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The only reason the federal gov't has a say in gay rights, abortion rights, and other social issues is due to the fact that they claim jurisdiction under the Commerce Clause, which has been stretched to be nigh-unrecognizable. It also happens that most decisions that the federal government makes on those issues are tied to money in some way, so yes, I do come down on the side of those that believe that only those paying taxes should vote. There is no reason that someone who lives solely on the public trough should have a say in what those that pay for the meal set before him.
Also, I'll put my view of the electoral college and the popular vote this way: the vote of the -people- elects your representatives. Both to the Congress, and incidentally, to the Electoral College. The -states- elect the President, via the Electoral College. "Your vote counts" in the decision of which way your state's vote is going to go. That is why a person can lose the popular vote and win the Presidency. The EC's purpose, as already stated, is to protect the rights of those who live in less populous areas of the country, and to keep a few large population areas from deciding issues for everyone.
What the by county map fails to show is how many of those states were decided for Gore based solely on the votes garnered from the large cities, regardless of the fact that a staggering geographical majority of the country chose Bush.
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