Electors, save nation, reject Trump

No one has been elected president of the United States until the Electoral College casts its votes on Dec. 19. In light of his actions since the election, Trump’s electors should have second thoughts about how to cast their ballots.

Yes, I know that each candidate’s electors are chosen as loyalists. Normally, we would say that they would never revoke their pledges. But this election is not normal!

And, in this case, where should the loyalty of electors lie? Should they be loyal to their candidate, their party, or their country?

Alexander Hamilton advocated in the Federalist Papers that the Electoral College be a “buffer” to the direct election of the president. It was never intended to become a vehicle of winner-take-all or to override the popular vote. Rather, the Electoral College was created in order to prevent any candidate, who is “unfit or unqualified,” from assuming the office of president (Hamilton’s words).

Since Nov. 8 there have been several red flags that should give Trump’s electors pause. These include: refusal of presidential daily briefings, denial of his many international conflicts of interest, and his continued toxicity toward respected journalists.

We should all be concerned about how the Russians influenced our election. We should all be concerned about who Donald Trump is choosing for high positions in our government: many who have no expertise, many who are in conflict with their appointed duties, and many who are insiders from Wall Street.

Donald Trump’s “crony capitalism deal” with Carrier violates what he campaigned on. His recent phone calls with Pakistan, Taiwan and the Philippines demonstrate his dangerous lack of knowledge in foreign affairs.

The bottom line: “Faithless electors” may well be the patriots of our day. It is their duty to save the republic by not voting for Donald Trump.

This story was originally published December 6, 2016 at 4:21 PM with the headline "Electors, save nation, reject Trump."