I Might Be Wrong

I Might Be Wrong

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I Might Be Wrong
I Might Be Wrong
Aren’t People Tired of the Candidates Running for President of Pennsylvania?
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Aren’t People Tired of the Candidates Running for President of Pennsylvania?

Even the best argument for the Electoral College is bad

Jeff Maurer's avatar
Jeff Maurer
Sep 18, 2024
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I Might Be Wrong
I Might Be Wrong
Aren’t People Tired of the Candidates Running for President of Pennsylvania?
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Above: The people who will elect the president. (Photo by Mitchell Leff via Getty)

At this point, Trump and Harris are as much a part of the Pennsylvania landscape as a group of Amish teens drinking Yuengling outside a WaWa. The Keystone State — better known to outsiders as “the state you can’t avoid driving through” — is four percent of the US population but accounts for about 30 percent of the ad spending this cycle. That’s because there’s a good chance that Pennsylvania will decide the election: Nate Silver gives Pennsylvania a 31 percent chance of being the “tipping point”1 state. And that’s why between now and election day, Trump and Harris — like someone who couldn’t hack it in New York — will make Pennsylvania their home. We’ll see them downing Rolling Rocks at Steelers games and touring Gettysburg with the Phillie Phanatic, eating sandwiches stacked with things God never intended to be on a sandwich (fries are a side, you freaks), and calling those abominations “hoagies”. And, if they really want to pander, they’ll make like the locals and pronounce it “hoaowwwgies”.

In my opinion, this is a bad way to do things. I know that arguing against the Electoral College is pointless; I might as well write a column called You Shouldn’t Have to Be a Fitness Model to Read the Weather on Mexican TV. But let’s take a moment to note that most of the country is being ignored. A few states get serviced like a businessman on a trip to Amsterdam, and the rest of us might as well throw our votes down the sewer. And the kicker is: Large states are getting the attention. The argument that the Electoral College forces candidates to speak to the concerns of small states is every bit as much bullshit as charging $37 to drive from Philly to Pittsburgh, even though the PA Turnpike is the only road between the two cities not made of fucking cobblestones.

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