Tag: american politics

There is still hope

fait-hunter:

addleton:

The Electoral College has yet to vote, and until they do, Trump has not won the Presidency. The numbers you’re seeing? Those are projections based on the pledges of the electors, HOWEVER, electors may choose to become faithless, i.e. they may choose NOT to vote for the candidate they have pledged themselves to.

Under the Constitution, electors are NOT OBLIGATED to vote for a specific candidate; they are to vote according to their own conscience and deliberation.

Unfortunately, quite a few states penalize faithless electors. Wikipedia has a nice graphical breakdown and explanation. Some states even go so far as to completely disregard the votes of faithless electors. Also unfortunately, faithless electors have never affected a Presidential election to date (although they DID affect a Vice Presidential election).

HOWEVER, this election has had so many firsts, what’s another?

Find out who your state’s electors are. PETITION THEM. Give them every reason to not make Trump the President of the US. APPEAL to their consciences. (Doing so politely and respectfully should go without saying, especially since most of those you will petition will be Republican and will not necessarily be inclined to listen. Keep that in mind as you write. Knowing your audience is half the battle when it comes to persuading them.)

Your state’s Board of Elections will list the electors.

The Electoral College does not vote until
the Monday after the second Wednesday in December, which happens to be December 19th.

We have 40 days to make a difference.

Let’s add another first to the list of firsts this election.

rarepairhellhq:

I admit I’m not fully sober right now, but listen up:

I just looked over at my cat and realized that she doesn’t give a shit about who’s president.  And why doesn’t she give a shit?  Because I take care of her.  

So here’s what we’re gonna do, we’re all gonna take care of each other.  Watch each other’s back, let each other vent, support your friends who are lgbt, black, disabled, muslim, or any of the things that a Trump presidency is hateful towards.

Go fucking vote in 2018, every single House seat is contested in the mid-term.  But until then, UNITE, ok?  Enough of this clique shit, we’re all fighting the same battle.

We’re gonna take care of each other.  We’re gonna make it.  And we’re gonna kick ass in the long run.

cmbdragon666:

Idk if there’s already a post floating around, or what, but if you’re in the New York state area, there’s gonna be a protest against Trump tonight on November 9th, between 6pm-9pm, at Union Square in NYC, if you have the time, and you want to be heard, show up, make yourself known. If you can’t make it for whatever reason, that’s okay, a signal boost is always appreciated, if you could.
We can’t just stay on the internet. We have to make it known that we are disgusted, distressed, appalled. We need to make a public outcry

queseraawesome:

56 million.

I don’t want to utterly lose my shit tonight so I’m just going to keep repeating to myself, 56 million.  From the numbers we’re seeing now, 56 million people voted for Hillary, 56 million people said no to Trump. 

There are 56 million people out there who are going through the exact same terror right now. 56 million people, maybe, also thinking, “I have to figure out how to protect myself now. I have family and friends to protect now.” 

I’m trying to imagine 56 million people standing back to back, holding hands, refusing to move. I’ve got the third book of John Lewis’s graphic novel series “March” sitting on the table next to me. I’m forcing myself to remember that I am not alone, and neither are you. I’m with you. I’m digging in my heels and vowing to do everything in my power to protect our most vulnerable. 

56 million people. Let’s protect each other. Let’s fight for each other. We are not alone. The crowd of the angry and bigoted is vast too, but we are not alone and we are not insignificant. We don’t stop existing after this election. Don’t let them convince us that we’re all alone.

Consider this holding out my hand and making you a promise. 

I’m with you. 56 million people are with you. We are not alone. 

thegloriousfail:

severus-snape-is-a-butt-trumpet:

what do we do tho? like, honestly? what happens if he’s elected? what do we honest to god do?

We mourn, and then we move forward. We fight tooth and nail for every right he tries to take away. We exercise our right to free speech, loudly. We fight for our neighbors and our families and our friends. We stand up for the populations who can’t stand up for themselves. We chip away at his support. And in four years we unite to vote him out of office.

can you please talk about those protections to curtail executive power I’m really, really scared and could use the reassurance thank you

notbecauseofvictories:

THINGS A PRESIDENT CANNOT DO:

  • Reverse any Supreme Court decision 
    • This includes Obergefell v. Hodges, which made same-sex marriage a constitutional right; Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt, which reaffirmed a woman’s right to choose first articulated in Roe v. Wade, another Supreme Court case. Grutter v. Bollinger, which instituted affirmative action, the entire body of Civil Rights case law, plus anything related to due process, including the right of minors to due process, your right to an attorney, Miranda rights, inadmissible evidence, etc.
    • (Even if Trump appoints the worst possible SC nominee, they still can’t reverse any of these decisions without a really significant case coming before the Court with new facts, and then they have to write an opinion stating how this case is different than that other case…it’s unlikely to happen.)
  • Write law or repeal any existing law
    • While traditionally, presidents have exerted influence on the legislative agenda (see, Obama’s role in advancing and promoting the Affordable Care Act) they cannot actually write or pass legislation. Bills, joint resolutions, concurrent resolutions, and simple resolutions must be introduced in the House by a Representative.
    • Presidents cannot strike down law. Only Congress can repeal laws, and only the Supreme Court can strike them down as unconstitutional.
    • Presidential influence is just that—influence.
    • (And if—for example—you are hated by 95% of the party you joined last week, and burned all your goddamn bridges by insulting them at various points in your campaign…..they’re unlikely to partner with you in crafting legislation.)
  • Make any law or declaration that infringes in any way on the rights of the states
    • So in the US, most of the rights are reserved to the states. You name it, it’s a state-run power. Criminal procedure and law? States. Medicare and Medicaid? States. The definition of marriage? States. Insurance, health departments, housing, unemployment benefits, public education, all these are state programs. And the president cannot infringe on those powers given to the states.
    • (This is why down-ticket voting is so important, because Mike Pence as governor of Indiana had 800x the power he’s going to have as VP.)
  • Declare war.
    • This one is the most complicated, because with the advent of our “conflicts” in Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Libya, etc. there has been a significant shift in the articulation of the war doctrine, and it is one of the least restricted of the president’s “restricted” powers. But, despite all that, a president still has no power to declare war.
  • Unilaterally appoint heads of administrative departments
  • Unilaterally make treaties with foreign nations

Essentially, while presidents have a lot of power, it’s mostly unofficial—they can’t make sweeping laws, they can’t overturn existing rights, the most they can do is refuse to enforce them (which is absolutely a threat! and a problem!) but we aren’t electing de facto royalty here.