To malcontents: Don't mess with Constitution

To the Sour Grapes Coalition, who call for the abolition of the Electoral College … be careful what you wish for. There exists brightly shining logic behind this constitutional firewall.

Instead of whining, the SGC might consider an open-minded attempt to educate themselves as to the Founder’s reasoning behind the EC. Unless you are close-minded, and/or blindly partisan, you may glimpse the astounding brilliance of those who penned our Constitution.

As a constitutional republic, not a true democracy, each state has two senators and a number of representatives based on population. As an example, Idaho has two senators and two representatives, while California has two senators and 55 representatives. Congress is composed of 100 senators and 435 representatives, for a total of 535.

The Electoral College, a mirror image of Congress, has 535 electors, plus three electors for the District of Columbia … 535 plus 3 equals 538 electors. Get 270 electoral votes and you’re the president. Trump received 306; Clinton 232.

Alexander Hamilton, in Federalist 68, stated,

”… that the people of each State shall choose a number of persons as electors, equal to the number of senators and representatives of such State in the national government, who shall assemble within the State, and vote for some fit person as President.”

The SGC seems to hang their hat on Hamilton’s words (‘fit person’) as justification for electors to vote for a person other than their state’s popular winner. However, and most importantly, our Constitution makes no such ambiguous declaration.

Article. 2. Section. 1. of the Constitution states:

Each State shall appoint, in such Manner as the Legislature thereof may direct, a Number of Electors, equal to the whole Number of Senators and Representatives to which the State may be entitled in the Congress: but no Senator or Representative, or Person holding an Office of Trust or Profit under the United States, shall be appointed an Elector.

What our Constitution provides, however, is instructions for removal of a sitting President… a sitting President. Constitutionally, it is clearly within Congress’ power to remove an inaugurated President through the impeachment process.

It is not in the EC’s power to remove a president-elect…they lack constitutional authority. The EC electors are obligated to endorse their state’s popular vote winner and let the peoples’ representatives in Congress handle it from there.

Article. 2. Section. 4. of the Constitution states:

The President, Vice President and all civil Officers of the United States, shall be removed from Office on Impeachment for, and Conviction of, Treason, Bribery, or other high Crimes and Misdemeanors.

For ‘high crimes and misdemeanors’… not the grumbling of upset losers. Our Constitution sets the impeachment bar quite high. Sour grapes complaints do not clear the bar.

If presidential elections were decided by national popular vote, five or six states with the greatest populations could conceivably decide every election. Thus the Electoral College, forged by the dazzling intellect of our Founders, to level the field.

Hamilton again:

“…yet we may safely pronounce, that the true test of a good government is its aptitude and tendency to produce a good administration.”

To paraphrase: Clinton lost, Trump won. Get over it.

The SGC’s claim the EC penalizes individual states’ popular vote winner is balderdash. California has 57 electors. Clinton won the state. Clinton gets 57 electoral votes. Idaho has 4 electors. Trump won the state. Trump gets a piddly 4 electoral votes. California voters were penalized? Really?

The Electoral College process guarantees Idaho is represented. In a presidential election based on a national popular vote, Idaho, and other small population states, would have no say. The Electoral College gives these fly-over states a voice.

To Congress and the Sour Grapes Coalition … don’t mess with the Constitution. Your combined brainpower is no match for that of our Founders.

God bless America, and God bless our military.

STEVE BRIXEN

Sandpoint