rule. Human beings are tyrannical by nature. The Founders were very clear about human nature and how broken it was and how tyrannical it could become.<\/p>\n<p>The first slide [in my presentation] is going to be a painting of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.britannica.com\/biography\/Socrates\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">Socrates taking the hemlock<\/a>. What goes on here? The elected assembly of Athens, by a majority vote, voted to kill the old man because he was asking questions of the young people. What do you think about free speech and what do you think about tyranny of the majority?<\/p>\n<p>You see, unfortunately, too many young people have been educated to think we\u2019re a democracy. Of course, the Founders feared democracy. The word \u201cdemocracy\u201d is not in the Constitution. Democratic tyranny \u2014 that\u2019s what they feared because they knew that men were broken.<\/p>\n<p>The only reason you\u2019re free is because of checks and balances. Period. And one of the central checks is the Electoral College. An Electoral College is all about giving voices to small states so that the majority doesn\u2019t tyrannize everybody.<\/p>\n<p>If you get rid of the Electoral College, we will have a revolution. We\u2019ll have lots of states who feed the rest of the country saying, \u201cTo hell with this. We\u2019re not going to have nine or 10 big cities ruling this country,\u201d and then when the federal government won\u2019t let them go away, they\u2019ll be serfs.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p>This is a bet-the-country issue. That\u2019s why in my retirement I\u2019m doing this \u2014 because if we lose this battle, you lose the country.\u00a0<\/p>\n<p><em><strong>To hear more from Michael Maibach on the importance of the Electoral College, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/Events\/september-10-the-u-s-electoral-college-how-other-republics-elect-heads-of-government\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">RSVP here to attend<\/a> his presentation at Concordia University on Sept. 10.<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<div class=\"gf_browser_unknown gform_wrapper gravity-theme gform-theme--no-framework\" data-form-theme=\"gravity-theme\" data-form-index=\"2\" id=\"gform_wrapper_21\">\n<div id=\"gf_21\" class=\"gform_anchor\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gform_heading\">\n<h2 class=\"gform_title\">Submit a comment<\/h2>\n<p class=\"gform_description\">\n<p class=\"gform_required_legend\">&#8220;<span class=\"gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk\">*<\/span>&#8221; indicates required fields<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<div class=\"gf_invisible ginput_recaptchav3\" data-sitekey=\"6LeuCC4pAAAAAECxtc6sr-MNi7Rw8mnOTxb-_ZsL\" data-tabindex=\"0\"><\/div>\n<div class=\"gform-body gform_body\">\n<div id=\"gform_fields_21\" class=\"gform_fields top_label form_sublabel_above description_above validation_below\">\n<fieldset id=\"field_21_1\" class=\"gfield gfield--type-name gfield_contains_required field_sublabel_above gfield--no-description field_description_above field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible\" data-js-reload=\"field_21_1\">\n<legend class=\"gfield_label gform-field-label gfield_label_before_complex\">Your name<span class=\"gfield_required\"><span class=\"gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk\">*<\/span><\/span><\/legend>\n<div class=\"ginput_complex ginput_container ginput_container--name no_prefix has_first_name no_middle_name has_last_name no_suffix gf_name_has_2 ginput_container_name gform-grid-row\" id=\"input_21_1\">\n<p>                            <span id=\"input_21_1_3_container\" class=\"name_first gform-grid-col gform-grid-col--size-auto\"><br \/>\n                                                    <label for=\"input_21_1_3\" class=\"gform-field-label gform-field-label--type-sub \">First<\/label><\/p>\n<p>                                                <\/span><\/p>\n<p>                            <span id=\"input_21_1_6_container\" class=\"name_last gform-grid-col gform-grid-col--size-auto\"><br \/>\n                                                            <label for=\"input_21_1_6\" class=\"gform-field-label gform-field-label--type-sub \">Last<\/label><\/p>\n<p>                                                        <\/span><\/p><\/div>\n<\/fieldset>\n<div id=\"field_21_2\" class=\"gfield gfield--type-email gfield_contains_required field_sublabel_above gfield--no-description field_description_above field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible\" data-js-reload=\"field_21_2\"><label class=\"gfield_label gform-field-label\" for=\"input_21_2\">Your email<span class=\"gfield_required\"><span class=\"gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk\">*<\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"ginput_container ginput_container_email\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div id=\"field_21_3\" class=\"gfield gfield--type-textarea gfield--width-full gfield_contains_required field_sublabel_above gfield--no-description field_description_above field_validation_below gfield_visibility_visible\" data-js-reload=\"field_21_3\"><label class=\"gfield_label gform-field-label\" for=\"input_21_3\">Your comment<span class=\"gfield_required\"><span class=\"gfield_required gfield_required_asterisk\">*<\/span><\/span><\/label><\/p>\n<div class=\"ginput_container ginput_container_textarea\"><textarea name=\"input_3\" id=\"input_21_3\" class=\"textarea small\" rows=\"10\" cols=\"50\"><\/textarea><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<div class=\"gform_footer top_label\"><\/div>\n<p class=\"akismet-fields-container\" data-prefix=\"ak_\"><label>\u0394<textarea name=\"ak_hp_textarea\" cols=\"45\" rows=\"8\"><\/textarea><\/label>document.getElementById( &#8220;ak_js_3&#8221; ).setAttribute( &#8220;value&#8221;, ( new Date() ).getTime() );<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p>\/* = 0;if(!is_postback){return;}var form_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(&#8216;#gform_wrapper_21&#8217;);var is_confirmation = jQuery(this).contents().find(&#8216;#gform_confirmation_wrapper_21&#8217;).length &gt; 0;var is_redirect = contents.indexOf(&#8216;gformRedirect(){&#8216;) &gt;= 0;var is_form = form_content.length &gt; 0 &amp;&amp; ! is_redirect &amp;&amp; ! is_confirmation;var mt = parseInt(jQuery(&#8216;html&#8217;).css(&#8216;margin-top&#8217;), 10) + parseInt(jQuery(&#8216;body&#8217;).css(&#8216;margin-top&#8217;), 10) + 100;if(is_form){jQuery(&#8216;#gform_wrapper_21&#8217;).html(form_content.html());if(form_content.hasClass(&#8216;gform_validation_error&#8217;)){jQuery(&#8216;#gform_wrapper_21&#8217;).addClass(&#8216;gform_validation_error&#8217;);} else {jQuery(&#8216;#gform_wrapper_21&#8217;).removeClass(&#8216;gform_validation_error&#8217;);}setTimeout( function() { \/* delay the scroll by 50 milliseconds to fix a bug in chrome *\/ jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(&#8216;#gform_wrapper_21&#8217;).offset().top &#8211; mt); }, 50 );if(window[&#8216;gformInitDatepicker&#8217;]) {gformInitDatepicker();}if(window[&#8216;gformInitPriceFields&#8217;]) {gformInitPriceFields();}var current_page = jQuery(&#8216;#gform_source_page_number_21&#8217;).val();gformInitSpinner( 21, &#8216;https:\/\/e74sq7k37a8.exactdn.com\/wp-content\/plugins\/gravityforms\/images\/spinner.svg&#8217;, true );jQuery(document).trigger(&#8216;gform_page_loaded&#8217;, [21, current_page]);window[&#8216;gf_submitting_21&#8217;] = false;}else if(!is_redirect){var confirmation_content = jQuery(this).contents().find(&#8216;.GF_AJAX_POSTBACK&#8217;).html();if(!confirmation_content){confirmation_content = contents;}jQuery(&#8216;#gform_wrapper_21&#8217;).replaceWith(confirmation_content);jQuery(document).scrollTop(jQuery(&#8216;#gf_21&#8217;).offset().top &#8211; mt);jQuery(document).trigger(&#8216;gform_confirmation_loaded&#8217;, [21]);window[&#8216;gf_submitting_21&#8217;] = false;wp.a11y.speak(jQuery(&#8216;#gform_confirmation_message_21&#8217;).text());}else{jQuery(&#8216;#gform_21&#8217;).append(contents);if(window[&#8216;gformRedirect&#8217;]) {gformRedirect();}}jQuery(document).trigger(&#8220;gform_pre_post_render&#8221;, [{ formId: &#8220;21&#8221;, currentPage: &#8220;current_page&#8221;, abort: function() { this.preventDefault(); } }]);                if (event &amp;&amp; event.defaultPrevented) {                return;         }        const gformWrapperDiv = document.getElementById( &#8220;gform_wrapper_21&#8221; );        if ( gformWrapperDiv ) {            const visibilitySpan = document.createElement( &#8220;span&#8221; );            visibilitySpan.id = &#8220;gform_visibility_test_21&#8221;;            gformWrapperDiv.insertAdjacentElement( &#8220;afterend&#8221;, visibilitySpan );        }        const visibilityTestDiv = document.getElementById( &#8220;gform_visibility_test_21&#8221; );        let postRenderFired = false;                function triggerPostRender() {            if ( postRenderFired ) {                return;            }            postRenderFired = true;            jQuery( document ).trigger( &#8216;gform_post_render&#8217;, [21, current_page] );            gform.utils.trigger( { event: &#8216;gform\/postRender&#8217;, native: false, data: { formId: 21, currentPage: current_page } } );            if ( visibilityTestDiv ) {                visibilityTestDiv.parentNode.removeChild( visibilityTestDiv );            }        }        function debounce( func, wait, immediate ) {            var timeout;            return function() {                var context = this, args = arguments;                var later = function() {                    timeout = null;                    if ( !immediate ) func.apply( context, args );                };                var callNow = immediate &amp;&amp; !timeout;                clearTimeout( timeout );                timeout = setTimeout( later, wait );                if ( callNow ) func.apply( context, args );            };        }        const debouncedTriggerPostRender = debounce( function() {            triggerPostRender();        }, 200 );        if ( visibilityTestDiv &amp;&amp; visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent === null ) {            const observer = new MutationObserver( ( mutations ) =&gt; {                mutations.forEach( ( mutation ) =&gt; {                    if ( mutation.type === &#8216;attributes&#8217; &amp;&amp; visibilityTestDiv.offsetParent !== null ) {                        debouncedTriggerPostRender();                        observer.disconnect();                    }                });            });            observer.observe( document.body, {                attributes: true,                childList: false,                subtree: true,                attributeFilter: [ &#8216;style&#8217;, &#8216;class&#8217; ],            });        } else {            triggerPostRender();        }    } );} );<br \/>\n\/* ]]&gt; *\/<\/p>\n<p>The post <a href=\"https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/if-we-lose-the-electoral-college-we-lose-the-country\/\">If we lose the Electoral College, we lose the country<\/a> appeared first on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\">Badger Institute<\/a>.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>This post originally appeared at https:\/\/www.badgerinstitute.org\/if-we-lose-the-electoral-college-we-lose-the-country\/ Prominent defender to speak in Mequon about a bulwark&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":12544,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[10],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12542","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-badger-institute"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12542","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12542"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12542\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":12543,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12542\/revisions\/12543"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12544"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12542"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12542"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wifamily.news\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12542"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}