Time for a brave Electoral College to avert disaster

[Alekzander]

If you thought Donald Trump was the face of America’s anti-establishment movement, hold on to your chapeaus: A wild wind is rising.

Want to know what’s more anti-establishment than a president-elect who refuses to play by the rules? How about similarly spirited electors going AWOL and sending someone else to the Oval Office?

Could it happen? Might.

A movement headed by a mostly Democratic group calling itself Hamilton Electors is trying to persuade Republican electors to defect — not to cede the election to Hillary Clinton but to join with Democrats in selecting a compromise candidate, such as Mitt Romney or John Kasich. It wouldn’t be that hard to do.

Mathematically, only 37 of Trump’s 306 electors are needed to bring his number down to 269, one less than the 270 needed to secure the presidency.


http://www.kansascity.com/opinion/opn-columns-blogs/syndicated-columnists/article119599013.html

[MANative]

1. As soothing as the idea is, I think we have to face facts that it's not going to happen. :(

We're going to be stuck with the f*cker until his cheeseburger habit catches up with him.

[SHRED]

2. And then it would be turned over to the House to decide?

[Pacifist Patriot]

3. Yikes!

That we've gotten to the point where Mitt Romney or John Kasich would be compromise candidates. My heart and brain are in agony!

[onenote]

4. Wouldn't be hard to do? Ms. Parker must've been drunk when she wrote those words.

Gee, all you have to do is persuade 38 (not 37 as is often stated) Trump electors to abandon him and all 232 of Clinton's electors to agree on a common candidate for whom to cast their ballots. Not. Going. To. Happen.

Even the less ambitious plan, where 37 of Trump's electors bolt leaving no one with an EC majority is a pipe dream. It isn't going to happen and if it did, Congress would select the President from amongst the top three EC vote getters -- presumably Trump, Clinton and either Kasich or Romney. Guess what -- the Republican dominated congressional delegations aren't going to dump Trump if he is the top electoral vote getter amongst that group.

Geez. No one I know looks forward to a Trump presidency, but let's try to remain in the realm of reality.

[DavidDvorkin]

5. Fat chance.

[Joe941]

6. We need to contact our electors...

does anyone have a list of numbers or emails to tell them how we want them to vote?

[taught_me_patience]

7. It won't happen and not should it

He won based on the rules.

[Tiggeroshii]

8. If he loses it will also be based on the rules.

The electors are well within their constitutional right to choose somebody else.

[Amishman]

9. And House then would have to vote to accept those results

Which wouldn't happen. They would declare it invalid and we'd still get Trump.

There is no magic way out of this. It's time to look forward at what we need to do to rebuild our party.

[Tiggeroshii]

11. Half the republican congress is being blacklisted for not supporting him.

Them and a unified Democratic caucus could give us somebody else.

[SickOfTheOnePct]

10. Trump electors

vote for someone other than Trump, and their votes are tossed.

Goes to the House, Trump wins.

[duffyduff]

12. These jackasses would refuse to hand the election to the popular vote winner.

Fuck these partisan idiots, every last one of them.

[MineralMan]

13. Don't hold your breath.

[DFW]

14. If Hillary gets less than 270 Electoral votes

Then the president is either Trump or another Republican who will appoint equally awful cabinet members and Supreme Court judges.

The outlook is not pretty in any case. Понятно?

[Takket]

15. they may as well vote for Putin

since the Kremlin is running the country now anyway.