Anyone know when we’ll know what has happened with the Electoral College vote. I believe the left is not above threatening, bribing and blackmailing enough electors to cause a problem.
Good question Kbells1 — The results aren’t publicly announced for a while, but my guess is it would be clear if something really goes haywire and a bunch of electors bolt.
So maybe there’s an unofficial conclusion that will be made clear later today?
Melinda Gates says that after a drink or two, people often tell her that they think the Gates Foundation may be contributing to overpopulation and environmental collapse by saving children’s lives with interventions such as vaccines.
____________________________
HARRISBURG — Thousands of emails land in their inboxes every day. Copies of the Federalist Papers and other books urging political courage are being mailed to their homes. They are even getting phone calls in the middle of the night.
Such has been the life of Pennsylvania’s 20 electors for President-elect Donald Trump since the Nov. 8 election.
On Monday, they will travel to the state Capitol to cast their votes to assign Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence during what has, in the past, been a ceremonial and largely unnoticed event.
Not this year.
This time around, the electors will be greeted by organized protests, urging them to assign Pennsylvania’s electoral votes to anyone but Trump.
One elector, Ash Khare, said he and each of the 19 others have been assigned a plainclothes state police trooper for protection.
“I’m a big boy,” said Khare, an India-born engineer and a longtime Republican from Warren County, who estimates he receives 3,000 to 5,000 emails, letters, and phone calls a day from as far away as France, Germany, and Australia. “But this is stupid. Nobody is standing up and telling these people, ‘Enough, knock it off.'” …
_________________________________
… Martin Sheen, who played fictitious President Josiah Barlett on “The West Wing,” is featured in a personalized video designed to sway a Kansas elector, Politico reported. The piece is titled “Mr. Ashley McMillan” and Sheen implores “Mr. McMillan” to follow the example of America’s Founding Fathers. He’s hopeful that McMillan will switch his vote and become one of the 37 Republican electors required to possibly deny Trump the presidency.
Just one problem with Sheen’s pitch: Ashley McMillan is not a man.
“It’s my job to represent the people of Kansas on Monday. It was Martin Sheen’s job to get my name right. He failed. I won’t,” McMillan, who plans to vote for Trump, told The Daily Caller. …
__________________________________
… Trump is in line to get 306 of the 538 electoral votes under the state-by-state distribution of electors used to choose presidents since 1789.
The Associated Press tried to reach all 538 electors and was able to interview more than 330 of them. Many reported getting tens of thousands of emails, calls and letters asking them to vote against Trump.
But the canvass found overwhelming support for the system, and the nominee, among Republican electors. The AP found only one pledged to Trump who will refuse to vote for him.
______________________________________
The Anti-Trump Electoral College Effort Is Only The Beginning
Although the hopes for #HamiltonElectors to upend Monday’s Electoral College vote for president likely will not materialize, the move is likely only the first step in an effort to undermine Trump’s presidency before it begins.
… In short, Monday could be the opening salvo of a new campaign against a president’s legitimacy — a fact-based version of the racist, fact-free birther conspiracy. This time around, the questions raised appear to be legitimate — Trump’s international conflicts of interest are real and, according to the unanimous view of US intelligence agencies, Russian attempts to influence the election are likewise real. The problem this time, however, is that — for the most part — these are uncharted waters and there are no established solutions.
Like the birther conspiracy that plagued Obama (despite its falsity), the anti-Trump sentiment being stirred in the attempt to persuade electors to abandon Trump could continue to circle the political waters for years to come, playing a part in breaking down further yet another norm: the presumed legitimacy of the presidency.
Trump would become the third president in a row whose legitimacy would be perpetually in question, reasonably or not, by significant numbers of opposite party. …
________________________________
… In short, if more journalists had spent time in Middle America, they would have understood that this election wasn’t decided at the last moment. The outcome was not a result of what was in those emails. People had already concluded they knew who Clinton was, and the revelations only cemented those sentiments. …
… Here is a shocker: I’d estimate based on my reporting that this election was baked before the debates, before the “Access Hollywood” tapes, before the hacked emails and before anyone took the time to actually notice, listen and understand just how upended the American voter is. …
It was there in plain sight for everyone to see if they wanted to; it is clear that they did not and that is a bias towards him and prejudice towards the people that needs to be corrected.
