24 March 2019

Winning by Losing

The right-of-center Washington Examiner published an article on Friday (link here) about how Republican insiders expect Donald Trump to lose the popular vote once again in 2020 but that he can win the Electoral College and thus become President for a second term.

Putting side for the moment that's an extremely narrow path to victory and many things must fall into place for that to happen, it's extraordinary to realize that Republicans are admitting they can't win when they play on a level field.

The Electoral College is a bizarre and archaic system constructed for a thirteen-state agrarian nation designed to ensure that populous northern state voters could not eliminate slavery. Two-plus centuries later, an urban fifty-state nation without slavery is handcuffed by an outdated system that has no valid purpose. As a result, losers win the presidency and winners get nothing.

Five Americans lost the popular vote -- including Trump and George W. Bush -- but became President because of the Electoral College. And all five of those Presidents were Republicans. So the Republican Party will do everything it can to make sure the Constitution is not amended to eliminate the ludicrous institution.

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