And there you have the problem. This lady sees the situation from a very
personal viewpoint and she also tends to bow to authority. She doesn't see
the implications of who Trump is or what he can do if she thinks that the
problem for people is just that he tweets too much. And whether or not she,
herself is racist, clearly some of the people whom Trump has chosen for top
positions, are. And things that he said during the campaign were, and his
actions in the past, were. So if she ignored what he said and what he did,
if it made no difference to her, then whether or not she or the others who
voted for him are racist, is irrelevant. They voted for a known racist to be
President of the US.
Miriam
_____
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
[mailto:blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of Richard Driscoll
Sent: Tuesday, December 13, 2016 6:09 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Report From Member of Electoral College
* Opinion <http://www.wsj.com/news/opinion>
* Commentary <http://www.wsj.com/news/types/commentary-u-s>
I'm Staying Faithful to Trump
I've been harassed by thousands over my Electoral College vote.
ENLARGE At a campaign rally in Wichita, Kansas, March 5. Photo: Getty
Images
By
Ashley McMillan Hutchinson
Dec. 11, 2016 4:20 p.m. ET
<http://www.wsj.com/articles/im-staying-faithful-to-trump-1481491214#livefyr
e-comment> 730 COMMENTS
This summer, the chairman of the Kansas Republican Party asked me to be one
of the six electors who represent the state of Kansas in the Electoral
College. I completely geeked out. Of the more than 137 million Americans who
voted for president this year, only 538 are electors. While I jumped at the
chance, I was not prepared for what would happen next.
I always knew Donald Trump would win Kansas, but like most people who follow
politics closely, I didn't expect him to win the Electoral College. I
figured that Kansas would let me cast my vote for the also-ran-still a great
honor. Then the unthinkable happened.
Election Night left me in awe. There were many reasons to be pleased. Those
blue-collar, fly-over, working-class voters who showed up in droves and put
Mr. Trump over the edge in several swing states? Those are my people. They
weren't motivated by hate or race. They were disappointed in the current
administration and lack of economic progress. The assumptions about this
group of voters by the media and ivory-tower elite only motivated them to
victory.
I was excited because I was an Electoral College member and I was casting my
vote for the winner in a historic election. Then things got a little
strange.
It started with a couple of emails three days after the election. Since
Hillary Clinton had won the popular vote, former electors warned me that I
would probably receive hundreds of emails urging me to change my vote to
prevent Mr. Trump from getting to the White House. I answered the first few
back and had some polite-and some not-so-polite-exchanges with folks urging
me to vote for Mrs. Clinton. Grassroots groups such as Ask the Electors had
found my work email and spread it to their email lists. They also published
my work address, home address, cell phone and work phone.
I had intended on answering everyone who emailed me. Then the flood started.
At its peak, I was receiving 500 emails an hour. At least 20 letters arrived
at my office daily, and the calls came in 24 hours a day.
The majority of the notes called for the elimination of the Electoral
College because it was undemocratic. As an elector, I can't do anything
about this, but I still don't buy the argument. There are many provisions in
our constitutional republic that allow for a departure from direct
democracy. The Electoral College ensures that Americans from throughout the
country can be represented.
Others told me to act as a faithless elector and vote my conscience to stop
Mr. Trump from taking the presidency. Only 157 electors in history have
broken their pledge and voted for an alternate candidate or abstained from
voting, according to FairVote. There is a reason this tactic has never been
successful: It assumes the worst of Americans. These letter writers are
asking me to disavow my own people, because they are supposedly racist and
easily fooled. I don't buy it. I won't violate the will of the people of
Kansas simply because coastal elites think Mr. Trump tweets too much.
I noticed another theme in the thousands of missives I've received. They
don't seek to understand or persuade-only to insist. Most of these people
want it their way and they want it now. As a mother of two small children, I
know how to handle that.
Ms. McMillan Hutchinson is the vice chairwoman of the Kansas Republican
Party.
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