What is remarkable right now is that a large portion of the pundits and some reporters still don’t get it; they still aren’t listening, they still aren’t opening their minds to the concerns of the voters who placed him in office and they are still missing what is hiding in plain sight for all of them to see; this guy connects with a large portion of the United States. …
… Absolutely no one knows if Donald Trump is going to be a good or bad president. That is on him, his decision and the people he surrounds himself with. Was it a good idea to go after the CIA when it came to the Russians? No. He should have drawn a clear line saying his win had nothing to do with Russian hacking and that as president he will make sure that this never happens again.
That is the part of him that he needs to curtail but certainly not a sign, as many have suggested, that he is in bed with the Russians, or that he is a demagogue, or a fascist, or a Nazi, or will take press freedoms away, or any of the other of the thousands of things he has been accused of in the past month.
And despite repeated efforts to delegitimize his candidacy with recounts and faithless electors and allegations that the Russians stole the election from Clinton, none of this doubt-casting is going to change anything. It is a reminder that many people in this country have no idea of basic U.S. civics. …
____________________________________
I am thoroughly disgusted with the general population of the United States. When did we become a society of bullies trying to harass others to bend to our will. Why should a member of the Electoral College need police protection because your candidate didn’t win? I have repeated over and over that “that isn’t who we are” but apparently it is who we are. I have always said I may not agree with you but I will defend your right to your views. Now others do not extend the same courtesy. It makes my stomach hurt to read a “news” item and read the comments or to watch the news on TV. People are talking over each other and interrupting before a sentence is completed to argue.
I don’t like Trump but he is our elected President and if we do everything in our power to de-legitimize his presidency then we are contributing to making our country unstable. Be vigilant folks…It ain’t over.
The media and the liberals still don’t get what they are dealing with and the more you push the “deplorables” the harder they are going to eventually come out fighting.
I don’t see Liberal, Leftist, Democrats showing any thought of qualms about voting for Hillary. I thought about her lies. I considered Hillary’s refusal to follow the law. I looked at Trump’s actions and his persona.
I couldn’t vote for Hillary. She is a continual lawbreaker. Besides that, she was going to continue President Obama’s government. How can so many Democrats not look at her criminality? How can so many Democrats have voted for Hillary in the Primaries? Democrats have let the rest of America see their lack of judgement.
I couldn’t have voted for such a lawbreaker. I live in California. Democrats rule. My vote for President is for naught. Even though my vote was like spitting in the wind, I voted for Trump. He was not anyone I wanted, God chose him for one of the nominees, so he was someone I COULD vote for. I could NOT vote for Hillary the crook.
Democrats are/were immoral. I could/can not vote for their nominee until they confess and repent. I won’t hold my breath.
Bob Buckles, can you explain this comment, “He was not anyone I wanted, God chose him for one of the nominees…”? You sound as if you are saying you could vote for Trump because God chose him as a nominee but you could not vote for Hillary because God did not choose her as a nominee.
@8:00 Ricky, thank you for the Christmas present. It is an excellent article, and does articulate many things more coherently than I am able to. I had never seen the site before, but it is quite a find, and well worthy of its own bookmark.
(And a much better read than “The World is Flat”.) :–)
Debra, You write as well as the author of the article. I just haven’t heard your position before and I need to hear it a few times before I start to understand it.
You are in good company. All of my neo-Confederate friends are Trump supporters, even the ones with earned doctorates.
Sorry about The World is Flat. For the holidays, I recommend Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott or Volume 1 of Lee’s Lieutenants by Douglas Southall Freeman. The former is best enjoyed on tape or cassette on a long road trip. The latter can be enjoyed any time under any conditions.
“My main thought upon hearing the news is to wonder who he’s going to end up taunting on Twitter to celebrate. Hillary? The left generally? NeverTrumpers? A Twitter pal suggested he might taunt “Evan McMuffin” by pointing out that McMullin will end up with fewer electoral votes than Faith Spotted Eagle. That seems like a smart bet.
