By Guy Page
Congressman Peter Welch wants to eliminate the electoral college and select the U.S. president by national popular vote, he said on a Vermont Public Radio debate with GOP challenger Marian Berry on Thursday, October 1.
Simple arithmetic suggests Vermont under the electoral college has more influence on presidential elections. At present Vermont has three of the 538 total electoral votes, or one in every 179. As of 2018, Vermont had an estimated 481,000 registered voters, compared to 153 million nationwide, or about one in every 318. Vermont in 2018 had 624,358 residents, compared to 327 million in the United States, or one in every 524.
Welch explained his preference not in terms of how Vermont would be affected, but by how it would benefit the United States as a whole.
U.S. Rep. Peter Welch, D-Vt.
“We are having a significant challenge with ancient institutions getting in the way of democracy being the decider,” Welch, an incumbent first elected in 2006, said. Noting that President Trump won the presidency but lost the popular vote, Welch said that “the minority is in control and under President Trump is attempting to suppress majority rights.The electoral college is one manifestation of how things are upside down….I would support the direct popular elections of our president.”
Moderator Bob Kinzel asked, “Do you think it would hurt small states?”
No I don’t,” Welch replied. “I think it would help America.” Welch did not comment further on the Vermont impact, and instead discussed gridlock and political dysfunction in Washington, D.C.
Berry, from Essex Junction, reminded Welch that the United States is not a popular democracy but a “constitutional republic…the founders set up the electoral college to give the smaller states a voice.”
Attempts to contact Welch’s office for clarification and expansion on his views have been unsuccessful. Vermont Daily will publish in full any response received. A former Vermont state senator who ran unsuccessfully for the Republican nomination for Congress in 2006 suggested Welch is selling out Vermont.
“It is quite something to see an elected politician sell out his state … and then get reelected,” Mark Shepard (formerly state senator from Bennington County) commented on the Vermont Daily Facebook page yesterday. “If Peter got his wish, Vermonters would have no say in presidential elections and no candidate would waste his or her time coming to Vermont.”
Vermont is one of states to join the National Popular Vote state compact, begun by a supporter of 2000 candidate Al Gore, who won the popular vote but lost the election. S31 passed in a 2011 legislative vote decided largely upon party lines, and was signed by Democratic Gov. Peter Shumlin. Vermont joins Washington, Oregon, California, New Mexico, Hawaii, New York, Massachusetts, New Jersey and several others state.
According to the National Popular Vote website, “The National Popular Vote bill will take effect when enacted into law by states possessing 270 electoral votes (a majority of the 538 electoral votes). As of July 2020, it has been enacted into law in 16 jurisdictions possessing 196 electoral votes, including 4 small states (DE, HI, RI, VT), 8 medium-sized states (CO, CT, MD, MA, NJ, NM, OR, WA), 3 big states (CA, IL, NY), and the District of Columbia.”
Candidates differ on Roe V. Wade – Kinzel also asked each candidate if Roe V. Wade, the 1973 Supreme Court decision legalizing abortion, should be overturned. “Yes I would like to see it overturned, to have it [abortion policy] returned to the states.” Berry, a registered nurse, said. “Abortion should be treated like any other medical procedure.” For example, orally-induced abortions should take place in a hospital “because terrible things could happen.” All abortion providers should first be required to have hospital admitting privileges, “so that if something goes wrong you can protect that woman.”
“And when a child survives an abortion, we need to take care of that child,” she added.
Welch disagreed on the grounds that women should have control over their own bodies. “It would be really a disaster, a catastrophe, if Roe V. Wade were overturned,” Welch said.
Read more of Guy Page’s reports. Vermont Daily is sponsored by True North Media.
I view the push to eliminate the electoral college as one of several fronts being pursued by the left to turn the USA into a socialist country. Eliminating both the electoral college and super-majority voting in the Senate will enable “tyranny by the majority,” wherein elites will leverage the media and other cultural institutions (e.g., Hollywood, Broadway, professional sports) to brainwash the majority and exercise complete control over us all – that’s socialism.
The Dems will achieve their goal by creating two more states. Goodbye to the America we love.
Being a constitutional republic does not mean we should not and cannot guarantee the election of the presidential candidate with the most popular votes. The candidate with the most votes wins in every other election in the country.
If he supports it then it’s time to get rid of Peter Welch. It would only lead to a dictatorship like we have here in Vt.
That’s really good Welch. A presidential candidate can go to the most populated states and promise to funnel all of the lesser populated states tax dollars into those larger populated states and there is nothing that the less populated states could do or say. Without the electoral college, you take away all of the heartland voting weight. That’s the idea, isn’t it.?
Many favorable arguments here.
My favorite is the astonishing fact that 20 VERY populous Counties, Counties, could elect the President.
If they can already do it, how much more power do they need??
Do those 20 huge Counties or those few States do Need even more absolute power, over the other 45 states and many thousands of smaller Counties.
Mr Welch, Use both sides of your brain to figure this out.
Mr Leahy and Mr Sanders – figure out how long you might last while you over-represent Vt’s tiny population ?
If this continues. Vt. may not have any senators or even one representative !!!
