Dear Sirs and Madams,
It is time for you to do the job for which you were conceived — “for the most knowledgeable and informed individuals from each State to select the president based solely on merit and without regard to State of origin or political party.”
America stands at a precipice which should we go over very possibly means a descent into bigotry, hate, and tyranny.
America’s voters have spoken. By a slim majority they have chosen a platform of inclusion, justice, and economic fairness. However, do to an arcane vestige of the 18th century we stand poised to put into the presidency someone who, by his own words, values none of those and who is unprepared, unqualified, and unsuited to hold the office and wield its immense power.
We have a president-elect who has a history of lies, fraud, bigotry, misogyny, praise for tyrants, and collusion with one of America's fiercest global rivals. Conversely, due to her own flaws, both legitimate and sensationalized, his opponent failed to sway enough voters across a geographically broad enough swath of the country to defeat a patently unqualified demagogue. This despite the fact she is in all likelihood and by far the most qualified candidate ever to run for public office.
We must not put President-Elect Donald Trump in to the White House. He is demonstrably unfit and would pose a threat to global security. However, the opposition to Hillary Clinton cannot be ignored. The protests we see in the streets against Donald Trump would be replaced by equally vocal and enthusiastic protests against Secretary Clinton were you to elect her based on her popular vote victory.
Both candidates have serious flaws and face extreme opposition, suspicion, and unfavorability. We must strike a path toward unity and reconciliation to force those with their hands on the levers of power to finally break through the gridlock, obstinacy, and rancor that now permeates. I propose that you elect neither of the candidates who ran for the presidency. Instead I propose a split ticket of the vice presidential candidates, Tim Kaine and Mike Pence or an alternate combination of Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker Paul Ryan.
A case can be made for either of these combinations. Senator Kaine and Governor Pence actually ran and participated in this election. Both have a history of public service and experience that qualifies them to serve.
However, it’s possible the vice presidential candidates are too closely tied to their flawed running mates to make an acceptable option to our nation’s opposed parties. Hence the suggestion of Vice President Biden and Speaker Ryan. Both are similarly experienced and qualified and enjoy enough (though not total) favorability within their respective parties to make an acceptable combination.
I leave it to your deliberations to determine which person should head the split ticket. A case can be made for either option. The Republican candidate won the electoral college vote, while the democratic candidate won the popular vote. I would argue that the since Democratic platform garnered the greater amount of overall support Kaine or Biden should head the proposed split executive.
Lastly, in the interest of preserving our democratic ideals, whichever combination of leaders you select must agree to forego seeking future election to the presidency. This proposal is an extreme solution to an extreme situation, but it is no Modest Proposal. The idea is proffered in good faith as a last ditch effort to prevent our nation taking these first steps toward fascism. America must not follow the same path.