Another smart bet from John Ekdahl: There are going to be some impressively “woke” takes on the left tomorrow about why it was supposedly important that Faith Spotted Eagle got that lone electoral vote.
Trump’s over 300 EVs as I write this. There are two milestones in that news from Texas, actually — not only did Trump clinch 270, ensuring his election, but those two votes for Kasich and Paul were the very first red-state defectors all day. As expected, Trump’s support has been more solid than Clinton’s. (The vote for Kasich came from Christopher Suprun, who published an op-ed in the New York Times two weeks ago proclaiming his intention to go rogue. It’s not clear at the moment who voted for Paul.) Law prof Lawrence Lessig claimed a week ago that upwards of 20 Trump electors might be preparing to defect. No one to the right of Michael Moore believed him. Turns out we were all correct not to.”
Wandering Views 
Debra, This article is my early Christmas present to you. I think it helped me understand your position.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Anyone know when we’ll know what has happened with the Electoral College vote. I believe the left is not above threatening, bribing and blackmailing enough electors to cause a problem.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Good question Kbells1 — The results aren’t publicly announced for a while, but my guess is it would be clear if something really goes haywire and a bunch of electors bolt.
So maybe there’s an unofficial conclusion that will be made clear later today?
LikeLike
As the poster says, read this a couple times, slowly. Let it sink in.
http://www.powerlineblog.com/archives/2016/12/liberals-to-poor-third-world-people-drop-dead.php
__________________________
Melinda Gates says that after a drink or two, people often tell her that they think the Gates Foundation may be contributing to overpopulation and environmental collapse by saving children’s lives with interventions such as vaccines.
____________________________
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Michelle was asking about this the other day
http://www.post-gazette.com/early-returns/2016/12/17/Pennsylvania-electors-get-police-protection/stories/201612170147
_____________________________
HARRISBURG — Thousands of emails land in their inboxes every day. Copies of the Federalist Papers and other books urging political courage are being mailed to their homes. They are even getting phone calls in the middle of the night.
Such has been the life of Pennsylvania’s 20 electors for President-elect Donald Trump since the Nov. 8 election.
On Monday, they will travel to the state Capitol to cast their votes to assign Pennsylvania’s 20 electoral votes to Trump and Vice President-elect Mike Pence during what has, in the past, been a ceremonial and largely unnoticed event.
Not this year.
This time around, the electors will be greeted by organized protests, urging them to assign Pennsylvania’s electoral votes to anyone but Trump.
One elector, Ash Khare, said he and each of the 19 others have been assigned a plainclothes state police trooper for protection.
“I’m a big boy,” said Khare, an India-born engineer and a longtime Republican from Warren County, who estimates he receives 3,000 to 5,000 emails, letters, and phone calls a day from as far away as France, Germany, and Australia. “But this is stupid. Nobody is standing up and telling these people, ‘Enough, knock it off.'” …
_________________________________
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Whoops.
http://www.foxnews.com/entertainment/2016/12/19/martin-sheen-makes-big-mistake-as-pitches-elector-not-to-vote-for-trump.html
______________________________
… Martin Sheen, who played fictitious President Josiah Barlett on “The West Wing,” is featured in a personalized video designed to sway a Kansas elector, Politico reported. The piece is titled “Mr. Ashley McMillan” and Sheen implores “Mr. McMillan” to follow the example of America’s Founding Fathers. He’s hopeful that McMillan will switch his vote and become one of the 37 Republican electors required to possibly deny Trump the presidency.
Just one problem with Sheen’s pitch: Ashley McMillan is not a man.
“It’s my job to represent the people of Kansas on Monday. It was Martin Sheen’s job to get my name right. He failed. I won’t,” McMillan, who plans to vote for Trump, told The Daily Caller. …
__________________________________
LikeLike
Also from the link above:
_____________________________________
… Trump is in line to get 306 of the 538 electoral votes under the state-by-state distribution of electors used to choose presidents since 1789.
