by Chris Markel

Created on: November 06, 2008   Last Updated: November 09, 2008

There are two key words in this topic. The first is the operative word, why. The second key word is rule.

The majority of the articles written on this site do nothing but tell how the Electoral College rules US presidential elections,

dismissing out of hand the why. Then they proceed to advocate the system, glossing over the ambiguities and flaws of the

process that chooses the "leader of the free world". And they give credit for the invention of this benevolent system to the

"Founding Fathers" of this-pardon the cliche-great nation. Ignoring the glib and sycophantical approach to this topic, this

article will introduce a more critical view.

According to the Wikipedia, "An electoral college is a set of electors who are empowered to elect a candidate to a particular

office. Often these represent different organizations or entities, with each organization or entity represented by a particular

number of electors or with votes weighted in a particular way. Many times, though, the electors are simply important persons

whose wisdom, ideally, would provide a better choice than a larger body. The system can ignore the wishes of a general

membership, whose thinking need not be considered". Take note of the phrase, "the electors are simply important persons

whose wisdom, ideally, would provide a better choice than a larger body". Also recognize the sentence, "The system can ignore

the wishes of a general membership, whose thinking need not be considered". The point is, these persons who, "represent

different organizations or entities" that "are simply persons whose wisdom, (pay particular attention to this word) ideally,

provide a better choice than the larger body", by definition, is a ruling class that makes a decision for people "whose thinking

need not be considered". Those who can recall and knew the politics of the Union of Soviet Socialists Republic can recognize the

function of the Peoples Prolet Bureau and notice a stricking resemblence.

One can also find in the Wikipedia's definition of the Electorial College, that the origins of the electoral college was formulated

by Germanic law, stating "that the German king led only with the support of his nobles". Therefore, "Pelayo needed to be elected

by his Visigothic nobles before becoming king of Asturias, and so did Pepin the Short by Frankish nobles in order to become the

first Carolingian king". It goes on to point out that, "While most other Germanic nations had developed a strictly hereditary

system by the end of the first millennium,

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