Eric Cantor Defeated.

Several have called Cantor's defeat an "earthquake". Others are speaking of a disarray in the GOP. It is as though a Congressman seeking his eighth term should never be defeated. Actually that is the point of primary elections... to ask the voters if they wish to continue to be represented by this man. What's so earth-shattering about their saying no?

This is the way America works. It gives us a chance to get rid of the guys who are not doing their job. It also means we will occasionally lose a really good man (or woman).

Is it such a shock that the primary voters wanting a change actually got out and voted? Or,that the voters who supported Cantor stayed home on election day? A disappointment, perhaps, but no great surprise.

Primary election day was June 3 in my county. Only 13% of registered voters bothered to vote. My guess is that similar numbers applied in the Virginia election. That is the sad part. Because so many voters ignore primary elections, we are allowing a very small minority to determine who our candidates will be in the general election.

I have an idea: create a lottery every election. Let the governmental entity holding the election create a lottery pot, contributing 1¢ for every voter casting a ballot. When all votes are counted and the election certified, draw one name from all who voted, and award them the pot. If there are 100,000 voters, the pot would be $1,000.00 - not enough to break the county, or city, but enough, perhaps, to attract voters. And voters might encourage their neighbors to vote... to enrich the pot.