To the Electors of the 2016 Presidential Election,
In the last month there may have been more written
on the purpose of the body that you comprise than any other time since it was
conceived, so this will spare you the history lesson that you no doubt know and
will just speak from the heart:
Something is not right.
It is as if history is being replayed; that we know
a train wreck is coming but are just standing by to wait for it to happen. We
allowed this situation to be created due to years of propaganda that polarized
the nation in addition to being coaxed to believe that turning a blind eye to
creeping abnormalities will somehow be without consequence.
Let's briefly reflect on the abnormalities of the
present to understand more fully why many of us feel that something is greatly
amiss:
Is it considered a normal state of affairs for the
most important job in the world to be given to somebody without any relevant job
experience in diplomacy, the federal government or the military?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs when the
American intelligence community confirms overt meddling in our elections by a
Russian dictator to bring to power the presumed president-elect?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs when that
Russian dictator and his government, along with communist China, white
supremacist groups of Europe, the Philippines' new "strong man" and
radical Jihad groups celebrated Donald Trump's presumed ascension to the White
House in the days that followed November 8th?
In contrast to the point above, is it considered a
normal state of affairs when our long-standing allies, those who stood by us to
fight fascism and communism, are expressing concern with this new tone and
direction of America?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs when a
man who is a known propagandist who ran a publication he termed the
"platform for the alt-right" is named Trump's Chief Strategist for
the White House?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs when
white extremists are being emboldened across the nation and doing Nazi salutes
a few blocks from the White House while saying “Heil Trump”?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs for a
presumed incoming administration to contact a far right political party in
France to collaborate when power is taken?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs for a
presumed president-elect to have so many conflicts of interest with other
nations?
Is it considered normal to have not seen the tax
returns of a modern presumed president-elect?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs to have a
presumed president-elect berate the media and ask them not to report critically
of him?
Is it considered a normal state of affairs for the
presumed president-elect to be more interested in stoking controversy
domestically and internationally rather than being a steward of stability and
progress?
There are many more abnormalities that could be
recounted, but know that all of them most certainly will not be without
negative consequence. History has taught us time and time again when such
phenomena have arisen in society that the people suffer. With this in mind, imagine
the following: imagine that the Framers of the Constitution who created the
body you represent could have had a TV installed in Independence Hall when
drafting the Constitution. On that TV they could see what we have recently
seen: how Trump ran his campaign, his demonstrations of abject ignorance, his
thin-skinned temperament, his rhetoric and actions that are causing dangerous
waves in the diplomatic arena, especially with nuclear powers. Can you honestly
say to yourselves that the Framers would have thought it fine for the Electoral
College they created to elect one such as Donald Trump to the highest office of
the land?
Whether perceptible to all or not, lessons once hard
learned are being forgotten in America. It wasn't caused by Trump, but he is
the symptom and a symptom that must be eradicated. The demagoguery that has
been at work has boiled the nation at a slow pace so that we would get used to
each incremental abnormality without naturally rejecting it as we otherwise
would. Instead it has been normalized. The danger is that by the time a
critical mass of the public realizes this that like the proverbial frog in hot
water it will be too late and the lesser angels of our nature will bring about
negative consequences for us and our children. The only questions will be what
will those consequences be and what will be there severity.
I know you agree deep down that the Founders would
have denounced Trump as patently unfit for office, but that you fear to vote
against him when pledged otherwise. You fear political repercussions. You fear
faithless elector laws. You fear threats, whether real or perceived. I do not
judge you for any of these fears because they are natural. What I wish to do is
say the most sobering thing of this letter, something that should place your
natural fear in context:
Some say that the nation's system of checks and
balances as found in the three branches of the federal government will ensure
that someone like Trump won't do too much damage in office. It is how they
justify and deal with someone like Trump being the chief diplomat, head of
government and commander in chief. They say the Electoral College should be a
rubber stamp and just put him in. The following is why such reasoning should be
completely rejected as short sighted and devoid of the lessons of history:
The nation's system of internal checks and
balances might be fine to mitigate damage from somebody like Trump if the USA
were the only country on the planet. To illustrate this, internal checks and
balances worked fine before, during and after the Cold War, a period of recent
history where the lives of hundreds of millions would have abruptly ended
within a few minutes of nukes being launched in a thermonuclear war. Depending
on how severe that war could have been, complete human extinction through
environmental devastation was also a possibility.
Many today are too young to remember or understand the
dangers of the Cold War. In short, internal checks and balances didn’t and don't
place a check on horrific scenarios that exist in our fragile human world, a
world where aggressive nuclear powers amid a loosely patched together
international community still exist and can be dangerously disrupted by a rogue
American head of state.
Why did the Cold War not result in a nuclear
exchange? Many reasons, but one key one being that experienced, restrained and
qualified people held office. Now contrast this with what you have seen
this election cycle. Trump's erratic behaviors, whether calculated or off the
cuff, have not showed signs of abating since he became the presumed
president-elect. Nor should they have been expected to abate for anybody who
understands his type of personality. He is not the person who should be leading
the world's most powerful nation and the indispensable nation when it comes to
maintaining a hard-earned and restrained nuclear international order. In short,
he is not fit to lead the nation through anything to do with armed conflict.
There are those who advocate that the Cold War never
actually ended; that so long as Russia (and China for that matter, a country
becoming highly disturbed by Trumps' actions) has thousands of hydrogen bombs
atop ICBMs that could rain down on America within 30 minutes of launch with the
ability to wipe out half the nation or more then the cold war cannot be over.
