With election season upon us, a lot of lefties are re-upping their calls to to abolish the Electoral College. That means even more hot takes than usual, from guys like MSNBC’s Chris Hayes and New York Times opinion columnist Jamelle Bouie.
NYT’s Jamelle Bouie and MSNBC’s Chris Hayes take a swing and miss…badly. Let’s break down their bad arguments for abolishing the electoral college, one by one. https://t.co/7QYEuxWtxT pic.twitter.com/guwtadIe7E
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 31, 2019
Unsurpringly, Bouie didn’t take kindly to being called out.
there’s no use responding to any of this but it is funny that Crenshaw’s “debunking” consists of “not uh” https://t.co/jHCOIjfoim
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) August 31, 2019
Claim: Every vote should be = in America, no matter who you are or where you come from
Yep. That’s why if you live in rural America, your voice should still count.
The EC promotes more equal regional representation, and protects the interests of sparsely populated states.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 31, 2019
like, this relies on you not being able to count up the votes in the most populous states and see that outside of an unprecedented 80-20 or 90-10 split it is impossible to win a national election by focusing on them alone https://t.co/I1aiqpqgSw
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) August 31, 2019
Claim: Republicans live in cities just as Democrats live in rural areas.
This isn’t a political party issue, it’s a regional one. People living in rural areas have different problems than people living in cities. Politicians should not ignore concerns from the rural population.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 31, 2019
and this requires you to equate “americans in rural places” with “rural states” when most americans who live in rural places do not actually live in small, sparsely populated states https://t.co/8JLZtZQqEw
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) August 31, 2019
Claim: Abolishing the electoral college would force elections to “involve every region" not just competitive states.
Not true. Without the electoral college, why ever spend time in NH? NV? IA? All time would be spent in the 10 most populated states to get a candidate to 51%
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 31, 2019
Claim: I “implied” we aren’t a democracy.
False. The debate is around what type of democracy we want. A pure democracy, which would remove the electoral college, or a representative democracy, which uses republican institutions to ensure representation for all.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 31, 2019
Claim: America has "counter-majoritarian aspects," like the Senate and Presidential veto. "It was not designed for minority rule.”
The electoral college, like the filibuster, is to ensure the minority is represented & heard. No one is claiming “minority rule.”
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 31, 2019
Claim: This is a right-wing slogan, used by John Birch society founder, & an effort to make America a closed domain for a select few.
This argument has no basis in fact and simply attacks the character of those who defend republican institutions and accuses us of bad motives.
— Dan Crenshaw (@DanCrenshawTX) August 31, 2019
and given that my column has actual evidence for this claim, this literally is “not uh” https://t.co/bLXL1IK2PU
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) August 31, 2019
“no basis in fact” pic.twitter.com/bwDmFvvAq6
— b-boy bouiebaisse (@jbouie) August 31, 2019
The John Birch guy said “we’re a Republic, not a democracy.” Plenty of people who aren’t members of the John Birch Society make the same point, but that doesn’t help Jamelle’s case so he’ll just ignore it.
Jamelle thinks he’s won an intellectual and political victory over Crenshaw. In reality, he’s only supported Crenshaw’s contention that progressives’ case against the Electoral College is rooted in feelings, not facts.
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