The Associated Press tried to reach all 538 electors and was able to interview more than 330 of them. Many reported getting tens of thousands of emails, calls and letters asking them to vote against Trump.
But the canvass found overwhelming support for the system, and the nominee, among Republican electors. The AP found only one pledged to Trump who will refuse to vote for him.
______________________________________
LikeLike
Okay, according to this we should know about the Electoral College by 6pm.
https://mic.com/articles/162653/what-time-will-we-know-the-electoral-college-vote#.wpHWz3SYT
LikeLiked by 1 person
The Anti-Trump Electoral College Effort Is Only The Beginning
Although the hopes for #HamiltonElectors to upend Monday’s Electoral College vote for president likely will not materialize, the move is likely only the first step in an effort to undermine Trump’s presidency before it begins.
https://www.buzzfeed.com/chrisgeidner/the-electoral-college-vote-isnt-just-about-the-electoral-col?utm_term=.doqK2gvZ6#.kdLQv0aZ8
___________________________
… In short, Monday could be the opening salvo of a new campaign against a president’s legitimacy — a fact-based version of the racist, fact-free birther conspiracy. This time around, the questions raised appear to be legitimate — Trump’s international conflicts of interest are real and, according to the unanimous view of US intelligence agencies, Russian attempts to influence the election are likewise real. The problem this time, however, is that — for the most part — these are uncharted waters and there are no established solutions.
Like the birther conspiracy that plagued Obama (despite its falsity), the anti-Trump sentiment being stirred in the attempt to persuade electors to abandon Trump could continue to circle the political waters for years to come, playing a part in breaking down further yet another norm: the presumed legitimacy of the presidency.
Trump would become the third president in a row whose legitimacy would be perpetually in question, reasonably or not, by significant numbers of opposite party. …
________________________________
LikeLike
Two things Democrats, and the media, should do to understand Trump
http://www.washingtonexaminer.com/two-things-democrats-and-the-media-should-do-to-understand-trump/article/2609882#.WFabkyRdiBE.twitter
________________________________
… In short, if more journalists had spent time in Middle America, they would have understood that this election wasn’t decided at the last moment. The outcome was not a result of what was in those emails. People had already concluded they knew who Clinton was, and the revelations only cemented those sentiments. …
… Here is a shocker: I’d estimate based on my reporting that this election was baked before the debates, before the “Access Hollywood” tapes, before the hacked emails and before anyone took the time to actually notice, listen and understand just how upended the American voter is. …
It was there in plain sight for everyone to see if they wanted to; it is clear that they did not and that is a bias towards him and prejudice towards the people that needs to be corrected.
What is remarkable right now is that a large portion of the pundits and some reporters still don’t get it; they still aren’t listening, they still aren’t opening their minds to the concerns of the voters who placed him in office and they are still missing what is hiding in plain sight for all of them to see; this guy connects with a large portion of the United States. …
… Absolutely no one knows if Donald Trump is going to be a good or bad president. That is on him, his decision and the people he surrounds himself with. Was it a good idea to go after the CIA when it came to the Russians? No. He should have drawn a clear line saying his win had nothing to do with Russian hacking and that as president he will make sure that this never happens again.
That is the part of him that he needs to curtail but certainly not a sign, as many have suggested, that he is in bed with the Russians, or that he is a demagogue, or a fascist, or a Nazi, or will take press freedoms away, or any of the other of the thousands of things he has been accused of in the past month.
And despite repeated efforts to delegitimize his candidacy with recounts and faithless electors and allegations that the Russians stole the election from Clinton, none of this doubt-casting is going to change anything. It is a reminder that many people in this country have no idea of basic U.S. civics. …
____________________________________
LikeLiked by 2 people
I am thoroughly disgusted with the general population of the United States. When did we become a society of bullies trying to harass others to bend to our will. Why should a member of the Electoral College need police protection because your candidate didn’t win? I have repeated over and over that “that isn’t who we are” but apparently it is who we are. I have always said I may not agree with you but I will defend your right to your views. Now others do not extend the same courtesy. It makes my stomach hurt to read a “news” item and read the comments or to watch the news on TV. People are talking over each other and interrupting before a sentence is completed to argue.
