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« Reply #1 on: December 22, 2016, 06:31:36 PM » |
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The Patriot Post Digest 12-22-2016
From The Federalist Patriot
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Then there’s The New York Times, whose editorial board — sometimes difficult to distinguish from a room of three-year-olds — called for an end to the Electoral College26 this week because, well, Hillary lost. (Seriously, do you think they would have done the same had Trump won the popular vote but Hillary the presidency? Exactly.)
But again, three-year-olds … losing … rules need changing. You get the point.
The Times whines, “By overwhelming majorities, Americans would prefer to elect the president by direct popular vote, not filtered through the antiquated mechanism of the Electoral College. They understand, on a gut level, the basic fairness of awarding the nation’s highest office on the same basis as every other elected office — to the person who gets the most votes.” Yet, “for now, the presidency is still decided by 538 electors.” Tossing in another trump card for good measure, the Times also claims the EC “is a living symbol of America’s original sin” — slavery. Because it’s just like 3/5 representation? Who knows.
At least you can reason with three-year-olds. The Times editorial board? Not so much.
For a company that boasts27 of “excellence in its journalism,” the Times either isn’t checking its sources, or is flat-out lying about them. All it takes is a simple read of James Madison’s journals on the Constitutional Convention (which, incidentally, every American should read) to understand the electoral system was actually about preserving the rights of the minority28 and not about some imagined white supremacy that the Leftmedia (and academia) try to project on any white American male unfortunate enough to have lived before the current age of leftist enlightenment.
As Red State’s Jay Caruso points out29, “The process of protecting smaller states from the whims of the larger, more populous states is precisely why the electoral college exists. Contrary to what the editors of the New York Times think, we are not one large nation where the federal government reigns supreme. We are a republic made up of semi-sovereign states. That sovereignty is what protects states like Wyoming and Montana from states such as New York and California.” Indeed, if direct democracy ruled the day, someone could win the White House having never set foot in states like Wisconsin or Utah. Of course, elites who disdain rural America and its values wouldn’t complain were this the case.
Further, as Edward Morrissey writes30, the claim that the presidency is decided by 538 electors is “flat-out wrong.” On the contrary, he says, “The presidency doesn’t get decided by the personal whims of 538 electors, but by the voters in the states they represent.”
And finally, 16 years ago, the Times' editorial board made the case for the Electoral College31: “Yet the arguments for the Electoral College are also compelling, and in our view, outweigh the majoritarian case put forward by Mrs. Clinton and others. The nation’s founders sought in various creative ways to create checks and balances, both inside and outside government. The Electoral College was first and foremost a compact among states, large and small, designed to ensure that one state or one region did not dominate the others.”
Lies and wacky reasons will undoubtedly abound in the Left’s continued efforts to dismantle the Electoral College. After all, as Barack Obama bitterly put it32, “There are some structures in our political system, as envisioned by the Founders, that sometimes are going to disadvantage Democrats.”
Because at the end of the day, the only fact that matters to the Left is their anointed candidate lost. So, like any losing child would argue, the rules must be changed.
MORE ANALYSIS FROM THE PATRIOT POST
Immigration Control or Cultural Suicide33 — Trump has an opportunity to rectify Obama’s disastrous record.
Navy Scuttles Job Name Change Plans34 — Gender-neutral job titles are torpedoed by complaints.
The Government’s Fictitious Fraud Prevention35 — The GAO discovers more problems with ObamaCare enrollment.
BEST OF RIGHT OPINION
Cal Thomas: The Familiarity of Christmas36
Victor Davis Hanson: The Trump Nail in the Media Coffin37
Rich Lowry: Baby, Let’s Not Ruin Everything38
For more, visit Right Opinion39.
OPINION IN BRIEF
Cal Thomas: “Martin Luther’s understanding of what we euphemistically call ‘the real meaning of Christmas’ was absolute. After underscoring the humble backgrounds of Mary and Joseph and noting how rich travelers stayed in far better surroundings than the stable the two who would become the world’s most famous couple were forced to occupy, Luther commented: ‘See, this is the first picture with which Christ puts the world to shame and exposes all it does and knows. It shows that the world’s greatest wisdom is foolishness, her best actions are wrong and her greatest treasures are misfortunes.’ Such a notion should humble a politician, even a president, if that were possible. And yet too many among us put more faith in ‘princes and kings’ in the false hope he (or she) can deliver us, instead of the One who really can.”
SHORT CUTS
Insight: “Nothing appears more surprising to those who consider human affairs with a philosophical eye, than the ease with which the many are governed by the few.” —David Hume (1711-1766)
Upright: “Some politicians say that Angela Merkel has the blood of the Berlin victims on her hands. I would add that Obama’s hands are not clean either. He was among the most high-profile supporters of her open border policies, which allowed more than 1 million refugees into Germany. Obama said Merkel was on the ‘right side of history’ and promised ‘substantial support.’” —Gary Bauer
Race bait: “A relic from a shameful period in our nation’s history, the Electoral College allows some votes to carry greater weight than others.” —Sen. Dick Durbin, alluding to slavery to complain about Hillary Clinton’s loss
From the Department of Corrections: “An earlier version of this editorial incorrectly stated that the editorial board has been opposed to the Electoral College going back 80 years. It failed to note an exception: in 2000, the board defended the college after the election of George W. Bush.” —New York Times correction
Non Compos Mentis: “If low-wage employers paid their workers a living wage, taxpayers would have saved $153 billion a year from 2009 to 2011.” —Bernie Sanders
Demo-gogues: “I had to live through controversies like the notion that I was trying to kill Christmas.” —Barack Obama
A blind squirrel finds a nut: “The only people who are against school choice are the ones that have it.” —former DC councilman Kevin Chavous
Late-night humor: “Well, there are only [three] days until Christmas. So, Hillary, just choose a tree already. You’ve been in the woods long enough. Choose a tree and come home, Hillary.” —Seth Meyers
Semper Vigilans Fortis Paratus et Fidelis!
Managing Editor Nate Jackson
Join us in daily prayer for our Patriots in uniform — Soldiers, Sailors, Airmen, Marines and Coast Guardsmen — standing in harm’s way in defense of Liberty, and for their families. |
