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President Trump won the popular vote in 30 of 50 states.

rgifford 4y ago
9 of those 30 states have more cows than people [1]. When your state is a single dude standing in a field filled with cows, getting the popular vote doesn't say much. 1. https://beef2live.com/story-cattle-inventory-vs-human-population-state-0-114255 https://beef2live.com/story-cattle-inventory-vs-human-popula...
- timapplesauce 4y ago
  How much of our food supply comes from New York City and Los Angeles? Your comment implies that the needs of these states is somehow less important in the governance of our nation.
  - rgifford 4y ago
    The needs of these states are less important. They have fewer people, less productive capacity, less economic output, etc. They are lesser by every metric imaginable. In our nation's bread basket folks love to hold up agricultural achievement. Ironically California dominates that too [1]. Getting rid of the electoral college system in favor of popular vote isn't enough. A couple states drive the productive, agricultural, intellectual and economic engines of our country. In a meritocracy, these states would dictate federal policy. Instead they're subject to the capricious whims of deadbeats. Another way to put it: who really needs who? Some players are MJ or Kobe or Lebron, some sit on the bench. That's life. 1. https://www.ers.usda.gov/faqs https://www.ers.usda.gov/faqs
    - meatsauce 4y ago
      What a nonsensical conclusion
      - rgifford 4y ago
        Many states in middle America receive net federal subsidies while exercising outsized per capita political influence in presidential elections and Congress. You tell me how that's fair or right.
ZeroGravitas 4y ago
And 0 out of 1 countries. Here's a map showing where all the votes were cast: https://engaging-data.com/county-electoral-map-land-vs-population/ https://engaging-data.com/county-electoral-map-land-vs-popul...
- meatsauce 4y ago
  Do baseball teams win the world series based on how many fly balls they catch in a given year? Does NASCAR bestow awards based on how much fuel you used? Does Wimbledon award prize money for how fast you smack a tennis ball? Using an irrelevant metric to claim a make-believe victory is simply childish and emotional. Presidential candidates win elections based on the electoral college votes, themselves decided by the popular vote outcome in each state. In 2016, Trump won more states, thusly more EC votes. Therefore he became president and Hillary was sent back to the over-priced lecture circuit. Any other metric you use to decide who won is simply self-delusion.
- timapplesauce 4y ago
  The Electoral College exists because popular vote would lead to just a handful of our largest cities holding all of the political power. Switching to popular vote would lead to presidents completely ignoring or worse enacting policies that harm smaller cities, suburbs, and rural Americans.
  - wbsss4412 4y ago
    This is oft repeated, but it does hold up to even minor scrutiny. 1. More Americans live in suburbs than in urban areas, so they actually represent a larger share of the popular vote. 2. The electoral does not actually bias small states that significantly. California’s share of the popular vote was 11.0% in 2020, while it cast 10.2% of EVs. 3. The electoral college primarily biases large, tipping point states. Biden won California by a 63-34 landslide, while trump won Florida 51-48. In both cases, each candidate gets 100% of the electoral votes rather than a proportional amount. 4. Finally, the electoral college biases low turnout states vs high turnout ones, as EC votes are based on population and senators not actual votes themselves. In 2016 for example, Texas cast fewer votes than Florida, even though it is the second biggest state by population, and it got to cast 7 move EC votes. As an aside, it’s always telling that when this debate comes up, people will always say that “California and New York will decide the election”, referencing the largest and fourth largest states, while leaving out Texas and Florida, the second and third largest…

9 of those 30 states have more cows than people [1]. When your state is a single dude standing in a field filled with cows, getting the popular vote doesn't say much. 1. https://beef2live.com/story-cattle-inventory-vs-human-population-state-0-114255 https://beef2live.com/story-cattle-inventory-vs-human-popula...

timapplesauce 4y ago
How much of our food supply comes from New York City and Los Angeles? Your comment implies that the needs of these states is somehow less important in the governance of our nation.
- rgifford 4y ago
  The needs of these states are less important. They have fewer people, less productive capacity, less economic output, etc. They are lesser by every metric imaginable. In our nation's bread basket folks love to hold up agricultural achievement. Ironically California dominates that too [1]. Getting rid of the electoral college system in favor of popular vote isn't enough. A couple states drive the productive, agricultural, intellectual and economic engines of our country. In a meritocracy, these states would dictate federal policy. Instead they're subject to the capricious whims of deadbeats. Another way to put it: who really needs who? Some players are MJ or Kobe or Lebron, some sit on the bench. That's life. 1. https://www.ers.usda.gov/faqs https://www.ers.usda.gov/faqs
  - meatsauce 4y ago
    What a nonsensical conclusion
    - rgifford 4y ago
      Many states in middle America receive net federal subsidies while exercising outsized per capita political influence in presidential elections and Congress. You tell me how that's fair or right.

ZeroGravitas 4y ago

And 0 out of 1 countries. Here's a map showing where all the votes were cast: https://engaging-data.com/county-electoral-map-land-vs-population/ https://engaging-data.com/county-electoral-map-land-vs-popul...

meatsauce 4y ago
Do baseball teams win the world series based on how many fly balls they catch in a given year? Does NASCAR bestow awards based on how much fuel you used? Does Wimbledon award prize money for how fast you smack a tennis ball? Using an irrelevant metric to claim a make-believe victory is simply childish and emotional. Presidential candidates win elections based on the electoral college votes, themselves decided by the popular vote outcome in each state. In 2016, Trump won more states, thusly more EC votes. Therefore he became president and Hillary was sent back to the over-priced lecture circuit. Any other metric you use to decide who won is simply self-delusion.
timapplesauce 4y ago
The Electoral College exists because popular vote would lead to just a handful of our largest cities holding all of the political power. Switching to popular vote would lead to presidents completely ignoring or worse enacting policies that harm smaller cities, suburbs, and rural Americans.
- wbsss4412 4y ago
  This is oft repeated, but it does hold up to even minor scrutiny. 1. More Americans live in suburbs than in urban areas, so they actually represent a larger share of the popular vote. 2. The electoral does not actually bias small states that significantly. California’s share of the popular vote was 11.0% in 2020, while it cast 10.2% of EVs. 3. The electoral college primarily biases large, tipping point states. Biden won California by a 63-34 landslide, while trump won Florida 51-48. In both cases, each candidate gets 100% of the electoral votes rather than a proportional amount. 4. Finally, the electoral college biases low turnout states vs high turnout ones, as EC votes are based on population and senators not actual votes themselves. In 2016 for example, Texas cast fewer votes than Florida, even though it is the second biggest state by population, and it got to cast 7 move EC votes. As an aside, it’s always telling that when this debate comes up, people will always say that “California and New York will decide the election”, referencing the largest and fourth largest states, while leaving out Texas and Florida, the second and third largest…