With the passing of RBG the President was able to line up the votes to clear the way for a new appointee, barely. Say what you like whether you agree or disagree with this move for him – a win is a win.
But then Thursday night there is a bombshell – Trump refuses to endorse the results of the upcoming election and will not promise a smooth and orderly transition if Biden is elected. With such a small segment of the electorate genuinely undecided we think there has to be a substantial slice of those undecided who will be outraged by this statement.
Where does this leave us? How do we avert a constitutional crisis and what is at the root of the problem?
Show Notes:
1:00 – Week in Review
11:16 – What does the Constitution Say About Transitions?
The Constitution only states that each state should choose electors to vote one month after Election Day. By and large there is no conflict here. So if the President declares that he does not concede – he can go to the swing states where the legislatures are controlled by Republicans and to bypass the tradition so that he can be retain power.
13:53 – The Root of the Problem
Is the root of the problem that both parties no longer operate in the public interest? Everyone is focused on the President’s rhetoric that the election will be corrupt, but the Democrats in 2016 were also vocal that the Electoral College system should go.
20:30 – How can we avoid a constitutional crisis?
The bigger debate may be the centralization of power vs. the decentralization of power.
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Yes, we do need a second Constitutional Convention to update and upgrade its human rights, voting rights and civil rights content. Secondly, we need annual party conventions – like most other advanced democracies. Finally, we need to think about the now open Republican plans to incite “civil unrest” in the immediate aftermath of the election in order for them to attempt to throw the outcome of the election into their stacked SCOTUS.