(no subject)

[dolari]

The 2016 election has really messed with my sense of civics.

I am not a fan of popular elections. What's popular isn't always right. I also believe the voice of the little guy often gets drowned out. It's why I have always been happy with the election process we have up to now: It allows for larger states to NOT dominate elections, and the Electoral College to make sure that we don't fuck up as a nation electing nonqualified people to office.

But this year...it all worked as it should...against everything I believe in.

While I have my issues with the winner takes all aspect of assigning electors, I have been okay with the electoral college apportioning of votes. It keeps California and/or Texas from dictating the election at the expense of a Wyoming or Rhode Island.

But in this case, it got Trump elected.

But that's okay - because the electoral college is supposed to keep that from happening. I knew Republican pledged electors wouldn't vote for Clinton, but they should have at least not voted for Trump. And yet they did. In fact, only two Republican Electors voted for someone other than Trump (and a few more WANTED to, but were replaced)...but five decided not to vote for Clinton.

And in this case, it got Trump elected.

It's like the process worked...but it was PLAYED. Played like a violin.

I've never trusted politicians. Anyone who seeks the kind of power politics affords immediately loses my trust. But this...I've tried to wrap my brain around some of the logic behind what I see in politics...and it's gone from "Trying to govern the people fairly" to "My way is the only way." Two big parties (although mostly ONE big party) throwing tantrums to get their way, and the people in the middle losing out.

I really fear for the future of America. The processes are being played, the politicians are playing it, and the uneducated electorate is eating it up.

Comments

[amw.livejournal.com]

I'm not totally against the idea of each state getting an equal say in the senate; it is sort of like regional affirmative action. I am not convinced about the first-past-the-post apportioning of electoral votes when it comes to the presidential election, though. It doesn't feel right that the only people whose votes honestly count are the ones in the purplest of states.

That said, imo there was nothing particularly special about this election with regard to "playing" the process. I mean, it's been this way every election that I have followed closely (so, since 2000 at least). I think it's clear that the urban/rural divide has become so much aligned with the Democrat/Republican divide that in order for Democrats to win the electoral college they now need to win the popular vote by about 3-4%. You can't really fault the parties for trying to win that game inside that system.

The annoying thing is that it's clearly not in the interests of the people. As much as I enjoy American politics for the spectacle and the intrigue, from a civics point of view it is bizarrely undemocratic. And I don't necessarily mean regarding proportional representation. I'm talking about stuff like the 12+ month campaign. Most countries limit this by law to a few weeks, maybe a couple of months. Or the bourgeois tradition that voting should take place on a normal work day, and that early voting and other accessibility concessions should be curtailed/limited. Not to mention the insane amount of private money that can legally be thrown around in the name of freedom of speech. And neither side is willing to be the first one to lay down their arms on that front. I mean... "fixing" the electoral college might make Democrats happy, but these other things are imo the way more broken parts of American politics.

[porsupah.livejournal.com]

It wasn't likely the Electoral College would do anything other than as they did, simply because that's entirely how the participants are used to things working. The concept of them being a safeguard of last resort against a demagogue being elected has been all but forgotten, seldom even raised before now. People are, after all, animals, and animals are, by and large, creatures of habit - what's considered normal becomes accepted.

What happens from here, though.. well, I'd advocate preparing for the worst, and expecting not to be particularly surprised by the waves of corruption and nepotism, and the US sheds any pretence of being anything but an oligarchy, Putin style.