So; we're getting to the point that the popular vote is approaching Hillary winning by three million votes; but apparently that doesn't matter. Everyone scoffs at the idea that electors ought to vote for the winner of the popular vote; and now people seem to want to say John Kaisch?!
This is bullshit. I've spent some time recently teaching my parents and family how to use chat systems with end to end encryption; and warning that I'll stop responding to iMessage texts and that they better get used to Signal before Inauguration Day. But... then I realized this this is still pretty defeatist.
I want to outline my thoughts, and see if other people agree.
My prayers and plans and hopes (and if there's bible methods to get 'em there; my Dollars) go to the following ideas-
- Convincing electors to do the right thing
I sincerely hope that Hillary is quietly seeking out any and all electors and saying, "he's starting a trade war" or "he wants to sell your reservation to the oil companies" or "he seems to be more interested in his stock portfolio than your state's industry" or even just "go make fun of him and see how he reacts- now imagine he could order a drone strike, or a nuke". I she should offer these electors damn near anything; because even if she sells out to them; it can't be as bad as a Trump presidency already is; and the fucker isn't even president yet. If he has to dump Tim Kaine and take John Kaisch as her veep instead (just as long as he’s… you know… not allowed to try and push any anti-abortion bullshit)- sold. Still better than Trump. If she has to promise not to run for re-election; that's all the better. After the tarnish of all this; I think the Dems will want to run against her anyway in 2020. If she has to pre-approve her picks for Supreme Court nominees by a gang of 40 or 50 former electoral college voters; I can live with that (on the caveat that they CANNOT ask about Roe v Wade. Period.) pretty much anything else is negotiable to me. Because fuck it; have you seen what we'll deal with otherwise?
We all know that if the republicans were facing something like this (and by "like this" I mean, "genuinely believe the incoming candidate is unlikely to get through four years without terrible disasters and/or ending this country" not just, "they're doodie heads") they would not hesitate to do the same to us. Hell, if they had a Supreme Court opening timed in a transition like this; they'd probably go for it just on the principle of not wanting to deal with us and our hearings.
But I don't think we should stop with Merrill Garland. That's not enough to keep us safe; and really; if we do this- we should make it splashy enough to get the will to shut the door on it behind us. Push through Garland; and then every single other Obama appointment they held up over the last 8 years that would persist past an election. Then talk with Ruth Bader Ginsburg; and ask her, "how are you doing, do you have 4 more years of this left in you?" I admire her, but she is 83; and I think she might enjoy retirement; especially if she knew that we'd put a worthy successor in her place. Maybe Hillary; or maybe just ask her who she'd want. The key is; that Donald Trump cannot have a majority; and I'd rather he didn't even get a chance to appoint a justice at all.
- Failing those ideas; I live in California; I'll go for secession. I'd rather that we take Oregon and Washington with us; because Trump has no particular use for a coastline to trade with China from.
I've lived in California and Oregon; I love Seattle; and I'd like to keep Amazon, too :-p call me selfish; but I think these states are enough to give us a self sufficient country; and there's enough of a movement in those states; I think we can get them to come along. Sure there's a lot of racists in Oregon; but maybe that would get more quickly subsumed in the more diverse cultural identity that we'd get from a unified pacific coast as independent nation.
Because fuck it; if we can't do any of those; it might not be worth trying to save this rock.