UnicornOnTheCob (574 posts)
Lessig: Electoral College should choose Clinton
The Constitution lets the electoral college choose the winner. They should choose Clinton.
Lawrence Lessig
The Washington Post
Conventional wisdom tells us that the electoral college requires that the person who lost the popular vote this year must nonetheless become our president. That view is an insult to our framers. It is compelled by nothing in our Constitution. It should be rejected by anyone with any understanding of our democratic traditions  — most important, the electors themselves.
Many think we should abolish the electoral college. I’m not convinced that we should. Properly understood, the electors can serve an important function. What if the people elect a Manchurian candidate? Or a child rapist? What if evidence of massive fraud pervades a close election? It is a useful thing to have a body confirm the results of a democratic election — so long as that body exercises its power reflectively and conservatively. Rarely — if ever — should it veto the people’s choice. And if it does, it needs a very good reason.
In this election, the people did not go crazy. The winner, by far, of the popular vote is the most qualified candidate for president in more than a generation. Like her or not, no elector could have a good-faith reason to vote against her because of her qualifications. Choosing her is thus plainly within the bounds of a reasonable judgment by the people.
The framers left the electors free to choose. They should exercise that choice by leaving the election as the people decided it: in Clinton’s favor.
I respect Lessig in general, but on this point he is wrong. First, the intent of the electoral college was not to prevent the election of child rapists, lofty as a goal that may be. The electoral college was a product of its time- namely to keep state governments strong and power localized rather than centralized in the federal government.
More important, given what communication and travel was like in the day, it was basically impossible for candidates to visit all the states much less communicate in a meaningful way who they were and which policies they advocated for.
Third, the electoral college was designed with the assumption that political parties weren’t a thing and that candidates wouldn’t actually campaign at all.
With these assumptions the electoral college makes a lot of sense. Each state elects a collection of people that are respected in the community and they do the hard work of travel and research to figure out whom to elect. Delegating representatives is not the same as electing a group of people designed to be a backstop against the popular will of the electorate. This is simply an ahistorical view.
We do live in a world of political parties, and we have amazing communication and travel systems compared to what the founders had. Popular elections, media issues aside, are completely possible. The nation has also changed greatly since the founding, originally having very strong states and a weak central government to a model where we have a strong central government.
Lessig is wrong that about what the electoral college is for, and he’s wrong that he thinks we ought not abolish the electoral college.
Finally, even though I concede that Clinton as president, as terrible as she would be, is a better outcome than Trump in the White House with a Republican House and Senate (and eventually Supreme Court), it’s truly abhorrent that anyone would advocate that the electoral college reverse the outcome of the election.
Saying that Clinton is the “rightful†winner of the election because of a roughly 1.5% lead in the popular vote is misleading. While I believe we should adopt a national popular vote, this election was run and campaigned on the grounds of winning state electors. Attempting to change the outcome is attempting to subvert the will of the people, and contrary to what Lessig is asserting, is trying to change the rules of the election after it’s been lost. It would rip the country apart.
Finally, all the talk about coercing electors is folly. If you want to make a difference, start working on the next election. This one is over. The election, in electors, when for Trump 306 – 232. Trump electors are Republican hardliners. The idea that you’re going to strong arm 38 of them to vote for Hillary Clinton is frankly insane.
2016 is in the books. If you want to have a better outcome next time:
1.Pass a national popular vote
2.Pass state-by-state instant runoff voting so Greens have a chance and Bernie wouldn’t have been stopped by a rigged primary
3.Support independent media, because none of this works if you have to rely on MSNBC and Fox News.
leveymg (769 posts)
1. It's over. Rec for comment. Zip for Lessig.
It will take a Constitutional change to get rid of the EC. In the meantime, we all have to learn to live with the results, as inevitably odious as they were going to be, one way or the other.
exindy (362 posts)
3. The election system is common knowledge
Clinton had just as much chance to win all those states that cost her the election.
She chose her strategy. Too bad, so sad.
Now the democrats are sitting around crying in their beer, more stupid about what happened than they were when they made it happen.
BTW, she didn’t win the popular vote. Far from it. Way more people didn’t vote for her than did.
Billy (1706 posts)
If that’s the way it should be done. Why let the rest of us vote? Just let the electors decide who the president will be. We could save all the money wasted on having an election. Lessig is just a member of team democrat and wants the refs to cheat, so his team can win.
goodgirl (1148 posts)
7. If that happens and she is chosen
We can no longer even PRETEND we have a constitution. All bets are off.
And I am not surprised this is happening. The Clintons are one of the worst things to ever happen to this country.
notesdev (1495 posts)
12. If such an effort succeeded
it would immediately lead to a shooting war
and people like Lessig would be personally targeted, as his name is no doubt on many, many, many lists as a direct result of his career in Fascist propaganda
this article resembles a suicide note
DoctorJ (201 posts)
14. Good idea, if they want to spark riots across the country
Time for the Clinton media apparatus to give up the ghost.
There will be no mere riots if such a scheme is attempted.
There will be a reckoning.
But don't worry. For your integrity and the integrity of the others you will all be spared.
http://www.jackpineradicals.com/boards/topic/lessig-electoral-college-should-choose-clinton/
