Long-time DailyKos member (recently more of a lurker).
This will be short—my apologies, I am heading out of town. My note to TPM’s Josh Marshall this a.m. is cut-pasted below. Thoughts?- I am certain that there are some terrific DK historians who could weigh in on this—and add meat, counter-arguments, etc.
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Hi Josh,
Long-time reader--since before Bush v. Gore, actually. Your insight then helped me survive that terrible period in the history of our country. I am a TPM Prime subscriber, as well.
This note will be short. You are certain to hear from smarter people than me on the subject of your "A Troubling Detail" post. As you note, however, the likely final outcome of this election--a two-three million vote difference between HRC and Trump--is that the Electoral College is badly out-of-balance with with the interests of majority-vote of Americans. And that gap is growing.
I have just made your point to a few Trumper FB friends. I have told them that the Electoral College needs to be re-labeled--perhaps "SlaveryRUs" would suffice? When you drill down into it, the EC is the product of a political compromise struck by the Founding Fathers--many of whom were slave-holders--to accommodate that, uh, interest.
I am no expert on this subject--the background of the Electoral College; I am a labor lawyer, actually. But the EC's troubled roots are exposed even by simple google search. I'm sure that truly great historians will dress it up as "so much more" than that. History is never simple, so perhaps that is even a fair point. But, again, I think even that is just a way of dressing up a deeply undemocratic system of electing our president that arose-- not out of "wisdom" -- but out of the a dark belief shared by many then that African slaves were sub-humans. (I am linking to a short piece, below).
It is critical that any re-branding--and it must be re-branded-- connect the EC to this root--particularly given that we are all now "enslaved" by it. We must cease referring to it as "the Electoral College". Based on my early experience, I suspect that its modern-day supporters -- many of whom think it "enobled" by its associating with "the Founding Fathers" would not wish to be associated with any such system. We must enlighten them to these dark details. The rest?--the deplorables (if you will)?- those who nevertheless will support it?- They should be made to feel very uncomfortable with this association.
Thank you for all you do. We will get through this as well, and come out the other end better for it.
Very truly yours, [Name]
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In hindsight, I should have added one note to the letter above—but only thought about it later. Some of this will resonate more now than it did 16 years ago because, well--frankly—George W. Bush seemed somewhat more a qualified leader. But especially because the the imbalance between the EV/SlaveryRUs vote and the majority vote here is likely to be very large. And here me on this: the imbalance could very well grow. If you are inclined to throw up your hands and say, well—this simply won’t be changed—please ask yourself: How many more “victories for democracy” like this can our country, and the world itself, endure? George W. Bush launched an unnecessary war that resulted in the deaths of millions of people, and the repercussions of that war are still being felt. Imagine the degree of destruction that could be wrought by Donald Trump—and ask yourself again if the SlaveryRUs system can be changed?- Thank you for reading.
PS: I am open to a better re-branded name for this undemocratic system of voter enslavement. Ideas??!!
The Troubling Reason the Electoral College Exists
