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| Where our current--minority elected--incumbent resides |
The White House incumbent lost the popular vote in 2016 US presidential election by a bigger margin than any other US president in history. Hillary Clinton had 2.8 million votes more than Trump.
That deficit is more than five times bigger than the 544,000 by which George W. Bush lost to Al Gore in 2000, which has become the second biggest popular vote deficit in history for a candidate who has still gone on to become President.
Bush’s presidency ended with a historic economic collapse, which for the sake of the country improved dramatically under President Obama’s administration.
The incumbent has been embroiled in one scandal after another since his election.
The Electoral College system is under fire but in the history of our nation only three other presidents were elected after losing the popular vote: John Quincy Adams in 1824; Rutherford B. Hayes in 1876 and Benjamin Harrison in 1888.
Media reports after the 2016 election pointed out in 2012 Mr Trump called the Electoral College “a disaster for democracy” after mistakenly thinking it would lead to President Obama losing the popular vote but retaining the White House.
Following his election victory, however, the billionaire businessman praised the “genius” of the system.
So what are we to make of the fact the 21st century has seen two out of three Presidents have made it to the White House while losing the popular vote?
Is it because of a peaks and valleys trend like we saw in the latter half of the 19th century?
Or is it a sign that the Electoral College system is in need of revision, repair or abandoned?
Is partisan Gerrymandering to blame?
Or, is partisanship in the Supreme Court to blame?
In 2000, the Supreme Court determined the election. The conservative members of the Court voted 5-4 in favor of the conservative candidate.
In the 2016 election, Russian meddling in our election process is being weighed. American intelligence apparatus insists the Russian’s meddled but a conservative President, Congress and Judiciary has done nothing to apply worthy punishment for Russia’s vile (act of war) act.
With conservatives holding power in the White House, Congress and the Supreme Court (if Kavanagh is appointed) does that mean conservatives are the majority in our nation?
Not if the popular vote is taken into consideration.
The ruling party controls Gerrymandering.
Round and round we go.
It will be eye-opening what the 2018 mid-term national election will determine.
If the conservatives lose the White House and both houses of Congress they had better pray they don’t lose the Supreme Court.
Will the conservative movement rue the election of the current incumbent? The party of denial will find others to blame for that.
As for 2020 national election if the incumbent is re-elected one solid bet will be the man will not carry the popular vote. And, that eventuality will reveal the fatal flaw of the Electoral election system once and for all.
In the meantime, if Americans elect a new President by winning the popular vote and the Electoral College and the Conservatives lose control of Congress the temptation will be to set torch to the conservatives that would make General William Sherman’s march through Confederate Georgia (1864) a marshmallow roast by comparison.
Cooler heads will prevail.
Both sides have made big mistakes in past 21st century elections.
The Democrats, however, will have learned that they must campaign in all states and to nominate exciting, fresh, and determined candidates (not party machine waiting list nominees).
But, the GOP has yet to learn that in order for its ideology to success in the long term they can’t trot out buffoon candidates i.e. Palin and Trump like they did in 2008 and 2016. And, they must recognize the power of the feminine vote. Do you think Sarah Palin was a VP candidate that women could embrace in 2008?
Watch what the feminine vote will do to the incumbent’s party in 2020.
Having said that will an anti-Trump backlash solve our nation’s big political divide?
Absolutely not, but at least it will be the majority opinion in this nation. And, that is at the core of any Democracy. The majority should rule.
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