Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez recently inspired fresh debate over the hoariest of institutions, the Electoral College. "Every vote should be = in America," she tweeted, "no matter who you are and where you come from. The right thing to do is establish a Popular Vote. & GOP will do everything they can to fight it."

On cue, Republican Rep. Dan Crenshaw protested: "Abolishing the Electoral College means the politicians will only campaign in (and listen to) urban areas. That is not a representative democracy. We live in a Republic, which means 51% of the population doesn't get to boss around the other 49%."

In Crenshaw's world, apparently, democracy works better when the 49% chooses for the other 51%. Indeed, The New York Times' Nate Cohen calculates, President Donald Trump could win reelection in 2020  "while losing the national vote by as much as five percentage points."