Mr. Welch is demonstrating his ignorance of our founding, and clearly has never read James Madison’s Federalist Paper #10 (a Safeguard Against Domestic Faction and Insurrection) or Alexander Hamilton’s Federalist Paper #68 (The Mode of Electing the President). He also doesn’t understand that a direct democracy (majority rule, i.e. mob rule) is a two-edged, bipartisan sword, which is why the founders established the United States as a Constitutional Republic, not a direct democracy. After all, the adage, sometimes attributed to Benjamin Franklin, that ‘democracy is like two wolves and a lamb voting on what to have for lunch’, can lead ‘to tumult and disorder’ for either political party.
There’s a reason Vermont has the same number of Senators as California or New York, despite their populations. There’s a reason The U.S. Supreme Court ruled that jury verdicts in trials for serious crimes must be unanimous. Peter Welch obviously doesn’t know these reasons. Hopefully TNR’s readers will educate themselves in this regard.
Hear, hear. Welch has also demonstrated his contempt for the Constitution.
Re your abortion position: Representative Welch, you again repeat the mantra “…women should have control over their own bodies.” You realize of course that no one argues against that anymore than they argued that planters didn’t have property rights. The issue for planters was that people shouldn’t be property any more than one’s bodily integrity should include killing one’s child.
Oh gracious Representative Welch, bless your heart. Please re-think this. I your vision here may be a problem. Majority rule is not an end in itself. It raises the specter of disenfranchising the minority. That’s a real danger discussed at our founding. The dilemma is how to keep the majority from oppressing the minority. Our founding aimed to ameliorate this. Majority rule would prevail for house districts. But that would be tempered by ensuring that the rich cultural diversity of the states would stand as equals…in Senate and the selection of the executive. To throw out this delicate balance would be…imprudent. Again, I ask you to please re-consider this.
It would have been enlightening if the article expressed how Welch believed megalopolis rule would “help America.” Regarding the Roe v. Wade issue: RvW does not “make abortion legal.” It denies states the right to make their own laws regarding an issue not covered by the Constitution and consequently, by Article Ten of the Bill of Rights, delegated to the states and to the people. Regardless of his opinion on the legality of abortion, it is a dangerous precedent to permit, without a legislated amendment to the Constitution, the federal government to override the Constitution and to assume powers Constitutionally delegated to the states. The degree to which this is happening, to which the federal government is increasingly consolidating and centralizing control in Washington and the degree to which the Supreme Court has been permitting this is very alarming. Government management of all aspects of business, the economy, even society has been an increasingly imposed goal of the Progressives since Roosevelt’s Progressive Party. It is the idea that the government knows how to spend your money better than you do, how to run your life more wisely than you can.
Welch in nothing but another Commiecrat that is a domestic enemy.
A Democrat is a person that is too stupid to know their a Communist.
As a Marxist and party hack of course he would, with out removal of the electoral collage and civilians bearing arms,the Commiecrats can not assume power on a permeant basics as is their goal.
Talk about ‘out of touch!’! Welch says the minority is in control. Wrong! He is in the minority and they just make a heck of a lot more noise, feign outrage at every possible turn, bully people, demean and target them if they disagree with the liberal/socialist agenda! The Constitution is one of the greatest documents ever, allowing for safeguards against what the modern left is trying to force us to accept – their total control of our lives. Welch needs to be replaced!
Here’s an example of a typical politician who takes an oath every two years to defend the constitution of the United States against foreign and domestic enemies and turns out to be one. It must be election time because here comes Peter just in time to share another bad idea so the fools in Vermont can send him back to Washington just because he is a liberal, anti-American, Anti-freedom yes man for the party. What else has he done for us or you?
Peter ” The Follower ” Welch, shows off his stupidity when he follows the
Democratic agenda against our Constitution !!
Welch can state that the Electoral College is part of an ” ancient institutions ”
getting in the way of democracy, Now that’s Funny, but sad the Constitution
has stood the test of time…….. Peter hasn’t.
Our founding fathers even though it was over two-hundred years ago could
see what would happen when had large states voting against a small states
that there voices would be lost, Electoral Collage saves these small states,
one would think Peter coming from VT would understand this, nope he’s been
tainted by DC.
I guess ” Follower ” Welch, feels the country would be served better under the
control of states like California with it’s 39.9 million voters pulling the strings.
Wake up Vermont, we have a chance to send this fool packing, he dosen’t have
your interest in mind. Democrats, will try by hook or by crook and he’s part of the
problem.
Small states/large states? No, it it give the power to megalopolis cities existing in only a few states. On the state level, New York illustrates how a large densely populated region controls the politics of the whole state even though its goals and priorities differ radically from the rural areas. It’s a wonder upstate NY hasn’t seceded.
I agree with you. Get rid of this guy.
“Ancient institution” ? He is literally insulting every one who believes in the Constitution and the reasons for it being the way it is. What a jerk.
Thank God, it would take a huge effort to change the Electoral College system. Peter Welch is an idiot and this stand proves he is an unconstitutional representative. Any mathematical map of the popular vote in this country from Only 20 or so COUNTIES (NOT States) will decide the Presidency every election year!
Of course, the demographics of those counties favor the Democrats and therein lies his stance which is partisan NOT constitutional!
Welch supports that, and open borders, because Dem/Progs would forever control the House, Senate, Presidency and the SUPREME COURT.
That would be an intolerable one-party DICTATORSHIP, as in Vermont.
The USSR had that. it disintegrated after 70 years.
The Russians opted for freedom, and threw the ruling cliques out.
The US was founded as a Republic, based on the distribution of power, not its concentration.
Whiny Welch supports whatever his masters tell him to support. He’s never had an original thought in his life.