The Republicans are talking about using their control of state legislatures to skew the playing field in the electoral college even more than it is now. As it exists now, California gets one electoral college vote per 615,000 people. Wyoming gets one electoral college vote per 164,000 people. A Wyoming vote counts 3.6 times as much as a Californian vote in the Presidential politics. And they want to skew it even more.
We (especially Rachel Maddow, ref: last Friday show) need to understand, Republicans will not be shamed. The Florida and Virginia seem to backing away, not because they are shamed. There must be something else in play. It is the same Virginians who redrew the district lines on MLK day when one state senator was absent and adjourned in memory of Stonewall Jackson on MLK day. They? Shamed? come on.
They would not listen to appeals of fair play. In their mind such appeals smell of weakness on the other side and it only whets their blood lust. They fold when you stand up to them. And bite the hand if you extend it in friendship. We see it in the difference in negotiations and results between 2011 and late 2012.
And just because they say they are not interested in it, it does not really mean they are not. Remember how Ohio rammed down the anti-union laws? So that is not it either.
But it does not mean all is lost. There is reason for many Republicans to oppose the plan. As true Randians the Rep-rep's re-election takes priority over helping the national party to capture the White House.I discussed it in my last diary.
Lobbying the Rep-reps and explaining why it is not in their interest the Redmap electoral college is best done in private. Just like our wonderful Democratic senators killed the filibuster reform silently behind the scenes to preserve their individual powers, the Rep-reps would like to work behind the scenes without leaving fingerprints. The Obama For America database can come in handy. They should re-run their resource allocation algorithm under the redmapped electoral college rules, identify the most vulnerable Rep-rep for a campaign refocus to their districts. "psst, Congressman, would like to see how many volunteers are going to be redeployed from Cleveland to your distict?"
But what can be done publicly? Where should we redirect media attention? What kind of rank-and-file Republicans who would be opposed to this redmapping? Which among them would re-evaluate their positions?
I think all voters and interest groups primarily in small states are persuadable. The argument, slightly long, goes like this. Imagine the scenario where the Democrat gets some 3.9 million more votes, like Obama, and 51% of the national popular vote, like Obama, and lose the electoral college by some 6 or 12 votes. What would be the public reaction! There will be such a hue and cry. That might provide enough wind in the sails of National Popular Vote compact. Wisonsinites would get one vote each not the 3.5 votes.
So we should make a very strong and public push for the NPVc. The more media coverage that idea gets, the more the small state groups will sense their personal peril. The small states, and the special interest groups that get their pound of flesh through the power of small states, all would see the danger to themselves in redmapping the electoral college. They will apply enough pressure behind the scenes and some pressure publicly and stop it.
Let us be practical. This is a more realistic and pragmatic way to stop the Republican power grab, than pleas for fair play or trying to shame them. Our strategy should be based on simple observable empirical self evident truth: Republican legislators are rational people driven purely by self-interest. Much of their rank-and-file may be willing to accept lots of personal sacrifice, but their legislators, nah.