What “I” stand for/ want!

[hacko]

We have a Dem thread and a Right thread but let’s face it both sides have gone off the rails and no one is willing to WORK with the other.
So:::
1. What are the main issues you want to see be tackled.
2. How can we get it done. Compromise solutions....

My background- white soon to be 62 year old male . College Degree . Just got Downsized. Born into a staunch Republican family. Large family. Mixed families in my father’s branch of the tree. Rural Ohio.
I voted Republican most of my life but have always been a centrist. I now lean left in my old age as I felt the right went way to far right.

Main issues for me.
Healthcare. I am a firm believer that there should be healthcare FOR EVERYONE.
Sub issue with this LEGALIZED MARIJUANA- take the money from this to help pay for Healthcare.


I have other issues but will leave it here for now

[Fresno Bob]

I'm right with you on Universal Health Care

[Sour Masher]

I agree with both your issues hacko--universal healthcare just makes so much sense, it is a crime it isn't happening, and legalizing and taxing pot is also a no brainer.

I'd add that I'd like to see more infrastructure spending, campaign finance reform and addressing gerrymandering and voter suppression, reduction of our ever-growing debt, a significant reduction in the defense budget, especially wasteful multi-billion dollar hardware expenditures, but some more spending on counter cyber terrorism, special ops, and on vets, more incentives for businesses to be eco friendly and more penalties for polluters, more international cooperation on carbon emissions, and generally, more humane government on all issues, putting people before ideology.

[DMT]

Universal Health Care and Marijuana legalization are no-brainers IMO.

Abolish the Electoral College.

[baldgriff]

Universal Health Care and Marijuana legalization are no-brainers IMO.

Abolish the Electoral College.

Isnt the Electoral College part of what makes us a Democratic Republic rather than an actual straight Democracy?

[DMT]

Isnt the Electoral College part of what makes us a Democratic Republic rather than an actual straight Democracy?

Not sure, but I still think it's BS. Voters in Wyoming shouldn't count more than voters in California.

[nots]

Isnt the Electoral College part of what makes us a Democratic Republic rather than an actual straight Democracy?

It certainly is a vital part of the system of checks and balances that was necessary to get the Constitution ratified. Thinking that 38 states are going to vote to Amend that part of the Constitution seems.....unlikely.
Also, given what’s going on in Florida and Georgia right now, could you imagine what a close popular vote race and subsequent manual recount would look like? Hundreds of lawsuits, protests in the street, cries of stolen election and ‘not my President’, no matter which side was narrowly ahead. Founding fathers were ahead of the game.
(FWIW, I think if a 3 candidate race was ever thrown into the House and the 3rd place candidate ended up getting the votes in there to win, the same scenario would likely unfold—one of the few times I actually would use the term ‘Constitutional crisis’).

[Sour Masher]

Not sure, but I still think it's BS. Voters in Wyoming shouldn't count more than voters in California.

One way to fix this--Californians move to Wyoming! Seriously, it is happening (to Boise Idaho, not Wyoming, yet). We are pretty imbalanced in a way that I imagine our FFs did not expect. Saying we can't at least revisit how the electoral college is set up, because tradition, is a logical fallacy. I think EC votes should be distributed as evenly as possible so that everyone's votes count the same. The fact that states get one for each senator and congressperson makes it so that low population states have more of a say about who wins relative to their population than high population states. I also think that Senators should be allocated by population as well, but that will never happen.

Also, I'd love to see more states do split votes, instead of being all or nothing, as that is a more accurate representation of the will of the people.

[In the Corn]

I think EC votes should be distributed as evenly as possible so that everyone's votes count the same. Also, I'd love to see more states do split votes, instead of being all or nothing, as that is a more accurate representation of the will of the people.

Totally agree that this should be on the table. All or nothing causes some places to be completely ignored in Presidential races, as they are either solid blue or red, or too small in EC votes to matter.

[nots]

One way to fix this--Californians move to Wyoming! Seriously, it is happening (to Boise Idaho, not Wyoming, yet). We are pretty imbalanced in a way that I imagine our FFs did not expect. Saying we can't at least revisit how the electoral college is set up, because tradition, is a logical fallacy. I think EC votes should be distributed as evenly as possible so that everyone's votes count the same. Also, I'd love to see more states do split votes, instead of being all or nothing, as that is a more accurate representation of the will of the people.

States can set up split vote if they want, but there is no way to change the electoral college without a Constitutional amendment. Realistically, not even deep blue small states would vote for that. It’s just not going to happen.

[Sour Masher]

States can set up split vote if they want, but there is no way to change the electoral college without a Constitutional amendment. Realistically, not even deep blue small states would vote for that. It’s just not going to happen.

Yeah, it is all pie in the sky, but it really isn't fair. Not all votes are created equal in our current set up. The split vote deal is way easier to do. I really don't know why it isn't done in more states. Especially the high population states. As ITC says, some states are never in play, so get ignored, because they are all or nothing.

Of course, the combo or not changing the system so that all votes are equal (which favors R voters, by and large), with a split EC voting system, probably favors Rs more than Ds, so I'd imagine Ds would be against just doing that part of it. IDK, someone would have to look at the math.

[nots]

Yeah, it is all pie in the sky, but it really isn't fair. Not all votes are created equal in our current set up. The split vote deal is way easier to do. I really don't know why it isn't done in more states. Especially the high population states. As ITC says, some states are never in play, so get ignored, because they are all or nothing.

Of course, the combo or not changing the system so that all votes are equal (which favors R voters, by and large), with a split EC voting system, probably favors Rs more than Ds, so I'd imagine Ds would be against just doing that part of it. IDK, someone would have to look at the math.

If your California or NY, why would you want to lose even 1 or 2 of your electoral votes to the GOP?

[Sour Masher]

If your California or NY, why would you want to lose even 1 or 2 of your electoral votes to the GOP?

Well, those are places not people . I'm sure the Rs in those states would want their votes counted, just as the Ds in red states do. As i said, the overall affect would not be "more fair" if we didn't also address the fact that small states have their votes count for more than large states. I'm actually curious about the net affect of it. It might not be as bad for Ds as I initially thought, if every state did it, large and small. After all, Dems win the popular vote, so even with the EC edge, split votes might end up a wash. IDK.

[gcstomp]

Universal health care. That would be # 1, and financially it makes more sense than current system, where more is spent per person on health care than any other nation on earth including all the industrialized nations that have universal coverage, but so many here are without coverage. Also, k-12 teachers need a raise, and budgets restored so that schools can again offer art, home ec, music, autoshop, drama, gym. That "fluff" is the stuff that provides enrichment, motivation, resulting in higher grad rates and well rounded students eager to tackle rest of life.

[Sour Masher]

Universal health care. That would be # 1, and financially it makes more sense than current system, where more is spent per person on health care than any other nation on earth including all the industrialized nations that have universal coverage, but so many here are without coverage. Also, k-12 teachers need a raise, and budgets restored so that schools can again offer art, home ec, music, autoshop, drama, gym. That "fluff" is the stuff that provides enrichment, motivation, resulting in higher grad rates and well rounded students eager to tackle rest of life.

I'm with you on the education stuff too. Well-rounded people make for better citizens. Better teacher pay brings in more competition. Class size is a factor too. I teach at the college level, and I know my students get more out of it at my current institution that has smaller caps than my previous ones. You can spend more time with each student and their work.