I read with significant levels of mirth, amusement and irony some very convoluted logic (Jan. 1 letter) about the potential for Donald Trump to win the popular vote and to abolish the Electoral College. Said writer should be careful of the things for which he wishes.
Some basic facts to consider:
1) Democrats have won the majority or plurality of the popular vote in six out of the last seven presidential elections;
2) A margin of 100,000 votes in three states (Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin) decided the election;
3) The population shifts in this country will only continue, to the point where whites will be solely a plurality of the population in about three decades.
The third fact leads me to the first of some additional thoughts.
1) The 2016 election should not diminish the long-term findings of the GOP’s 2012 “autopsy,” which stated that the party needed to reach out to young people, minorities and women.
As long as the GOP continues to espouse increasingly out of the mainstream anti-LGBTQ and anti-abortion rights positions, embraces climate change denial, and engages at state-level efforts to restrict voting rights, any outreach the party does will fall on deaf ears.
2) If rallies were the sole judge of electoral success, then Bernie Sanders would have been the Democratic nominee. Before one complains about the issue of a rigged system, remember the Sanders also lost the elected delegate count.
3) The mention of counties won is utter nonsense, unless we begin to decide presidential election based on the number of counties won. Otherwise comparing Los Angeles County (10 million-plus people) to Loving County, Texas, (about 100) is silly, false argument.
4) As for “All Hail Trump,” I prefer to expect our elected officials to work for us, not be the subject of demi-god-level worship.
MICHAEL FONDACARO
Albany
GAZETTE COVERAGE
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Categories: Letters to the Editor
