The Electoral College: Enforcing Reactionary Minority Rule.

The Electoral College was created with the ratification of the US Constitution. It was conceived during a time when states were far more politically distinct than they are now, and considered themselves to be self-governing bodies that existed almost as separate nations.  This College leveled the playing field between more populous and less populous states. It allayed smaller state fears of domination by larger states regarding presidential elections.

But the Civil War changed all that. Much of a state’s individual latitude and independence from the whole was curtailed with the South’s failure to secede from the Union. Prior to that war, Americans referred to their country as these United States. After the war, we became the United States. The Electoral College is a vestige of a time when separation of state and federal spheres of influence were considered necessarily more clear. So without its perceived original necessity, why do we still have an Electoral College? The answer is that less populous states still fear that they can be overwhelmed by the more populous ones.

Unfortunately, during two recent elections in our young 21^st Century, the existence of this body has produced a tyranny of the minority. Admittedly, it is a slight minority. In the Bush vs Gore 2000 election, Al Gore won the popular vote by over 540,000 ballots, but still lost the election due to the College. In the Trump vs Clinton 2016 election, Hillary Clinton won the popular vote by over 2 million ballots, but still lost the election due to the College.

Obviously, for individuals interested in social progress, (environmentalism, peaceful international resolution of conflicts and human rights), this situation is intolerable. These elections, held ransom by a regressive, provincial, undereducated, minority in the middle of the country, is a travesty that has supplied the US two hostile presidents: The first, a war-mongering, anti-woman, anti-LGBTQ and anti-environment Bush, who turned our $127.3 billion national surplus into a $1.2 trillion deficit in his pursuit of killing 250,000 Iraqi civilians.  << http://www.politifact.com/punditfact/statements/2015/aug/27/occupy-democrats/liberal-group-blames-bush-raising-deficits-credits/ >>  The second, a proudly racist, sexually assaultive, anti-Constitutional and frankly socially embarrassing demagogue, whose fulfillment of destructive potential awaits.

So what is to be done? How do we get rid of the vestigial and unnecessary Electoral College, whose results have produced such destructive politicians elected by the ignorant minority? The immediate answer is that nothing, besides a revolution that few want, will produce a change for the short term. The Republicans understand that they need the influence of this anti-cosmopolitan minority for victory. They control the Presidency, the House and the Senate. They will soon pack the Supreme Court to the fullest of their ability. Logistically, reform is untenable.

But the country is continuing to change. The most recent election was an angry backlash, by threatened conservative white people who know that their influence is dwindling. Without a doubt, the election of our first African American president brought the howling racists out of the woods. Just listen to the rhetoric of Trump’s supporters. But by 2060, 56% of the population will be composed of non-white people. << http://www.usnews.com/news/articles/2015/07/06/its-official-the-us-is-becoming-a-minority-majority-nation >>. Some say this will happen by 2043. << https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Majority_minority >>. Little of this data takes into account marriage between individuals of differing ethnic background (a phenomenon that Trump voters would no doubt call miscegenation). Inter-ethnic marriage will quicken the process. For now, the domination of the anti-cosmopolitan minority in the center of our country persists, and may continue to exist for a short while after the majority of our citizens are non-white. But eventually, the Electoral College will fail to prevent progress. While this chronology does not satisfy citizens who seek immediate gratification, it does arm us with a positive prognosis for a more peaceful and just future. It is unfortunate that there will be suffering caused by reactionary-elected demagogues in the meantime. If anyone has a solution, please feel free to post your views on my blog. As ever, I invite conversation that will inspire knowledge, humor and the spirited community capable of getting us though the next four years.