As reported at MSNBC (which got its information from Molly Ball of The Atlantic):
Gov. Bob McDonnell opposes the plan, a spokesman told The Atlantic‘s Molly Ball Friday afternoon. “He believes Virginia’s existing system works just fine as it is,” said the unnamed spox.
McDonnell’s opposition ensures that the effort has no chance of success.
He joins two Virginia Republican state senators in opposing this.
Some thoughts over the fold.
We know that this governor - Governor Ultrasound - is an extremely conservative governor. So why is he saying this? Here are some possibilities:
The electoral-rigging scheme may be illegal.
But in Virginia, where the plan has advanced the furthest, several voting-rights experts told MSNBC.com it could be on shaky legal ground. Section 5 of the 1965 Voting Rights Act requires certain states, including Virginia, to clear any voting changes with the U.S. Justice Department. If the Feds find that the change would have a “retrogressive effect” on minority voters, they can block it.
Note that Section 5 is being challenged and if the Supreme Court rules against it, may go away.
McDonnell doesn't like all the negative publicity. When Maddow and the liberal forces made the public aware of what he was ordering women and their doctors to do, he backed down a little. A very little, but evidently the publicity did have an effect. Way to go, fourth estate! And way to go, us!
Perhaps this would screw up state races. I know that many states have the right to allocate electoral college votes as they see fit - but they may not have that choice with other state-wide offices. I have to think that any Republican governor who approved this would find it difficult to be re-elected in a state that went for Obama.
This would lose money for the swing states. The election is a gift for the swing states, bringing in visitors, who rent hotel rooms, cars, buses, eat in restaurants and spend a ton on local advertising. The local media, especially, will probably NOT be on the side of this scheme in swing states.
Perhaps he has a conscience. Certainly he thinks he's all moral, although I don't agree with most of what he believes. But it is a possibility.
I thought about making a poll of the above, but wanted to include more about each position. And not just because I like seeing my words on the screen, but because understanding this is important. When we understand why we are effective in stopping something this egregious, we can be effective in other situations.
Please, include your ideas below.
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Tired of politics? Need to escape? Try my Greek mythology based novels, either the story of Oedipus from the point of view of Jocasta, or a trilogy about Niobe, whose children were murdered by the gods - or were they?