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[Sephzilla]

Please tell me this is the big swerve where the referee changes the decision of the match after realizing that the heel wrestler cheated.

 

[-Plasma Reus-]

I hate the idea of Trump being President, but if the electoral college decides to elect somebody else, his supporters are going to go full-scale rebellion. They don't care if Russia influenced the vote, and they'd probably never hear about it since their preferred news sources would just frame it as "election stolen from Trump," but whatever the case, you'd have a potential Civil War on your hands and a full-fledged Constitutional crisis. It's not going to happen.

If trump is proven to have links with the kremlin, you're saying US officials shouldnt do anything about it because of potential civil war over a Manchurian candidate president-elect?

Im curious where the line is drawn then. Why do you think these systems have been put in place?

 

[LegendofJoe]

I hate the idea of Trump being President, but if the electoral college decides to elect somebody else, his supporters are going to go full-scale rebellion. They don't care if Russia influenced the vote, and they'd probably never hear about it since their preferred news sources would just frame it as "election stolen from Trump," but whatever the case, you'd have a potential Civil War on your hands and a full-fledged Constitutional crisis. It's not going to happen.

This is alarmism. And how does the EC exercising its constitutionally granted powers generate a constitutional crisis?

Regardless, there aren't enough GOP electors with a spine to prevent Trump from getting to 270.

 

[Vixdean]

Honestly, her campaign should have stayed out of it. The least partisan this looks, the better.

 

[KernelPanic]

This "briefing" should be public.

The American public have just as much right to know as the electors.

 

[RPGCrazied]

This "briefing" should be public.

The American public have just as much right to know as the electors.

Right? We watched Hillary grilled for 12 hours at the benghazi hearing. This is much more important.

 

[pigeon]

This "briefing" should be public.

The American public have just as much right to know as the electors.

I agree with this.

 

[sphagnum]

I hate the idea of the electoral college but this is legitimately their role - not to follow the votes of the public but to make an informed decision about who should be president.

The college is there to prevent a demagogue from becoming president. They ought to fulfill that duty.

 

[deadlast]

Star Wars season is upon us.
I look forward to watching; Electoral College: A New Hope

 

[Brawly Likes to Brawl]

I hate the idea of the electoral college but this is legitimately their role - not to follow the votes of the public but to make an informed decision about who should be president.

The college is there to prevent a demagogue from becoming president. They ought to fulfill that duty.

I don't think the EC is going to ultimately do the right thing in the end, but if they did and Trump supporters got livid about it, then good. Maybe it would cause the public as a whole to criticize the electoral system instead of always writing it off as "salty democrats".

 

[Royal_Phalanx]

If there is evidence of manipulation Trump should not assume the office of president and Democrats and Republicans in Congress should work together to get a more moderate President in office.

 

[KernelPanic]

I hate the idea of the electoral college but this is legitimately their role - not to follow the votes of the public but to make an informed decision about who should be president.

The college is there to prevent a demagogue from becoming president. They ought to fulfill that duty.

That was one of the original intents but most states have laws that invalidate faithless electors in various ways.

 

[Lights and Waves]

GOOD!

 

[kess]

This "briefing" should be public.

The American public have just as much right to know as the electors.

Exactly. Her campaign is missing the forest for the trees, which lost Clinton the election in the first place.

 

[Polari]

Can't quite figure this one out. On one hand the Democrats are saying Comey handed Trump the elections. On the other hand they're blaming the Russians.

Maybe Podesta should blame his own corrupt self for a change?

 

[CitizenVectron]

Can't quite figure this one out. On one hand the Democrats are saying Comey handed Trump the elections. On the other hand they're blaming the Russians.

Maybe Podesta should blame his own corrupt self for a change?

Or maybe both had an impact, and politics aren't black and white.

 

[Melkezadek]

Honestly, her campaign should have stayed out of it. The least partisan this looks, the better.

I thought this at first, and probably still do..

But I feel like the need to preserve optics has been our undoing. I feel like the pursuit of truth is what should be forefront. I'm sick to death of politics.

 

[killer rin]

If there is evidence of manipulation Trump should not assume the office of president and Democrats and Republicans in Congress should work together to get a more moderate President in office.

In a world that was just a step above rock bottom, the default for any democratic system would be an instant recall election after signs of external interference. Unfortunately, this is not that world

 

[Captin Quacker]

Trumps taxes are the key aren't they?

 

[Regulus Tera]

If enough electors decide not to vote for trump, he can not be president.

