Time is running out! The Electoral College is scheduled to vote on Monday. Please add your voice to those demanding a delay in the vote so the electors can be fully briefed on Russia’s interference in our election, interference which arguably cost Hillary Clinton an electoral college victory.
There are a number of different petitions to sign on Avazz, and MoveOn.org to demand that the electors be given a briefing before they vote on Monday or that the vote be delayed until such a briefing can be arranged.
Avazz has a petition demanding that electors get a briefing before they vote.
MoveOn.org has one demanding that the government declassify all evidence of Russian interference and host intelligence briefing for electors before Electoral College votes on December 19. There are a number of related petitions there as well.
Post information about these petitions and the issue in general on Facebook and Twitter and other social media. Post some of the memes I’ve made on the subject or make your own.
At this point, these petitions may be something of a futile endeavor, as the CIA has reportedly said that there will be no briefing, but I think it’s still worth it to stand up and say something about this travesty.
If the vote isn’t delayed, consider joining one of the candlelight vigils that will be held in all 50 state capitals tomorrow night, intended to support those electors who do what’s right and vote against Trump. You can also support this campaign by taking a photo of yourself with a candle and posting it to social media.
For more information on the vigils, see here.
As I see it, there are three main reasons why the electors should vote against Trump.
He lost the popular vote by more than three million votes, demonstrating just how screwy it is that we decide our elections not based on who gets the most votes but on a convoluted system that essentially makes the votes of white rural voters worth more than those of people of color. Electors, protest this absurdity by voting against Trump!
The Russian hacks. Do we really want the outcomes of our elections to be determined by dirty tricks engineered and overseen by Vladimir Putin? Do we want to have a president who is beholden to the autocratic Russian leader?
Trump has made clear that he intends to oversee a kleptocracy designed to benefit himself and his friends. He has refused to take even the most basic steps to disconnect himself financially from his businesses. He will be violating the laws, and the constitution, from the moment he takes office.
Any of these things would be enough to render Trump an illegitimate president. But all three? Voting against Trump is not just an option for the electors. It’s their duty to their country.
Six months from now, none of us want to wake up to this:
Here’s another version of the puppet graphic:
And a blank one if you want to add your own words:
I’m going to be making a lot more of these little propaganda posters in the next few days and weeks. Please spread them around! And make some of your own!
Saw those in my email earlier today. Didn’t think it’d do much good, but I went ahead and signed, anyway. I guess I can see why the CIA wouldn’t want to brief the Electors. After all, wouldn’t want to influence the results! Nevermind that the hacks and foreign fake news propaganda influenced them, already. “Two wrongs don’t make a right.” Of course, such platitudes, while good rules of thumb, are hardly universally applicable, and I personally believe leveling the playing field in this instance is justified. Still, can you imagine the uproar if the Electors actually did vote against Trump?
Good luck with this. The day the electors meet is chosen by Congress. Although Congress can change it, I don’t see a Republican Congress acting in a way that might get Hillary Clinton elected. They support Trump because they know they can blow their agenda through and he will sign everything, and they don’t give a fuck about the country beyond that.
Lately I’ve been wondering how this happened. What brought the party of Lincoln to this point?
??? Racism, and to a lesser extent misogyny, of course.
I have a friend who worked for the German security services as a cyber-intelligence analyst. He thinks that it’s very unlikely Russia directly hacked DNC servers, as the NSA would’ve spotted it almost immediately. It’s more likely they had an inside man. Given the FSB’s skill, that wouldn’t surprise me.
@Karalora
I blame the Atlas Shrugged mentality and it’s persistent myth that people who aren’t already born with all their benefits are nothing but “moochers”.
PoM
Nobody believes it’s either desirable or possible to replace Trump with Clinton. One proposal going around (real kumbaya round the campfire utopia this one) was for Clinton’s elector’s to vote for another Republican. Names floated by most are Romney, McCain, McMullin and to encourage GOP electors to do the same. If enough defect to get Trump’s total below 270 then it goes to congress.
At which point everyone will sit down together nicely and play properly at break time and they will agree on a “moderate” Republican for president, a “moderate” Dem for vice president and draw up a list of suitable candidates for cabinet positions to be equally split between the two parties.
I smile a bit at the thought of President McMullin standing beside Vice President Caine. It’s a bit of an impossible dream but waaaay better than the all too possible nightmare if things go the way they’re headed.
Well, I know they embraced racism largely as part of the “Southern Strategy,” but it seems to me there must have been some thread of cynicism present already if they decided to sacrifice their party’s ethics in order to maintain power.
