3 ms·

> That hardly reflects the will of the people in the context of a /national/ election. Federal.

by vsync 14y ago

downandout 14y ago
Well, actually I used the term "national" to try to distinguish it from senate and congressional races. The term "federal election" may in the minds of many include senate and congressional races, both of which are decided exclusively by the vote within the state and aren't part of this discussion. Had I said "federal election" I would have undoubtedly been corrected on that point as well.
- vsync 14y ago
  I was trying to make the point that it's not an accident of history that the President isn't elected by popular vote, but for good reasons. The President isn't running just a big collection of people, he's running a union of states. The states send electors to choose the President, and each state take popular opinion into account by way of the popular vote. This is good because it means that each state's interest is represented (though the fact that only swing states get the focus is something that should be addressed). I live in Rhode Island and I like that we get some consideration. Large low-population states are another consideration. ...and on posting my reply I see this was already addressed very well in an earlier reply to a parent comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4737359 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4737359
skrebbel 14y ago
Hmm, offtopic but I'm curious: there's a semantic difference between the two terms? So the FBI and the NSA somehow operate at different levels, tied to different entities? If so, what's the difference?
- jbooth 14y ago
  National is having to do with the nation, federal is having to do with the federal government. National Basketball Association and Federal Bureau of Investigation obviously make sense. National Security Agency is a federal agency charged with security of the nation.

3 ms·

> That hardly reflects the will of the people in the context of a /national/ election. Federal.

by vsync 14y ago

> That hardly reflects the will of the people in the context of a /national/ election. Federal.

downandout 14y ago
Well, actually I used the term "national" to try to distinguish it from senate and congressional races. The term "federal election" may in the minds of many include senate and congressional races, both of which are decided exclusively by the vote within the state and aren't part of this discussion. Had I said "federal election" I would have undoubtedly been corrected on that point as well.
- vsync 14y ago
  I was trying to make the point that it's not an accident of history that the President isn't elected by popular vote, but for good reasons. The President isn't running just a big collection of people, he's running a union of states. The states send electors to choose the President, and each state take popular opinion into account by way of the popular vote. This is good because it means that each state's interest is represented (though the fact that only swing states get the focus is something that should be addressed). I live in Rhode Island and I like that we get some consideration. Large low-population states are another consideration. ...and on posting my reply I see this was already addressed very well in an earlier reply to a parent comment: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4737359 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=4737359
skrebbel 14y ago
Hmm, offtopic but I'm curious: there's a semantic difference between the two terms? So the FBI and the NSA somehow operate at different levels, tied to different entities? If so, what's the difference?
- jbooth 14y ago
  National is having to do with the nation, federal is having to do with the federal government. National Basketball Association and Federal Bureau of Investigation obviously make sense. National Security Agency is a federal agency charged with security of the nation.