Congress could still vote for him, but the idea is that Republicans would try to push for another candidate, like Kasich.

 

[Joe Shlabotnik]

Can't quite figure this one out. On one hand the Democrats are saying Comey handed Trump the elections. On the other hand they're blaming the Russians.

Maybe Podesta should blame his own corrupt self for a change?

You're either smarter than this, or you aren't.

 

[NullPointer]

Good.

If we're going to have electors then they should at least do their duty: To keep an unfit candidate or foreign pawn from taking the highest office.

 

[Stinkles]

Pure speculation: Trump has never wavered from "Russia didn't do this." Not, "We don't know who did this" - but "We don't know who did this, but it wasn't Russia." And Manafort. I'm guessing there's receipts somewhere.

 

[Hari Seldon]

He needs 36 electors to defect. That is not likely. Maybe less than 5 will if that.

 

[Kolx]

People need to let go of the dream that this is going to change anything.

 

[RPGCrazied]

i'm guessing there's receipts somewhere.

His taxes?

There is reasons why he won't show them.

 

[kirblar]

Pure speculation: Trump has never wavered from "Russia didn't do this." Not, "We don't know who did this" - but "We don't know who did this, but it wasn't Russia." And Manafort. I'm guessing there's receipts somewhere.

We literally have receipts on Manafort from when he worked for Russias puppet party in Ukraine.

 

[Brakke]

Right, but when Podesta says that "the campaign" is supporting XYZ, what's he referring to?

The campaign usually sticks around as an organization for a while. Much, much smaller than it was, of course. Partly for stuff like this. Remember, the actual election hasn't happened yet. That'll be when the electors meet. Plus they need to stick around for things like recounts. Then, beyond that, there's a ton of money / administration stuff that has to happen after a campaign. Lots of campaigns reach their election in some amount of debt, so stick around and continue fundraising to pay off that debt.

 

[Stinkles]

His taxes?

There is reasons why he won't show them.

Taxes, business loans, foreign investments, Putin oligarchs

We literally have receipts on Manafort from when he worked for Russias puppet party in Ukraine.

I mean direct trumpyness.

 

[Polari]

You're either smarter than this, or you aren't.

Here's the thing though right - if the Russians tried to influence the election (and unless there is clear evidence of actual vote rigging on their behalf, that shouldn't be enough for the Electoral College to take control) their main aim probably wasn't special favours from Trump but rather to destabilise the US.

Which begs the question which is more destabilising - a Trump presidency or an Electoral College led coup? (genuine question - I'd lean towards the coup being worse at this point though).

 

[Mimosa97]

Do not let Trump become President. Give it to another Republican if Hillary is a no go. Any other would be fine but Pence or Cruz.

Do you want a civil war ? Cause that's how you get a civil war.

The guy is a Putin puppet. It's pretty obvious by now. But the consequences of Trump not becoming president would be way more terrible than Putin meddling with the US foreign policy for a few years. I'm not american but that's my POV.

 

[Buddha Beam]

I would support the electoral college picking Hillary at this point, provided she promises to only serve 1 term and picks a Republican VP. The fallout from the electoral college actually pulling that trigger would be arguably more catastrophic than 4 years of Trump, from a political standpoint.

Yet at the same time, it's pretty obvious Russia was meddling with our election. Trump should not have been made President and is blatantly unqualified for the job in every way.

 

[NullPointer]

Which begs the question which is more destabilising - a Trump presidency or an Electoral College led coup? (genuine question - I'd lean towards the coup being worse at this point though).

Couldn't be a coup if the electors themselves can't put another candidate of their choice in power.

 

[A Link to the Past]

In a world that was just a step above rock bottom, the default for any democratic system would be an instant recall election after signs of external interference. Unfortunately, this is not that world

Obama calls a state of emergency and stays in for one more term

Or Biden just takes the keys

 

[blackw0lf]

This "briefing" should be public.

The American public have just as much right to know as the electors.

That's what he's asking. He wants the info declassified and available to the public

https://twitter.com/aseitzwald/status/808370712339742721

 

[bionic77]

How many voters do they have to swing? 40?

I don't agree with this. Government should have stepped in months ago and done something about it instead of after the fact.

I would rather Congress get some balls and impeach the same day he gets sworn in.

 

[sphagnum]

Let's say hypothetically the electors did split and nobody got 270 votes. Would the GOP House vote for Trump or Pence to be president?

 

[Stinkles]

Do you want a civil war ? Cause that's how you get a civil war.