It seems to me that when the Democrats discover their platform isn’t playing well to a particular demographic, they do one of three things: 1) try to figure out what that demographic wants and offer it to them as best they can given their existing platform, 2) try to win over hearts and minds, or at worst, 3) just ignore them and court other demographics instead. When Republicans find out they aren’t appealing to a certain demographic, they try to prevent that demographic from voting at all. It’s basically a tacit admission that their party’s goals have no place in a free democracy.
Hasn’t Trump made the CIA mad by refusing to go to briefing anyway? It’s the FBI that wouldn’t want the info to influence the results since they were the ones who released that email shit the week before elections.
Sure, the CIA in general might prefer that Trump was not elected, but I mean that they probably still have some ethical attachment to the idea of impartiality which the FBI abandoned during the election.
Every day I’m getting more pissed at the DNC not understanding how they dun goofed and their comments about being ignorant on how they dun goofed adds fuel to the fire.
@Michael Brew
The thing is is that it’s pretty much confirmed that Russia interfered with the election. It’s a publicly known fact by now. It seems that it would be irresponsible to NOT inform them that possible outside interference could have tampered with the results.
Isn’t it?
The fact he lost the popular vote is the biggest injustice. The whole electoral system is so nonsensical.
Fingers crossed for you over here in the UK. There’s no point pretending the chance isn’t very small, but as it’s said, hope for the best, prepare for the worst.
Well, sure. But the whole “don’t influence the election” thing is usually held as pretty absolute among government agencies even when it deals with factual, indisputable information, which is why the FBI director’s thing was so shocking even to many Republicans. I’m not saying that’s right, but it’s probably the principles the CIA is trying to hold onto at this point.
@Handsome Jack
No it’s fine everyone’s informed and silly things like reality won’t get in the way at all.
Wait there’s something wrong with that sentence. /sarcasm\obliviousness
Like it’d matter. They’d pretend to listen like a grounded kid and then just rubber-stamp the cishet white man with an R after his name anyway, like all those other Republicans who soapboxed about how they could never vote for a white supremacist child rapist yet still did, because party (and penis) before country.
@SFHC
Listen…listen and hear this with a bit of sarcasm and despair and a miniscule amount hope for real…
@Scented Fucking Hard Chairs
Loyalty above morality. In this case for them voting for a kleptocrat child rapist/work stiffer/racist/bad businessman/nazi dogwhistler/molester is moral. Why? Because white dick, big money and bigoted jesus.
I just think it’s critical that we don’t give Trump any legitimacy or “normalization.” Even if only a handful of Republican electors vote for someone other than Trump it sends a message. Every little thing helps.
It’s really frustrating that Obama and the Dems in general are doing almost nothing to stop this travesty. At least Elizabeth Warren is making an effort.
@David
Their inactivity is their modus operandi when push comes to shove.
The problem with the abandonement of the electoral college is that then only highly populated areas would be of concern to presidential candidates. They’d only have to win the majority of major cities. The electoral college isn’t perfect, but it’s better than if only densely populated areas mattered. I live in a rural community, so I kinda care that the president takes into account rural unions and agricultural concerns. PLEASE NOTE: I did not vote for Trump –in addition to being horrific on every level he is also anti-union and doesn’t give a shit about workers. At least Hilary Clinton had was pro-union.
So how can it be fixed? I’ve always thought that if the popular vote exceeds a calculated quantity of votes based on overall population (for example, say this year the threshold was 2.5 million. It’d have to be adjusted every election year, though) then it would override the electoral college. Something like that. I’m no political scientist, that’s just my two cents.
@Bethd
I realize you might think that sounds logical but it doesn’t.
Sure the candidates might only focus on the bigger cities, but that will by no means invalidate the votes of rural areas.
Instead you rural people would be able to upset the vote quite considerably if you were upset at who the candidates were pandering to.
There are almost 50 million americans in rural areas. That’s enough to change the vote if you all wanted.
@ David, @ Ooglyboggles
How do we get them off their asses?
How do we get anyone in the government to do the right thing?
This isn’t my wail of despair this time; it’s a serious question.
@Jsun
I’m sorry, a popular vote would effect how/what politicians campaign for, overwhemingly favouring the needs/wants of the cities.
http://ecpmlangues.u-strasbg.fr/civilization/geography/maps/US%20Population%20density,%202010.png
No politician would look at that map and say, “I should definitely look into the concerns of wyoming!”
@Karalora
Either
A) You manage to gather a significant following of people dedicated to a particular goal for months on end in efforts to create change through media and protest
or
B) Be rich (white male and christian improves chances to certainty) and fund politicians’ campaigns.
or
C) Get more people to vote in down ticket races and be involved in local politics.