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Edited by Mrph1 on Nov 30th 2023 at 11:03:59 AM
The thing about faithless electors is that there's only one time they've actually made a difference- and that was the entirety of Virginia going faithless. And even that didn't ultimately change the outcome.
It's also worth noting that they've been some grumblings about GOP electors going faithless, and that this guy doesn't seem likely to vote for Trump either.
1 Washington state Democratic elector won’t support Clinton, another won’t commit
God fucking damnit WHY ARE THESE IDIOTS PLAYING WITH THE FATE OF FUCKING HUMAN CIVILIZATION?
edited 5th Nov '16 3:48:45 PM by Psyclone
The Electoral College is still stupid. Y'all only keepin' it around on the grounds of si non confectus, non reficiat.
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"I hope I get to be the one to allow the rise of the Fourth Reich, just because I wanted to be a spoiled pissant."
edited 5th Nov '16 4:00:17 PM by Lennik
That's right, boys. Mondo cool.edited 5th Nov '16 4:11:34 PM by TheHandle
Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.Sadly, it is real. I suppose because nobody will let Trump kiss babies.
IMO, any US flags that Trump has kissed and hugged ought to be decently disposed of, because he's tainted them with his phony displays of "patriotism."
This Space Intentionally Left Blank.I mean this as a legitimate question, because thinking back on it I don't think he has, but have we ever heard Donald Trump say that he loves the United States for any reason beyond what it does for him alone, regardless of whether or not he means it? The man puts up the biggest facade of patriotism I've ever seen, and it's a real shame people buy into it.
edited 5th Nov '16 4:23:24 PM by randomdude4
"Can't make an omelette without breaking some children." -BurBear in mind, the electors won't have to cast their votes until well after Election Day. So if Trump and Clinton end up within one or two pledged electoral votes of each other, an elector who has said they won't vote for their pledged candidate will have plenty of time to change their mind after seeing how much is at stake. But if Clinton wins by a dozen or more electoral votes, then one or two electors can decide to go faithless as a symbolic, protest vote without actually affecting the outcome.
I don't think it's irony. It fits in with the founders being wary of mob rule; likewise we didn't used to have direct election of senators. It's state law, not the Constitution, that binds them to vote for a candidate and in theory they're the last bulwark against a demagogue rising through the popular vote *cough*. It was through the mid to late 1800s that people started clamoring for (and got) more direct democracy.
It will take a severe breakdown to spur people into action reforming the electoral college though. A popular/electoral vote disparity alone obviously isn't sufficient because we've had it happen twice in 260+ years.
If you're interested, the comedic political mockumentary Bob Roberts, about a "Celebrity-turned-Republican Politician from Hell" is showing in a chat room used by Tropers right about now. (Technically it starts at 8 PM Eastern, which is real soon, but anyone can jump in and join)
So if anyone's in the mood to check it out, it's at http://cytu.be/r/TroperCoven
- and you can join and leave at any time, so no need to commit. We can see the movie that predicted the Trump phenom before it happened for real! 😩 It could be fun, or it could be horrifying!
After the movie, we have a bunch of political-themed videos lined up as well.
(Note: you may need a simple browser script to see the movie when it starts. But it takes like only a few seconds to install; just follow instructions in the link at the top of the page)
edited 5th Nov '16 4:54:52 PM by BonsaiForest
Wow. The movie started and the guy is performing country music, singing a liberal-bashing song. And people are calling him "the leader of a generation" and "a man of the people".
He's like the super-Trump or something.
Anyway, last call - anyone can join (the movie ends in ~100 minutes) at http://cytu.be/r/TroperCoven
if the want to watch this mockumentary of a Trump-esque asshole's rise to power.
A little, uh, light "entertainment" before the real thing... ends up not happening.
Reminder: download the plugin at the link listed on the site or the video may not display.
edited 5th Nov '16 5:09:04 PM by BonsaiForest
Psyclone: Well, a politician has to know how to handle anything that is thrown at them, whether it's true or not and come out on top. Trump also had to deal with the groping women video (and somehow it didn't affect his campaign either).
edited 5th Nov '16 5:09:19 PM by Grafite
Life is unfair...True, true, they feared mob rule and demagogy. Instead, they smacked each other in papers and didn't print retractions. Got really fucking personal and baseless speculative about it, too.
Accusations of hermaphroditeness? Of being dead? In fucking print? Man, one thing I love about the USA, the freedom of speech
This CNN video
juxtaposes Trump's description of an incident at a Clinton campaign event with video of the actual event, and you don't have to be biased to see he's 100% lying. I went to Youtube and found the footage of the event, unedited - it's easy to find and it's only a couple of minutes - and the CNN cut isn't leaving anything out or misrepresenting anything.
Basically, there was a pro-Trump protestor at an event and during Obama's speech the Clinton supporters there started shouting him down with slogans (and the ever-annoying "USA! USA!" bit). Obama told everyone to "hold it" and when it got a bit more quiet he defended the protestor, saying that the 1st amendment gives him the right to protest. Obama also said "he's not doing nothing" (double negative intended in the US vernacular sense, where it's still a negative). He said the protestor looks like he might be a veteran and an older person, which is two reasons he should be respected.
Trump's narrative of this was that Obama was screaming at the protestor and attacking him in a way that, if Trump did the exact same thing, the media would describe as very aggressive.
So, you know, add this to the pile of simply blatant Trump lies during this campaign. He even starts his bit by telling people to look up the video - obviously expecting that no potential supporter of his would ever bother.
Quod gratis asseritur, gratis negatur.

WA Electoral College voter will not vote for Clinton even if she wins
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." -Thomas Edison