VA Senate Committee Kills Vote Rigging Plan

[Archae]

Source: Crooks and Liars

ProgressVirginia reported Tuesday afternoon that the Virginia Senate’s Privileges and Elections Committee killed Sen. Charles “Bill” Carrico Sr.’s electoral college-rigging bill, despite an offer by Carrico to amend the bill to award electors in proportion to the state’s popular vote. The vote was 11-4 against the bill, although it will not be official until the close of the committee meeting.

Read more: http://crooksandliars.com/breaking-news/va-senate-committee-kills-vote-rig-1

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Good news.

[TheDebbieDee]

1. The real question is: Will Virginia re-introduce this legislation at a time when fewer

people are paying attention?

Michigan thought their union-killing governor had changed his mind about things until the Michigan legislation rammed things through in December.

[silverweb]

11. The real answer is:

[font color="navy" face="Verdana"]Absolutely yes!

They only killed it because of all the negative publicity. If they think they can ram it through when no one's looking, you'd better believe they'll do it without any scruples whatsoever.

[FarPoint]

14. These GOP'ers are up to something...

SOS of Ohio, Jon Husted even came out with a statement to such where Ohio will not pursue the issue. In November, post election, well, Husted was hot, hot hot for this change.

I smell a diversionary tactic of mammoth proportions.

Husted thread....

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014384200

[VWolf]

15. The only solution is eternal vigilance n/t

[graham4anything]

2. to use Nikki Finke's phrase- "Told ya so"! This is now 2 gone.

Virginia and Ohio shot down.

The others will do the same

because the secret little fact is-this was a red herring to start, and second,
this would come back to haunt them bigtime instead of help them.

Especially if Chris Christie is on the ticket as VP in 2016.

as said, when there was one thread after another in fear of this last week,

I told ya so.

(kudos always to Nikki Finke(c) for and for her phrase).

[BlueStreak]

3. But did they keep the Gerrymandering plan for Congressional districts?

[brooklynite]

9. There wasn't one...

...the gerrymandering plan you're thinking about was for State Legislature seats.

[BlueStreak]

10. OK. Thanks.

[bloomington-lib]

4. the dems should use this spotlight for real election/voter reform

[groundloop]

5. The state that I think is worrisome is Michigan

They've got the legislative votes, the governor, and most of all the crazy to pass something like this. They've done it before with the emergency manager law, and they've done it with that bs maneuver of throwing out petitions to rescind the emergency manager law.

[John2]

12. Here is a hypothetical

for you. Say they go through with this plan and the Democratic nominee for President win the popular vote by one million and still loses the State. Can you name one time in the History of the country this have happen. If it does, it will set a precedent. So why can't this be extended by a political Party and select the Governor and both Senators this way? Why can't they also win the most districts and lose the popular votes of the state? You can take the power of the votes counting for the majority of the people in your own state. The minority will have more power than the majority based on real estate or property and not on people. They will have no representation and it does violate the Constitution. You may think it is legal now but the same argument can be made about this like the gun nuts make about the second amendment about taking away your rights.

[groundloop]

13. No, that scheme isn't 'legal' now.....

But what I'm getting at is that Michigan has enough crazy right wingers in office that I wouldn't put it past them to pass a plan similar to what Virginia was talking about. The right wingers controlling Michigan right now don't seem to care about public perception, they just seem interested in grabbing as much power as possible.

[another_liberal]

6. Close one.

Way too damn close.

[Cha]

7. YAY! And, let's remember this Carrico Cheater.

[Cha]

8. P.S. thanks for the news, Archae

[marions ghost]

16. They are SO corrupt....so openly treacherous....

"Carrico’s proposal is part of a troubling national trend by Republican legislators in GOP-controlled states won by President Obama in the 2008 and 2012 elections. The Pennsylvania Senate Majority Leader and Ohio Secretary of State have suggested similar schemes in those states. While constitutional, the scheme would make it far more likely that the popular choice for president would not be elected to that office. No such efforts have emerged in GOP-controlled states won by the Republican nominees.

Indeed, if this plan to rig the Electoral College had been law in several key Republican-controlled states that President Obama won last month, America would now be looking at a very different future. Had the Carrico plan been instituted for the 2012 elections in Florida, Michigan, Ohio, Virginia, and Wisconsin, it is quite likely Mitt Romney would be the president-elect despite President Obama’s 51-47 majority."

(from Crooks and Liars)

[marions ghost]

17. Good News but

shows how vigilant we must be.

These are people with no scruples. "Ends justify the means"--and in this case the goal is 2016.

It is a sad commentary on our culture that such people can gain so much political power that they openly rig elections.

[Coyotl]

18. This "Plan" can be used to overturn gerrymandering if one of these passes, and they know it

All gerrymandered states could be overturned in one federal court case if the case is made that gerrymandered states could swing how the electoral college votes!

Then, the Congressional districts nationwide would have to revert and the House would go Dem!