One of the most basic tasks the two political parties must perform every four years is identifying 538 people loyal to their nominee, who will cast the only votes that truly matter in the presidential election when the Electoral College convenes to choose the next president. Apparently, Team Romney may have failed in that task:
At least three Republican electors say they may not support their party’s presidential ticket when the Electoral College meets in December to formally elect the new president, escalating tensions within the GOP and adding a fresh layer of intrigue to the final weeks of the White House race.
The electors — all are supporters of former GOP presidential candidate Ron Paul — told The Associated Press they are exploring options should Mitt Romney win their states. They expressed frustration at how Republican leaders have worked to suppress Paul’s conservative movement and his legion of loyal supporters.
“They’ve never given Ron Paul a fair shot, and I’m disgusted with that. I’d like to show them how disgusted I am,” said Melinda Wadsley, an Iowa mother of three who was selected a Republican elector earlier this year. She said she believes Paul is the better choice and noted that the Electoral College was founded with the idea that electors wouldn’t just mimic the popular vote.
While it is certainly amusing that the Republican Party is apparently no better at identifying faithful Electoral College candidates than they are at selecting prime time convention speakers who won’t carry on a conversation with a chair, the real lesson here is that the Electoral College is a really bad idea. If a majority of the American people vote for Mitt Romney next November, than his voters have a right to expect Romney to be sworn in as president and Romney’s running mate Paul Ryan to be sworn in a vice-president. The people’s choice should not be thwarted because an obscure group of Ron Paul activists infiltrate an antiquated selection process.
Several states signed onto an effort to effectively neutralize the Electoral College known as the National Popular Vote compact.