Bannon in Liberal Land a.k.a. CA

[Mormolyce]

On the actual topic I'm pretty sure there is little Bannon can do that's ultimately good for the GOP in the long run.

I dunno, he said he wants to destroy it, that might be doing them a favour at this point.

Or perhaps his fever dreams will come true and he'll manage to fracture the base so that the US gets a specific party for bigots and white nationalists, like most other countries have. That would also do the Republicans no end of good.

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Gerrymandering doesn't matter for the Electoral College, which is based on the entire state vote totals.

One might argue that the EC system is essentially gerrymandering on a state scale.

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Which, among many reasons, why I am a firm advocate for mandating that each state eliminate the winner takes all part of the electoral college. The delegates should be assigned by % of vote totals. And I cannot find a single reason why that is a bad idea.

There is literally no reason not to change that other than corrupt interest groups.

[DarkTZeratul]

My understanding is that eliminating the electoral college will require a constitutional amendment which will neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever happen.

However I do believe that mandating it be proportional wouldn't require a constitutional amendment. Can it be just done with legislation?

The Constitution specifies that each state choose electors that will vote for the president. The process by which those electors are chosen is up to each state's legislature, and over the years virtually every state has adopted a process by which the citizens vote for a single block of electors who have already pledged to cast their vote for a particular candidate. Two states assign at least some of their electors proportionally, but they're tiny states - Maine and one other that I can't recall right now.

[satimy]

My understanding is that eliminating the electoral college will require a constitutional amendment which will neeeeeeeeeeeeeeeever happen.

However I do believe that mandating it be proportional wouldn't require a constitutional amendment. Can it be just done with legislation?

Plus there is something to be said for having some level of protection for the interests of the smaller states. It's not a particularly strong argument but it's there.

Some states are proportional, I think Colorado is.

[Orbitus]

Steve Bannon was in CA on Friday for the CA GOP convention.

http://www.breitbart.com/california/...ntion-keynote/

I won’t reiterate what has already been said in the article. The convention itself was more noteworthy for who did not show up more than who showed up.

Only a few protesters showed up. I am sure they were disappointed. No violence meant less publicity.

None of the four GOP congressperson representing OC showed up. Rather unusual since all 4 are facing reelection in 2018. You would think the event would be the time for them to drum up support.

In the end, was his presence good for the CA GOP?

Anywhere Steve Bannon goes, everyone with some credibility, should stay away.

[Rasulis]

Anywhere Steve Bannon goes, everyone with some credibility, should stay away.

That is the dilemma. CA is not Alabama. Somebody like Roy Moore will never get through primary in CA. Six out of seven of the most vulnerable CA GOP representatives have kept their distance from Bannon & Trump. Issa is the only who is not shy about being seen with Trump. According to rumors, he is not happy about the prospect of having to spend more of his millions to win re-election. One source said he angled for a post within the Trump administration, but was bluntly told that no other Republican could win his seat in the 49th district.

BTW, to correct some misconceptions. The average GOP voter in California is older, whiter and wealthier. That's why it was such a big deal when OC and Rancho Palos Verdes voted for Hillary. You don't get much whiter and wealthier than those two places.