The guy is a Putin puppet. It's pretty obvious by now. But the consequences of Trump not becoming president would be way more terrible than Putin meddling with the US foreign policy for a few years. I'm not american but that's my POV.

Trump IS the consequences of Putin meddling in our elections. We can't let it stand. Trump can go through his presidency maybe, but we need an investigation, sanctions and counter measures. This is the security of the existential state of the union.

How many voters do they have to swing? 40?

I don't agree with this. Government should have stepped in months ago and done something about it instead of after the fact.

I would rather Congress get some balls and impeach the same day he gets sworn in.

Electors aren't going to change their votes short of a letter from Putin planning the whole thing with Trump's signature, but we still need to take significant steps to prevent it happening again. And that means Facebook, twitter, as well as political issues.

 

[Darryl M R]

Seriously what is up with this "This will cause a Civil War" talk.

Let's say hypothetically the electors did split and nobody got 270 votes. Would the GOP House vote for Trump or Pence to be president?

Ryan.

 

[Brakke]

if the Russians tried to influence the election

This isn't a question. No "if". The Russians did try to influence the election.

an Electoral College led coup?

That's not what "coup" means.

 

[pigeon]

Do you want a civil war ? Cause that's how you get a civil war.

Again, this argument is only solid if you assume something along these lines would definitely not happen under a Trump presidency.

But since he is a) perceived as illegitimate, b) possibly actually illegitimate, and c) a white supremacist sex offender who has already demonstrated fascist tendencies, it's unclear to me why you would be so confident.

 

[Nepenthe]

I hate the idea of Trump being President, but if the electoral college decides to elect somebody else, his supporters are going to go full-scale rebellion. They don't care if Russia influenced the vote, and they'd probably never hear about it since their preferred news sources would just frame it as "election stolen from Trump," but whatever the case, you'd have a potential Civil War on your hands and a full-fledged Constitutional crisis. It's not going to happen.

The majority of these alt-righters and Rust Belters and just plain ol' racists are just as lazy and uninterested as the rest of us when it comes to instituting physical revolt, and even if they did we have a militarized police force as well as an actual military for this specific occasion. Their big thing is fucking around online and then crying about the consequences when they actually get caught, not in actually holding steadfast to their word of instituting armed insurrection. We've heard "race war" this and "tree of liberty" that for decades, and it's never happened, even in more oppressive times, or hell when we elected a black Kenyan Muslim Antichrist the first time. The Electoral College actually doing its job when it needs to the most won't be the thing that starts a second civil war.

 

[RPGCrazied]

Let's say hypothetically the electors did split and nobody got 270 votes. Would the GOP House vote for Trump or Pence to be president?

They can basically vote any Republican in.

 

[Orbis Tabula]

Can't quite figure this one out. On one hand the Democrats are saying Comey handed Trump the elections. On the other hand they're blaming the Russians.

Maybe Podesta should blame his own corrupt self for a change?

Yeah. It's just too bad we live in a world where only one thing can be blamed. If only blame weren't quantized, so we could split it among multiple causes. That sure would make this easier to understand.

 

[KernelPanic]

Trump IS the consequences of Putin meddling in our elections. We can't let it stand. Trump can go through his presidency maybe, but we need an investigation, sanctions and counter measures. This is the security of the existential state of the union.

Russia wants to destabilize the USA, Trump winning is the best possible outcome of their actions which they probably didn't deem very likely.

 

[Steejee]

If there was ever a time for the Electoral College to do what they were designed to do, it would be now.

 

[sphagnum]

They can basically vote any Republican in.

I know, but I don't think they'd vote for someone who got NO votes. The base would already be mad, this would probably lead to revolt because someone like Ryan would be seen as illegitimate despite the rules having been followed.

 

[Meowster]

Do you want a civil war ? Cause that's how you get a civil war.

The guy is a Putin puppet. It's pretty obvious by now. But the consequences of Trump not becoming president would be way more terrible than Putin meddling with the US foreign policy for a few years. I'm not american but that's my POV.

It'd be terrible either way. It doesn't really matter. Might as well go ahead and stop him before it happens and he nukes the world because Twitter.

 

[The Kree]

There is probably already a civil war brewing if Trump becomes President.

I kinda feel like the people who keep saying this actually want it to happen.

 

[RPGCrazied]

If there was ever a time for the Electoral College to do what they were designed to do, it would be now.

Has the EC ever went to another candidate before? I can't think a time.