Electoral College Urged to Reject Trump as President (house of representatives, government, support)
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Regardless of what some seem to want to believe, the Electoral College was designed by the Framers as a 'last gasp' measure to prevent a demagogue from assuming office.
If the sole purpose was to give 'representation' to the smaller states (which is partly true, of course), then the Framers could have simply said that each state is assigned a certain number of electoral votes (as is done), and that after the election you count up how many of these electoral votes each person won, and be done with it.
In other words, there would be no reason for actual people to cast actual electoral votes in December. I direct interested parties to Federalist Paper No. 68, by Alexander Hamilton. He clearly lays out the reasoning.
The purpose was to grant representation to smaller states in order to keep an unfit individual from reaching office as a result of popularity in "a single State." That single state would necessarily have to be a high population state. Instead, a candidate would have to gain the "confidence of the whole Union" by getting the vote of electors in other smaller states.
"Talents for low intrigue, and the little arts of popularity, may alone suffice to elevate a man to the first honors in a single State; but it will require other talents, and a different kind of merit, to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union, or of so considerable a portion of it as would be necessary to make him a successful candidate for the distinguished office of President of the United States. It will not be too strong to say, that there will be a constant probability of seeing the station filled by characters pre-eminent for ability and virtue."
The last sentence above suggests that Hamilton was not all that worried about demagogues. Twenty nine states have legislated electors' discretion away, showing what the modern concern is.
Last edited by CapnTrips; 12-13-2016 at 12:10 PM..
They need to AND FAST!!!!!!! -- Before its too late!!!!!!!!!
Maybe after reviewing his cabinet he has chosen --they will see he is pretty much going against the things he campaigned on. It would be a long shot but I am hoping he doesn't get to 270 after all. I would much rather see Kasich, Pence or a democrat.
No. The EC was designed to prevent some like Hillary getting elected solely by the high population states. Before you post on something which is common knowledge, you could try reading a little about it first.
I apologize I had no idea you were the leading expert on how the EC works, please enlighten me some more.
The real question, how will liberals throw temper tantrums when Trump is elected by the EC in just a few days? Will they need more Play-Doh? Therapy dogs? Cuddle Puddles?
Or have they perhaps matured past the terrible twos by now? Nah, what am I thinking?
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Toyman at Jewel Lake
The real question, how will liberals throw temper tantrums when Trump is elected by the EC in just a few days? Will they need more Play-Doh? Therapy dogs? Cuddle Puddles?
Or have they perhaps matured past the terrible twos by now? Nah, what am I thinking?
I've been seeing this play-doh thing all over the web since the election, wth does it mean?
(You will need to scroll down a bit to get to the Play-Doh part.)
Many people are upset that some college students (and their teachers!) are such crybabies.
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