Trump Kicking and Screaming Transition Thread

This Was Always the Plan

Not entirely right. Roman provinces did have much more independence than US federal states. The governors were basically kings, in some cases bound to Rome only by taxes, settlers and the occasiosional legion dropping by. That of course had the same reason why the EC was created centuries later - the vast distances. Because news or orders took weeks or months to arrive from Rome, they just needed that independence.

If they had voted for emperor, they might have invented an EC too. This is not very far fetched btw - the early Roman Kingdom which ended in 509 BC was an elective monarchy, as were several in the Scandinavian area and the Holy Roman Empire (at least in theory).

Of course those emperors were not elected by the general public so there was historical precedent when the US Constitution was written. However, credit goes to the founding fathers for binding the College to the popular vote.

Okay, seriously.

@shootER , @Tuckerfan or any other admins, can we please carve off the American history lesson into another thread?

For fucks' sakes.

I wouldn't mind a Canadian history thread. I like Canada and feel badly that most Canadians know a lot more about the U.S. than the other way around.

I’m not an admin, Dayton.

We've got a ton of threads right now related to the election and Trump, is there some breaking news you're missing?

What is this mythical place you speak of?

Never been there, huh?

His girlfriend is from there.

You need a note from your parents if you're a minor and cross the border into Canada by yourself.

I SAY YOU'RE AN ADMIN.

I WON THE ELECTION.

BY A LOT!

Of the ass?

Travelin' contaminates your mind and makes you think "socialist" universal health care might actually be a good idea. Can't have that...

Yeah, I don't want the government handling something as delicate as health care! Bunch of incompetents. Nuclear weapons, though, that's different.

somewhere above you in every meaningful way...

Canada is America's chapeau, oui?

When the Senator who thinks Forrest Gump was a pretty smart guy bails on Trump, it’s pretty much over.

And the backpedaling has begun.

Basically about 1950 as the closest approximation.

And yet, we do not have a pure democracy now and that's EXACTLY what is happening as we type.

That's NOT why the EC exists, that's a total retcon. Historians (not the religious hucksters and Lost Cause die hards, ACTUAL historians) will tell you that the EC has never ONCE achieved any of the purposes described for it and it's original form failed the first time it was tested.

It's ALWAYS been a dumpster fire and has led to multiple instances of bullshit (like how we had to bargain away reconstruction to keep the country from flying apart a second time within 20 years)

In this election, had Trump gotten 0.2% of the vote more than he did (assuming it came out of Biden's vote share) in AZ and GA then we would be witnessing an actual highly-likely-to-actually-work coup attempt for real right now as Republicans threw every limit in the fire to hand WI or PA to Trump and call him the winner.

Because EC.

It won't happen THIS time. Probably.

But it's a ticking time bomb. Just like a dozen weird and bizarre circumstances combined in 2016 to MAKE this Buffoon president and cost the country more than can ever be calculated because Christian Nationalist bigots are perfectly happy to bow to an autocrat as long as he's an autocrat on their side - and that only happened because the EC exists - sooner or later the snake eyes will come up again and it will be the last free election for president we ever have. It's only a matter of time.

That "rural interests" that the EC is supposedly protecting?

It's two things - ONLY two things:
Christian nationalism.
White supremacy.

Read a thousand interviews about "why Trump supporters still love him" and see how many of them mention, say, water rights, or environmental concerns, or rural broadband connections, or whatever else an actual sane voter might factor into their decision.

Shit ain't there.

Bigotry. That's it and that's all.
If THAT is what the EC is forcing us to "balance" (and it is) then that's all the more reason to get rid of that motherfucker.

Excuse me but have you even read the constitution????

*spends the next 3,000 words giving a nonresponsive history lesson*

They didn't though, which is why Trump keeps inviting state legislative leadership to the White House.

Yea I was unclear there. However the charming and strongarming by the biglyest loser does not seem to work with them. Seems there is some spine left in some Republicans.

Anyway, what happens just in case? If the electors vote against the will of the voters? Nothing by law, but I do see a few nice warm fires where state capitols once were. And guess what - it's not my preferred political tool but those fires would be completely justified.

So, it looks like all of Trump's desperate legal maneuvers are going to fail and the "swing" states will certify the vote for Biden in the coming days.

It's been fun and entertaining watching the Trump campaign's stupid antics, but I suspect we will shortly be entering a very dangerous phase. Once Trump actually realizes that he's a one-term president, his actions over the next ten weeks could cause significant damage to the republic's institutions.

Honestly, he's already there. Look at the pullouts of troops against the Pentagon's wishes, firing anyone who disagrees with him. Look at the cancellation of the emergency authorizations for Coronavirus. He's also doing ineffectual things like an executive order to get rid of birthright citizenship that won't stand. And he still won't transition or take any appreciable action on the coronvirus.

But yeah, it's not whether, it how much. And the answer is likely a hell of a lot. All to make it harder for Biden to govern.

https://www.cbr.com/comic-book-characters-trump-biden-reactions-gallery/