But she can possibly stop Donald Trump from being President by releasing her pledged electors in the Electoral College to vote for a compromise Republican candidate.
This is part of the strategy of the Hamilton Electors, members of the Electoral College who see that Donald Trump is not qualified to be President. They argue that the Electoral College's role is not to rubber-stamp the popular vote -- which, in this case, would belong to Clinton -- but to serve as a check on the popular vote to make sure that no one who is unfit assumes the office of President.
According to the Hamilton Electors, named for Founding Father Alexander Hamilton (Yes, he of the very popular musical for which I can't get tickets) Hamilton stated that the Electoral College's test for fitness to be the President was as follows (and I'm quoting):
Election of a Qualified Person: As Hamilton stated [in Federalist Papers 68], the purpose was to ensure that “…the office of President will never fall to the lot of any man who is not in an eminent degree endowed with the requisite qualifications.”
Preventing Election of a Demagogue or Charlatan: The Founders did not want a person who would play on public fears and temporary passion to hold the office. Hamilton again: “Talent for low intrigue…may alone suffice to elect a man… but it will require other talents and merit to establish him in the esteem and confidence of the whole Union.”
Preventing Election of a President under Foreign Influence: The Founders feared attempts by other countries to orchestrate the election of a person under their influence. The Founders believed, as Hamilton put it, that the decentralized, layered electoral college guarded against foreign nations “…raising a creature of their own to the chief magistry” of the United States.
Clearly, Trump fails all three tests.
The strategy of the Hamilton Electors is this: If 38 Republican electors do not vote for Trump when the Electoral College votes on December 19, the election will be in hands of the House of Representatives, which can choose to elect someone else. The Hamilton Electors are not trying to get the Republican electors or Republican members of the House to vote for Hillary, but to join with Democrat electors to choose a qualified Republican candidate. Governor John Kasich has been discussed, although he has publicly declined, as well as Mitt Romney and John McCain. Purportedly, there are as many as 40 Republican members of Congress who are not comfortable with a Trump presidency and would choose another Republican if they could
The roadblock: Hillary Clinton.
Republican electors are not going to flip unless the Democrat electors flip, too. Yet, Democrat electors may feel loyal to Clinton and want to make history by casting their electoral college votes for the first woman to be nominated by a major party. President Bill Clinton is a Democrat elector for the State of New York.
But desperate times call for desperate measures. And we're running out of time. Harvard Law Professor Lawrence Lessig and a California law firm, through an effort called The Electors Trust, are providing free, confidential legal advice to electors who want to understand the legal ramifications of breaking their state-imposed "pledge" to vote for the candidate who received the majority vote in their state.
Here's what you can do:
1) Donate to the Hamilton Electors.
2) Follow the Hamilton Electors on Twitter (@HamiltonElector) and retweet their tweets to your followers with the hashtag #HamiltonElectors. Post a video to social media of yourself supporting their effort.
3) Spread the word about the Hamilton Electors and their strategy through your other social media outlets.
4) Attend or organize a candlelight vigil to stop Trump.
5) Write or tweet Hillary Clinton (@HillaryClinton) and ask her to release her Democrat electors so that a bipartisan compromise can be reached.
It's not too late, but time is running out.
Hillary Clinton, you could change the course of history. Put your country before your party and your ambitions. Your nation needs you to step up.
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