
Let the People Pick the President
The Case for Abolishing the Electoral College
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Narrated by:
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Jesse Wegman
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By:
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Jesse Wegman
"People have been arguing against the Electoral College from the beginning. But no one, at least in recent years, has laid out the case as comprehensively and as readably as Jesse Wegman does in 'Let the People Pick the President.'" (The New York Times Book Review)
This program is read by the author
The framers of the Constitution battled over it. Lawmakers have tried to amend or abolish it more than 700 times. To this day, millions of voters, and even members of Congress, misunderstand how it works. It deepens our national divide and distorts the core democratic principles of political equality and majority rule. How can we tolerate the Electoral College when every vote does not count the same, and the candidate who gets the most votes can lose?
Twice in the last five elections, the Electoral College has overridden the popular vote, calling the integrity of the entire system into question - and creating a false picture of a country divided into bright red and blue blocks when in fact we are purple from coast to coast. Even when the popular-vote winner becomes president, tens of millions of Americans - Republicans and Democrats alike - find that their votes didn't matter. And, with statewide winner-take-all rules, only a handful of battleground states ultimately decide who will become president.
Now, as political passions reach a boiling point at the dawn of the 2020 race, the message from the American people is clear: The way we vote for the only official whose job it is to represent all Americans is neither fair nor just. Major reform is needed - now. Isn't it time to let the people pick the president?
In this thoroughly researched and engaging call to arms, Supreme Court journalist and New York Times editorial board member Jesse Wegman draws upon the history of the founding era, as well as information gleaned from campaign managers, field directors, and other officials from 21st-century Democratic and Republican presidential campaigns, to make a powerful case for abolishing the antiquated and antidemocratic Electoral College. In Let the People Pick the President, he shows how we can at long last make every vote in the United States count - and restore belief in our democratic system.
A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin's Press
"Wegman combines in-depth historical analysis and insight into contemporary politics to present a cogent argument that the Electoral College violates America's 'core democratic principles' and should be done away with...." (Publishers Weekly)
©2020 Jesse Wegman (P)2020 Macmillan AudioListeners also enjoyed...




















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Really informative
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eye opening
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Outstanding Summary of the National Popular Vote
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Every American should read this book!
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Amazing book!
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Two things I would submit to while you listen. (1) Chapter 7 deals with an inter-state compact. It's certainly an interesting proposition, but the Supreme Court has heard a set of cases that might turn that chapter on its head. The decisions are not yet available so I cannot say the author is incorrect, but the Chapter assumes presidential electors are free agents. That may not be accurate depending on the outcome of Baca. (2) The author's operating concept a republic is incorrect. He frames it as a representative democracy (akin to Athens) when it is really quite different. One hallmark of a republic is layers between the leader and the governed. That said, this definitional change does not substantively alter the arguments of the book.
Definitely Worth a Listen, but be critical
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Simple logic
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Well Done 👏 ✔
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INSPIRING!
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Required reading in schools and universities for anyone wanting to preserve US democracy
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