The surest way to get rid of the electoral college.

[Garrett78]

Turn Texas blue. If Texas goes blue, Republicans will have no choice but to advocate for doing away with the electoral college. Or at least some sort of proportional allocation system.

[LonePirate]

1. Or generate a scenario where a Dem wins the EC vote but a Repub wins the popular vote.

[Garrett78]

2. That could do the trick, but Texas going blue would present a long-term problem.

Texas is, by far, the GOP's single biggest prize. They can't afford to lose all of those electoral votes.

[LonePirate]

3. Very true. Plus a blue TX pretty much guarantees a blue AZ, FL, GA and NC as well.

[uponit7771]

5. PA was one DNC main stay... it'll be a fight but well worth it IMHO... there's enough exurban libera

... liberal whites here to make the difference

[Garrett78]

6. Dems definitely need to continue competing in PA, OH, MI, WI and MN.

If they don't, then turning Texas blue won't matter. They'll also need FL, NC, VA, CO, AZ and GA to become reliably blue if they give up on PA, OH, MI, etc.

Iowa is a state Dems should spend fewer resources on.

If the DNC is smart, it will immediately invest in engaging potential voters in Texas, Arizona and Georgia. Those three states, consisting of 65 electoral votes, are ripe for the picking. Town halls and canvassing don't have to wait for an election. Those things should be done between election cycles. Find the 40% who don't take part in presidential elections and the 60% who don't take part in mid-term elections. Inform and motivate them.

[Ken Burch]

19. Not Ohio. This election proved Ohio is gone for good.

Why even pretend we could ever recover there?

Ohio's just going to go further and further right from here on in.

[Garrett78]

21. I'm not ready to dismiss Ohio.

Of those I listed, though, Ohio is the state Trump won most easily. So, you may be right. I want to see what happens in 2020 before giving up on Ohio.

[Yurovsky]

27. I don't think Ohio is gone either...

and anyone who thinks they'll turn Texas blue (like CA or NY) has obviously not spent a lot of time in Texas (outside of Austin)...

The best hope is to turn Texas, NC, GA, and maybe AZ purple like FL, OH, VA, and NH. States that can go Democrat with a strong candidate and a well run campaign. If TX and FL are in play each cycle while CA and NY remain solid blue, we play offense while they play defense 24/7, and you have to like those odds. It doesn't mean that a Democrat will be guaranteed to win the White House every 4 years, but it will make the GOP infrequent holders of the Oval Office until they agree to join the rest of us in the 21st century.

As for the EC, I don't see small states giving up the disproportionate power they have. It's not the voters, it's the small states that will have to agree to killing the EC, and I can't envision a scenario in which that happens.

[uponit7771]

4. Obama won Houston by 1960 TOTAL votes... Clinton won that area by 167,000!! Turn Texas BLUE DAMMIT !

[pstokely]

18. it won't turn blue without investment at the state and local levels

you can't just wait for the white people to die out

[Ken Burch]

20. Investment is key.

So is a complete change in the leadership ranks of the Texas Democratic Party. That crowd hasn't even tried to cut into the GOP majorities in the state legislature.

[TexasProgresive]

7. If Texas is so close to being blue

Why is every state wide office held by a 'Puke?

[Garrett78]

8. I don't know how close it is to becoming blue but the demographics suggest it can happen.

Clinton lost the state by 9 points, I believe. And I'm sure other Dems would fare better in Texas.

I suspect there are many potential Democrats in Texas who have never voted.

Anyway, the point is that if Texas is turned blue, Republicans will have an extremely tough time reaching 270 unless they turn Ohio and Michigan into reliably red states.

[Crunchy Frog]

10. I wonder how Liz would do there.

She's from neighboring Oklahoma, and spent her young adulthood in Texas, so she probably understands the culture and speaks the language better than most potential Dem candidates.

[pstokely]

12. aren't there lots of Yankee transplants in TX?

nt

[pstokely]

11. because statewide elections in TX are help during midterm years

Last edited Thu Dec 22, 2016, 09:00 PM - Edit history (1)

it can take several generations for elections to match the demographics in an area

[Garrett78]

13. That would, indeed, make a big difference.

Good point.

[uponit7771]

14. +1, ... and midterms are gerrymandered and voter suppressed nationwide too

[Crunchy Frog]

9. All that we'd need is to win a majority of EC votes, with a minority of popular votes.

If that had happened this election, there would have been blood in the streets before they let Hillary take office. The Dems would have likely agreed with the repigs that it was unfair, and a Constitutional Ammendment would pass with bipartisan support.

[mtnsnake]

15. Only until the South accepts civil rights for everyone will some of it turn blue again

The South turned red after LBJ's historic Civil Rights Act passed in 1964. LBJ thought it would take at least a generation to get those states blue again. Unfortunately, it's taking a little longer than that, thanks to assholes like Jessie Helms and a slew of others just like him. Once those dipshits are gone, maybe we'll have a level playing field again. Until then, we just have to work twice as hard for everything and never lose track of our values.

[pstokely]

16. is VA not part of the South?

what is the South?

[mtnsnake]

17. No, it's part of Toronto

Of course it's part of the South! Jesus H Christ!

[JI7]

22. VA turned blue because of minorities and people moving from blue states

same reason California turned blue. more hispanics. it wasn't a change in view of the people living there. but a change in people living there.

[Garrett78]

25. I think the potential is there for TX, GA and NC to become reliably blue.

But the Democratic Party would definitely need to put a lot of resources toward that effort.

[marlakay]

23. People from Texas need to pipe in here

My younger daughter lives there and i have a hard time believing it will be blue for a very long time.

The public schools are so religious its scary, and my daughter new teacher was made to feel like crap just because she didn't go to morning prayer group or talk about God.

No clinics for birth control hardly and abortion is hard to find. She said most everyone talks about Trump, ok to have guns in stores.

[pstokely]

24. tRump only won it by 9%, Mittens did won it by a bigger margin in 2012

what part of TX is she in?

[marlakay]

30. Northern Texas Wichita Falls

So I am hoping when she moves to San Antonio it will be better there.

They are in military.

[Mike Nelson]

26. The first reply was...

...correct. Have it elect Democrats. It never elected a Democrat over a Republican vote winner, but it will be gone if it does.

[Orsino]

28. The Lege and Gov would just split its EC votes. n/t

[Rage4Bacon]

29. Not going to happen...

We can all drop this discussion about the EC right now, because modifying the constitution at such a level just isn't politically possible - nor will it be into the foreseeable future.

Even if the right were screwed by it, the left wouldn't let go if it's benefiting them - exactly like the right isn't letting go because it benefits them. Just because so many are pissed off about the EC now because they were hurt by it... try approaching them when its working out great for them.

I suggest using your energy to focus on something that really can be changed.

[Garrett78]

31. I'm not advocating for a campaign to get rid of the EC.

I'm just saying Texas going blue would force the hand of the Republican Party, and I'm not convinced the Democrats would resist a bipartisan effort to do away with the EC.