My Advice on Coping with Trump's America

[Icarus]

Woe is me! I think that I have put my foot in it.  OK here is a Civics 101 recitation mostly for my own learning benefit.

The electoral college thing is imperfect but it works most of the time. The rules of the game are somewhat similar to a Chinese fire drill. 
First; delegates within the states are appointed in accordance with the number of representatives plus two for the senators. The appointed delegates were originally intended to be the intellectuals who were considered to have better judgement than the common less informed citizens of the state.  There are 538 of them in all.  The necessary 270 votes to name the new president is a wee tad more than half.

All the states except Nebraska and Maine currently require the delegates to vote for whomever the majority of the voters selected. There is our system of checks and balances at work. No oligarchs are to usurp the power of the people or notions to that affect.
Once informed of the result of the voting, the governor of the state will issue a certificate of ascertainment that tells who the delegates are supposed to vote for. It does not always work that way but most of the time it does.

The fun begins the first Monday after the second Wednesday of December (no shit that is the rule) The senate and the house will then assemble to learn of the decision of the delegates. ....The votes will be counted in a joint session of congress on January 6. Two tellers will read the results from the various state delegates in alphabetic order.  The VP presides over this session.  The senate president then calls for objections if any. If objections are noted the session will retire to settle the case.

The whole process is a freaking mess and I was hasty in claiming that it was not asinine.  Just the same the idea is valid. It went to hell because of the presumption that only the betters could be delegates. That turned into something that resembled aristocracy or "rule of the ruling class", which runs counter to the concept of Jeffersonian Democracy. Lo and behold over time a bunch of ordinary slobs intermingled with the more sophisticated delegates.  Then the concept of super delegates came to pass. They can vote for whomever they damned well please without regard to the will of the people.

Well what the hell.....maybe it is an asinine method.  The whole structure is built on the reality that we are a  Republic not a Democracy.

As for Wyoming.... It is surely to be accorded some special consideration because Dick Chaney lives there and he can shoot federal judges without consequence. In addition they have Teton National Park and no threat of petroleum pipelines just yet.

I will go to my room now.

               

[Recusant]

No problem, Icarus. You've demonstrated yet again that unlike hidebound doctrinaire ideologues, you're capable of reassessing your position. You da man. 

One quibble: "Superdelegates" is a comparatively new term, and that's because it developed after the two main parties went to the primary system for choosing their candidates. There are no superdelegates in the Electoral College system.

In the first decade of the 1900s, states began to hold primary elections to select the delegates who would attend national nominating conventions. The introduction of these primary elections mitigated the corrupt control of party and state bosses. But the widespread adoption of primary elections was not immediate and so they did not play as strong a role in determining a party's candidate as they do today.

[source]

[Firebird]

No problem, Icarus. You've demonstrated yet again that unlike hidebound doctrinaire ideologues, you're capable of reassessing your position. You da man. 

Hear hear.

[Magdalena]

As for Wyoming.... It is surely to be accorded some special consideration because Dick Chaney lives there and he can shoot federal judges without consequence. In addition they have Teton National Park and no threat of petroleum pipelines just yet.             

[Bad Penny II]

"My Advice on Coping with Trump's America"

Find an internet forum where you can vent.
HAF will no doubt benefit from Trumpology.
Yey, silver linings.

[Pasta Chick]

I'm afraid advice to "sit back and enjoy the show" comes from a place of privilege that many cannot afford.

I'm already watching as women's reproductive rights are dropping away, state by state. It's fucking horrifying and will not just sit back and watch.

[Recusant]

  For instance, the fetus funeral laws aren't just a symbolic sop to the Christians--they're actually another way of making access to abortions more difficult and expensive.

The Satanists are willing to challenge that particular tactic, though. "The Satanic Temple Claims Immunity From Rule Requiring Fetal Burials" | Snopes

[Pasta Chick]

Ohio has just passed a law banning all abortions after 6 weeks, when a heart rate first becomes detected.

Most women are not even aware they are pregnant at 6 weeks.

[Recusant]

It should also be noted that Tom Price, Trump's pick for Secretary of Health and Human Services, is opposed to the Public Health and Prevention Fund, instituted to support public health programs, and is a staunch opponent of women's reproductive rights.

[MadBomr101]

There appears to be a few member of the EC - the so-called "Hamilton Electors" - who are refusing to vote for Trump in an effort to block his Presidency from even beginning and positioning another member of the GOP as President in his place. Someone less disastrous. I applaud the effort of these few men/women of conscience but, to be realistic, their numbers are few and it would require a minimum of 37 of them to block Trump. There's about 15 of them so far and the kind of backbone they're showing probably doesn't exist in numbers high enough for this to work.

Not being a pessimist, just being a realist. That being said, I would LOVE to be proven wrong.

[Pasta Chick]

I fear the electoral college choosing an entirely new candidate. Many of the Republican nominees were even worse than Trump, and with the mind to be sneaky about it rather than a blundering buffoon. IF they were to choose to vote for someone else, I think it should be Hillary, as she did win the popular vote by a large margin. Not just "well we like this dude". 

[MadBomr101]

Hillary has no chance of being selected given that the cooperation of the GOP electors is critical for this strategy to work. So long as it's not Cruz, I'm open to another Republican if that's how it has to be.

Someone moderate.

**Edited to Add: Let me just reaffirm my doubts that this strategy will work given that it depends on the political courage and personal integrity of people heavily entrenched in establishment politics. A few will have the spine for it while the majority of them will simply do what's expected and hand the Presidency over to an obvious lunatic with the IQ of ham salad.

And this country will burn.

[Recusant]

There is a vanishingly small chance that faithless electors will have any effect at all. Even if they did, the most that might be achieved is hanging the Electoral College (as in "hung jury"). Then the responsibility for choosing the president falls on the House of Representatives, and it's a dead cert that Trump would be their choice.

As for "This country will burn," I'm don't think so. Yes, the coming years will be shit, and there will likely be some unrest. I don't doubt that Trump, assisted by Ryan and McConnell, will do some serious damage to the country. Perhaps even enough that the control of Congress will swing to the Democrats in two years, but I wouldn't bank on that outcome.

[MadBomr101]

I think you're greatly underestimating the damage Trump's sociopathic administration is going to have. His cabinet appointments are proof of the direction he plans to go and by the end of his term the economy will be a trainwreck, the environment will look like a rape victim, unrestrained corporatism will be the norm, look forward to new wars, probably with Saudi Arabia and/or Iran, Xian indoctrination in our schools, and the dismantling of as many social safety nets as they can kill. Also, pussies everywhere will be in danger of being grabbed. It won't just be NY, LA, and Miami.

If Trump takes office, I stand by my assertion the country will burn. If you're not part of the wealthy elite, bend over.