Both parties knew game; electors pick
by Carlos Raigosa, editor-in-chief

     The fate of our country for the next four years is in question. So why should the Democratic Party just roll over and allow the electoral process to be tarnished by the fault of one state?

     I realize that the party has put a negative attitude in front of the public and that some of its allegations—such as the much-contested “butterfly” ballot—seem far fetched. The people of the state should be the one’s causing the uproar, not the party itself.

     A hot issue is the manner in which we elect our commander-in-chief.

     By using the Electoral College, which has been the sole way that we have elected our president, the true will of the people is not represented. However, neither party should contest this topic because both knew how the winner is chosen.

     I’d like to compare this situation to a football game—it seems to be getting as physically and mentally demanding as the sport nowadays anyway.

     If the GOP and the Democrats are tied in the fourth quarter, and the Republicans kick a field goal, they win. No matter if the Democrats had more yards, they are still the losers.

     Gore supporters have attempted to discredit Bush’s win by saying that his bittersweet victory would not be representative of the whole nation because he did not receive the majority of the popular vote.

     That’s tough. That’s the way it’s stated in the Constitution, and that’s the way it should be.

     If we, the people, want to amend the document, we should focus on doing it for the future elections now because it will not be an easy thing to do. Many of the smaller states would never be visited, and states like Texas, California and New York would be more highly contested.

     Did you wonder why we didn’t see many presidential campaign ads on television? Why should Gore spend his money or time in a state that to him is not winnable?

     The Electoral College is archaic, and with the ability to learn more information than wanted about the candidates, we should abolish it and leave the claim that it was in place to keep the ignorant voters with our forefathers—in the past.