Looks like Howard Dean will be at Faneuil Hall tonight for a Rock the Vote debate forum. Not quite sure what a “debate forum” means, but I’m guessing it means giving part of the stump speech and answering a few questions. Supporters are watching from The Rack, which I think is the bar that Revere and Hancock often frequented in their day.
Now I’m a closet political junkie, a devotee of the Sunday morning shows & the West Wing and have been following the Democratic candidates for President. But it dawned on me that living in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts means that my vote is irrelevant. Our Electoral College ensures that my vote will be lumped together with the rest of the state that is so (in)famously liberal that it was the only state to go to George McGovern. And our “Massachusetts Miracle” candidate Michael Dukakis didn’t fair so well in 1988 either. Proudly out of step with the rest of the “Lesser 49”!
This seems even more unfair than the unequal representation of Senators since it seems like my vote is unimportant. And needless to say hardly any of the candidates bother spending much time or money in this state. Last year I read How Democratic Is the American Constitution? and was surprised to learn what a hack the Electoral College was. I’d believed the popular myth that it was based on some aristocratic ideals about chosen electors making wise decisions; instead it was a last minute compromise made so they could leave the Convention. Nice.