It was there to entice the smaller states to join the Union. It was there to form a Union of equal States. That was the sole reason for the Senate as well. Senators were originally selected by the States, not the People. Those States would not have joined without the EC and the Senate.
Do you think that motivation has changed now? You like to belittle your opponent to diminish the effectiveness of their arguments, but you are arguing against conventional wisdom. This isn't about alarmism or apacolyptic thinking. We are talking about the structure of the Union. You are saying if we remove half the foundation, the house will still stand, and anyone who says otherwise is kooky because the house has stood for 200+ years. Obviously, your argument makes no sense, you have to convince your audience that those who disagree with you are crazy.
Progressives hate federalism, because it slows down their solutions. Democracy good; federal republic bad. I get it. That's why progressives eliminated the Senate as an advocate fofor the States against the National Government (17th amendment). The EC is pretty much the final support for federalism, and now you want to remove that for political motives. You acting now based on pure political motives, not motives for making a better system. You are putting the interests of your party before the interests of the Republic. The long term interests of the Republic militate for candidates that have broad support, not just urban support. You could convince the flyover rubes that your ideas are good, but you would rather just eliminate the EC so you don't have to bother doing that...just make it so their votes have less impact, and POTUS candidates only have to campaign in the cities.