Prop. 113 makes Colorado relevant again

After thrice going for the Democrat presidential nominee the Centennial State is totally irrelevant in this year’s presidential election.


As a result, conservatives find themselves wandering the political wilderness.


The only way for Colorado to become politically relevant again is a ‘yes’ vote on Proposition 113, aka the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact.


Despite the lies and distortions by naysayers, the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact does not abolish the Electoral College. It is not what Fauxcahontas, Crazy Bernie and A.O.C. push.


This constitutionally conservative and constitutionally consistent reform merely replaces Colorado’s state-based, winner-take-all method of awarding its electoral votes — a method James Madison, who wrote the U.S. Constitution, opposed — by ensuring the presidential candidate who gets the most votes wins. Don’t take my word for it. Newt Gingrich has endorsed the compact. Even President Donald J. Trump says he supports a popular vote.


While it doesn’t impact 2020 it would in future elections require the presidential candidates of both parties to campaign and invest in each and every state, including Colorado, because winning would become a numbers game.


In a presidential election under a popular vote the votes of every voter in every state would be equal. No longer would we elect a president of the battleground states. Rather, we would elect a president of the United States.


Proposition 113 creates an incentive for Republicans to turnout each and every conservative in the High Country, Eastern Plains and Western Slope. Similarly, conservatives in Wyoming, Utah, Idaho, Montana, the Dakotas, Kansas and Oklahoma would have a reason to vote. Right now, all of these voters and interests are ignored.


That is why opposition is so puzzling. Conservatives should be focused on re-electing U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner, not spending time and money opposing a ballot question that, if passed, would revitalize the conservative movement in Colorado. Don’t take my word for it. Just listen to conservatives in other ‘blue’ states.


In Oregon, Democratic since 1988, Republicans have been decimated in the state Legislature, losing 33 percent of their seats in the lower chamber since 2006. Portland is an example of what happens when one party runs everything. Yet, Oregon joined the compact on a bipartisan basis.


The same is true in New York, which joined the compact with the support of state legislators from the Conservative and Republican parties. They recognized the political right would benefit if the New Yorkers had a reason to show up and support conservative candidates.


Then there is the fact that Arizona, Georgia and Texas are either toss-up ‘purple’ or are trending that way by 2024. Under the present method, the math is increasingly stacked against Republicans because Democrats start with 242 of the 270 electoral votes needed to win.


This explains why Trump has said he supports a popular vote. Trump knows it’s easier for him — and other Republicans — to win if the vast swath of ‘red’ America had a reason to vote.


Conservatives need to stop and think. A ‘yes’ vote on Proposition 113 makes Colorado relevant again.


Dennis Lennox is campaign manager of Conservatives for Yes on National Popular Vote.

https://www.conservativesforyesonnationalpopularvote.com/