I don’t like Trump but he is our elected President and if we do everything in our power to de-legitimize his presidency then we are contributing to making our country unstable. Be vigilant folks…It ain’t over.
The media and the liberals still don’t get what they are dealing with and the more you push the “deplorables” the harder they are going to eventually come out fighting.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Protest erupted in Wisconsin when electoral votes were cast for Trump. See the problem yet?
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Here we go again…
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2016/12/19/report-truck-drives-into-crowded-christmas-market-in-berlin.html
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I don’t see Liberal, Leftist, Democrats showing any thought of qualms about voting for Hillary. I thought about her lies. I considered Hillary’s refusal to follow the law. I looked at Trump’s actions and his persona.
I couldn’t vote for Hillary. She is a continual lawbreaker. Besides that, she was going to continue President Obama’s government. How can so many Democrats not look at her criminality? How can so many Democrats have voted for Hillary in the Primaries? Democrats have let the rest of America see their lack of judgement.
I couldn’t have voted for such a lawbreaker. I live in California. Democrats rule. My vote for President is for naught. Even though my vote was like spitting in the wind, I voted for Trump. He was not anyone I wanted, God chose him for one of the nominees, so he was someone I COULD vote for. I could NOT vote for Hillary the crook.
Democrats are/were immoral. I could/can not vote for their nominee until they confess and repent. I won’t hold my breath.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Bob Buckles, can you explain this comment, “He was not anyone I wanted, God chose him for one of the nominees…”? You sound as if you are saying you could vote for Trump because God chose him as a nominee but you could not vote for Hillary because God did not choose her as a nominee.
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WSJ weighs in that President Obama “more or less concedes the election was not stolen.”
http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-goes-off-the-clinton-script-1481932482
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Lots of instability ahead
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@8:00 Ricky, thank you for the Christmas present. It is an excellent article, and does articulate many things more coherently than I am able to. I had never seen the site before, but it is quite a find, and well worthy of its own bookmark.
(And a much better read than “The World is Flat”.) :–)
LikeLiked by 1 person
Debra, You write as well as the author of the article. I just haven’t heard your position before and I need to hear it a few times before I start to understand it.
You are in good company. All of my neo-Confederate friends are Trump supporters, even the ones with earned doctorates.
Sorry about The World is Flat. For the holidays, I recommend Ivanhoe by Sir Walter Scott or Volume 1 of Lee’s Lieutenants by Douglas Southall Freeman. The former is best enjoyed on tape or cassette on a long road trip. The latter can be enjoyed any time under any conditions.
LikeLiked by 1 person
Texas put him over the top, and Faith Spotted Eagle got more votes than McMuffin. 🙂
http://hotair.com/archives/2016/12/19/breaking-texas-electors-put-trump-over-the-top-giving-more-than-270-electoral-votes/
“My main thought upon hearing the news is to wonder who he’s going to end up taunting on Twitter to celebrate. Hillary? The left generally? NeverTrumpers? A Twitter pal suggested he might taunt “Evan McMuffin” by pointing out that McMullin will end up with fewer electoral votes than Faith Spotted Eagle. That seems like a smart bet.
Another smart bet from John Ekdahl: There are going to be some impressively “woke” takes on the left tomorrow about why it was supposedly important that Faith Spotted Eagle got that lone electoral vote.
Trump’s over 300 EVs as I write this. There are two milestones in that news from Texas, actually — not only did Trump clinch 270, ensuring his election, but those two votes for Kasich and Paul were the very first red-state defectors all day. As expected, Trump’s support has been more solid than Clinton’s. (The vote for Kasich came from Christopher Suprun, who published an op-ed in the New York Times two weeks ago proclaiming his intention to go rogue. It’s not clear at the moment who voted for Paul.) Law prof Lawrence Lessig claimed a week ago that upwards of 20 Trump electors might be preparing to defect. No one to the right of Michael Moore believed him. Turns out we were all correct not to.”
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