Jan 7, 2017 4 min read

Kent James’ opinion piece in the Dec. 18 edition of the Observer-Reporter on the Electoral College was well-written and intellectually stimulating, although it was selective in its recall of history.

Indeed, one of the many early concerns in establishing a fair election process for the presidency was the establishment of an Electoral College. One concept was to have electors of keen knowledge stand between the people and the election of the president, primarily due to a lack of information about candidates that could be disseminated to voters throughout the young nation. But by 1800, this concern became obsolete, as political parties developed and explained to voters where candidates stood.

The other great concern of the Founding Fathers was leveling the playing field among smaller states and protecting the rights of these states from the tyranny of states with larger populations. The Electoral College does just that, as each state has been normalized for equally-weighted representation.

James states that most Americans value democracy, and by letting us choose the president by popular vote, it would allow us to live in a democracy. I would suggest that James confuses the term democracy as a form of popular, genuinely free election by the people, with the actual form of government that is a democracy. A democracy and a republic are two forms of government, and they are not only dissimilar, but antithetical. In a democracy, there is a lack of any legal safeguard for the rights of the individual, whereas in a republic the majority is limited, living under a written Constitution, which safeguards the rights of the individual and the minority. Its purpose is to control the majority strictly, primarily to protect an individual’s God-given, unalienable rights, and therefore the protection of the rights of all minorities, and the liberties of people in general. This, although imperfect, is what we strive for.

With regard to the republican form of government, James Madison made an observation in “The Federalist Papers” which merits quoting as follows:

“As there is a degree of depravity in mankind which requires a certain degree of circumspection and distrust: So there are other qualities in human nature, which justify a certain portion of esteem and confidence. Republican government (that of a Republic) presupposes the existence of these qualities in a higher degree than any other form. Were the pictures which have been drawn by the political jealousy of some among us, faithful likenesses of the human character, the inference would be that there is not sufficient virtue among men for self-government; and that nothing less than the chains of despotism can restrain them from destroying and devouring one another.”

Truly, Madison knew the need to restrain the despot (majority) from destroying the people, since man’s nature lacked the virtue of self-government. It was true then and is true today.

If James truly wanted the popular vote to be the final word on all matters, then many of our current laws would probably not have come to fruition. Women would not vote, affirmative action would not exist, Title IX would not have been approved, and many more, minority-protected rights would not have come into being.

I thought that liberal ideals were not meant to disenfranchise the minority but to be inclusive? Is this selective outrage?

The Electoral College, although not perfect in its historic development, gives us a defense against the tyrannical rule of the majority. Today, that majority is geographically concentrated on each coast. A popular vote would disenfranchise millions of people who live between the coasts. We saw just that despotic character when Hilary Clinton flew over these states, ignoring their needs and concerns. The Democratic Party is aware of this demographic distribution and would love nothing more than to take advantage of it and rule permanently. I am certain that if the outcome of the election were turned around and Clinton won by the Electoral College and Donald Trump won the popular vote, that James and so many others would not be demanding that Trump be president.

Flickinger is the president of Tom Flickinger & Associates, Inc., a management consulting firm.