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response 407 of 409:
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Dec 16 18:52 UTC 2000 |
Well, normally how it works is that the winner in teh election (by state, of
course) pretty much automatically becomes the President, and the Electoral
College is a mere formality. That's been pretty universally recognized as
"how it works" for a long time now, and generally as a good thing, even if
the laws were never changed to require it. I think everybody knows, no matter
what their personal interests in the matter might cause them to try to do,
that having the electoral college act independantly of what they were elected
to do would not be right, and concessions after the original election are thus
expected (and, I would hope, taken seriously).
I've certainly heard the rumors that some Democratic supporters are urging
Bush electors to change their votes. It's generally possible to find factions
in any political party who are willing to do an end run around the accepted
processes for their party's short term gain. I certainly hope that Al Gore
is not a part of such efforts, and that he really does know better than that.
Nothing I've seen on the subject has suggested that he has any involvement
in this, and his public statements certainly haven't encouraged it, but I
suppose if he had any private involvement in this it would probably be kept
pretty well hidden.
Anyhow, I don't expect it to come to that. Much as I would prefer that Al
Gore become President, and much as I think the Supreme Court's ruling was
clearly off base, respect for the process is what keeps this system flowing
smoothly and nonviolently. As I said before, I do think we're due for some
Constitutional ammendments codifying the way the system has been functioning
over at least the last several decades, and if there are any "faithless
electors" this time around, that will do a lot to reenforce that view.
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polygon
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response 408 of 409:
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Dec 16 19:36 UTC 2000 |
Damn, I got cut off and lost a response again.
Remember that a constitutional amendment takes 2/3 of both houses of
Congress and 3/4 of the state legislatures. The Electoral College is
not going to be eliminated or changed as long as any criticism of it
is seen as a partisan attack on GWB, his administration, and the memory
of his administration.
The Electoral College was not changed after 1888, either, and I bet
Republicans criticized anyone who demanded such a change as soreheads
who were gratuitously slamming Benjamin Harrison.
If we're not going to change it, we're going to have to live with it.
Living with it means (1) accepting that the popular vote winner is
sometimes going to lose, and (2) accepting that the electors are at
least theoretically free to vote their consciences.
Some states have laws that restrict this, but they are widely regarded as
unconstitutional, or at least highly questionable. To enforce elector
discipline would require, again, a constitutional amendment, and the
strong support of BOTH parties.
If faithless electors cause any change in the process this Monday,
even if it just throws the race into the House of Representatives,
THAT is likely to cause a widespread bipartisan consensus that the
process needs to be changed.
Before November 7, 2000, political scientists predicted almost unanimously
that an outcome where the popular vote winner didn't win the presidency
would automatically cause public outrage and a constitutional crisis.
That turned out not to be true. Nobody really has any serious objection
to simply following the steps outlined in the Constitution.
Similarly, if a number of Bush electors change their mind and change the
outcome, whatever their reasoning, they are simply following the steps
outlined in the Constitution. Bush supporters might be angry, but they're
not going to start an armed revolution.
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