Now, Trump may have advisers in terms of diplomacy
and military affairs, but at the end of the day as president he will set the
tone, he will speak for America and he alone will make the toughest decisions,
decisions where the only choices are between terrible and worse and relevant
experience and sound judgment are needed to make the right call. This is why 50
Republican national security experts all signed a letter stating that Trump “would
be the most reckless president in American history” and that Trump “would be a
dangerous president and would put at risk our country’s national security and
well-being.”
If you as Electors install Trump as president, he
will no doubt have to lead America through conflicts abroad and will no doubt
have to make decisions about how to contain and respond to nuclear aggression
(and those nuclear aggressive nations consider him in over his head as is).
Please do not be complacent to think that a) some type of nuclear arms race could
never happen again and that b) if it does we will avoid nuclear war just like
we did in the Cold War.
Wars rarely starts with bullet and bombs. Rather,
they usually start with words and offenses. If the campaign trail nor his
history in general did not offer enough evidence that Donald Trump is a man
"who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite
qualifications” to be president, then the weeks since the popular vote on November
8th have offered enough. As your Republican colleague from Texas Christopher
Suprun has publicly stated, “Federalist 68 argued that an Electoral
College should determine if candidates are qualified, not engaged in demagogy,
and independent from foreign influence,” he said. “Mr. Trump shows us again and
again that he does not meet these standards.” “I owe no debt to a party,” he
said. “I owe a debt to my children to leave them a nation they can trust.”
Electors, it is within your power to send a message
to Putin, that our Founders are not yet redundant in their understandings of
politics and human nature.
Electors, it is within your power to send a message
to all far right groups, both domestically and internationally, that the
American system protects against both tyrannies of the majority and tyrannies
of the minority.
Electors, it is within your power to send a loud and
clear message to terrorist groups who say that Trump’s pending ascension to
power is evidence that U.S. democracy doesn’t work that the American system as
enshrined in our Constitution embodies the greatest wisdom of the ages when it
comes to governing large bodies of people and thus contains a mechanism to root
out a disastrously bad candidate.
Electors, what other reason would you need to
exercise the power that those gathered in Philadelphia in 1787 gave you?
There are those among you, as has already been
quoted, who want to deny Trump the presidency. You may admire Alexander
Hamilton and his description of the purpose of the electoral college in
Federalist No. 68: to prevent someone like Trump ascending to office. May you
therefore be reminded of Hamilton's pivotal role in the election of 1800. After
a tie in the Electoral College, the choice for president was between his
political arch-rival, a man he deemed wrong in his politics (Jefferson) and a
candidate he deemed unfit for office entirely (Burr). You may face a similar
choice yourselves: vote for a candidate who was your political arch-rival, or
vote for he who is absolutely unfit for office.
This letter is obviously a part of a pro-Clinton
blog, but this blog emerged out of how unfit for office Trump is. Should you
elect another Republican as president, one who is qualified, a very deep sigh
of relief will be breathed by this author and millions across the country. So,
let it be clear, if it is possible to install a qualified Republican for
president in Trump’s stead, then do so. However, as this is contemplated, let
us not forget that politics is the art of the possible. Mathematically the
easiest option to replace Trump is with Clinton. She has a large victory in the
popular vote, lending legitimacy to such a choice. Moreover, she will need the
least number of Electors to change their votes to deny Trump the presidency.
To those of you who wish to deny Trump the
presidency, please remember what your ultimate objective is here: stopping him
from becoming president and all that would entail. Therefore, if it is not likely
to place another Republican in office, merely denying Trump 270 votes by voting
for other Republicans and thereby throwing the election upon the house of
representatives will not deny Trump the presidency. It will just delay him
becoming officially the president-elect. Therefore, if it is not feasible to
ensure another Republican becomes president, you must follow Alexander Hamilton's
example in 1800 and consider putting Clinton in office to deny Trump and
thereby put country first.
There is no sugarcoating this: your choice is a
choice is between some pain now or a lot of pain later. Denying Trump the
presidency will cause anger throughout sections of the nation. But there are
already riots given his looming president and, like those riots, any new riots
will subside. Moreover, any riots from denying Trump the presidency may not be
as acute as they could be given that it is becoming clearer to many Trump
supporters that he is not "draining the swamp" nor carrying through
with all campaign promises. Better to let a few riot now than to destabilize
the fragile international order that keeps in check aggressive regimes with
nuclear capabilities.
Some of you will respond to this by simply saying “I
am pledged to Trump and will therefore do my job” without further room for
discussion. However, the world heard a similar thing at Nuremburg: “I was just
following orders”. The psychology of this reasoning, as uncovered by Patrick
Haggard, a cognitive neuroscientist at University College London, is interesting.
Says Haggard, “acting under orders caused participants to perceive a distance
from outcomes that they themselves caused”.
Electors, you can do your job and do it right. Your
job is to serve the interests of the United States of America. Please allow
this unprecedented election season to end in an unprecedented way - do what is
right for God and country and deny the demagogue Trump and his foreign
colluders the presidency once and for all.
This will be the most pivotal moment of your lives.
You will never do a greater nor more influential act for the course of human
history than this. Now is your moment. We depend upon you. Do not let us nor
our children down.
Bloglius
