A short time ago, some of us met at our Tea Party office to discuss an issue that is stealthily growing, but was outside our influence at the time. This is the National Popular Vote Interstate Compact (NPVIC). We chose to take a stand against this stealthy, but persistent threat to our nation. For ten years our motto has been “Citizenship is not a Spectator Sport.” So we agreed to sponsor an effort to combat the problem. WillMyVoteCount.org is the initial spark of our efforts.
National Popular Vote Interstate Compact in a nutshell
NPVIC is a state by state agreement to award each state’s electoral college votes to the winner of the popular vote even if the candidate did not win that state. Essentially the participating states agree to disregard the will of their voters in favor of a candidate who is more popular in other states.
It is hard to wrap our brains around the logic that would entice a state government to agree to such disregard of their citizens, but fifteen states plus the District of Columbia have already agreed to do just that. The graphic below shows the states where it has already been enacted and states where the NPVIC is progressing through their legislatures. The compact goes into effect once they have signed enough states to comprise 270 electoral votes, a majority. They are closing in on that goal.
Why should we start a new program?
Florida is not on their list to influence so far. It is unlikely our current legislature would entertain this end-around the Constitution. We believe Florida’s Governor, Ron DeSantis, would veto such a bill if it dared to reach his desk. However, none of that will matter if the NPVIC is successful in other states. For additional information about WillMyVoteCount’s efforts, updates and reasons a national popular vote is not good for the future of America, please go to WillMyVoteCount.org.
The East Side Tea Party won’t be effective on this issue by talking to our Florida representatives, taking trips to Tallahassee or waving signs on street corners to inform people traveling down Alafaya Trail. Those methods have their place, but the people we need to convince on this issue are outside of central Florida. We need to reach people, legislators and governors in other states like Pennsylvania and Georgia. We need to promote resistance efforts in Colorado and New Mexico. To do this we need a more national effort. That is why we began Will My Vote Count.
Who is the opposition?
The NPVIC effort has been around since the Bush/Gore election and has been patiently growing. It is well funded by the usual progressive donors including the Tides Foundation (who helped pass Obamacare)((Tides’ Legal Laundering: An Incubator For the Left
Hayden Ludwig – https://capitalresearch.org/article/tides-legal-laundering-an-incubator-for-the-left-three/)), The Soros family, and former UC Berkley administrator, billionaire and aggressively progressive philanthropist, Steve Silberstein. Silberstein serves on the NPVIC board and is a key member of George Soros’s Democracy Alliance.((Exclusive: Here’s Who’s Bankrolling the Popular Vote Movement
Fred Lucas – https://www.dailysignal.com/2019/03/25/exclusive-heres-whos-bankrolling-the-national-popular-vote-movement/))(( Hanen, J. (2014, July). The Stephen M. Silberstein Foundation – California Dreamin’ of Social Democracy. Retrieved July 28, 2019, from https://capitalresearch.org/app/uploads/2014/07/FW0714.pdf )) That only names a few.
Tom Golisano, was a former spokesman of the movement. He is heralded as a “conservative” by NPVIC to add some diversity to their liberal lineup. He gave them an excuse to claim they were bipartisan. In direct opposition to the Tea Party movement, Golisano helped fund Charlie Crist in his failed 2010 Senate attempt against now Florida Senator, Marco Rubio. ((National Popular Vote Plan Pushers Hire New Lobbyists, Bring on Deep-pocketed Help
https://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/02/national-popular-vote-plan-pushers-hire-new-lobbyists/)) Additionally, he is a seven-figure donor to the Democrat Party.((Don’t Get Rid Of the Electoral College – Rachel Alexander – https://townhall.com/columnists/rachelalexander/2011/10/06/don%E2%80%99t-get-rid-of-the-electoral-college-n858948 )) Golisano may be conservative to extreme progressives, but not from a Tea Party perspective. According to Politico, after dumping over 10 Million into NPVIC efforts, he is no longer involved.((Is the Electoral College Doomed? Jedediah Purdy-Tom Nichols-Molly Mckew-Michael Crowley-David Siders-Anya Wagtendonk-John Austin – https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2017/09/05/electoral-college-national-popular-vote-compact-215541))
This is what we are fighting and this is who we are fighting. Until and unless Will My Vote Count can self-fund with its own donations, the East Side Tea Party is funding its efforts. Despite what the fake news says, your humble Tea Party does not have billionaire donors. We have you. We hope you sign the petition at WillMyVoteCount.org, follow them on twitter and help us to help them with financial support to move the project forward.
If you wish to donate to the Will My Vote Count efforts go to our secure donation page and check the box to designate the donation to a specific fund. Then choose Will My Vote Count and continue.
