ALL POLITICS IS LOCAL DEPT

Interesting data compiled by a group called Polidata, affiliated on its web page with the Republican Party. Still, the numbers look credible and unbiased. What they did was work out who would win the presidency if we had a British-style, district-by-district, parliamentary system, with winner-takes all. In 1996, Clinton crushed Dole by 280 districts to 155. In 2000, Bush won narrowly but clearly, by 228 districts to Gore’s 207. Bush won 46 districts which elected a Democratic Congressman; Gore won slightly fewer Republican districts: only 40. None of this matters, of course. Only the Electoral College matters. But if people can raise the popular vote tallies as legitimate background material for the election, then I don’t see why this isn’t relevant as well. It’s a good compromise between the Electoral College’s tilt toward states, and the popular vote’s lack of connnection with geographical diversity. Anwyay, worth checking out.