Dear Electors,
I am reaching out to you today as you prepare to make one of the most important decisions in our country’s history. This decision will have consequences throughout the 21st century, for the US and for the entire world.
You remain the last bastion of America’s present democracy, before events are set in motion that cannot be stopped. Donald Trump’s unstable personality, hyper narcissism, inability to accept criticism, and highly erratic and volatile behavior make him a very dangerous man. As already stated by most leaders of both the Republican and Democratic Parties, he is not fit to be President of the United States.
The December 19th election is not about politics as usual. It is about preventing the worst possible scenario. With Donald Trump in the White House, unchecked by both House and Senate, the worst has a very high likelihood of materializing in the next four years.
In the past few weeks, it became clear to many Americans that the Electoral College should invoke their Constitutional right to follow the popular vote. These are a few of the many reasons:
- It has now been proven that Russia meddled with the election to benefit Donald Trump. Mr. Trump has the explicit support of Vladimir Putin, whose intentions are to weaken Western democracies, the U.S. and the European Union. This in itself should be enough to bar Mr. Trump from entering the White House.
- Polls indicate that the 11th hour ”announcement” by FBI director, James Comey, cost Hillary Clinton many votes. According to the Washington Post and New York Times, Comey did it because he had been pushed to do so by partisan staff at the FBI. The result of Comey’s untimely interference was that a branch of the U.S. government was allowed to sway the election.
- Mr. Trump has begun appointing his advisors and cabinet, to the horror of much of the country. Many of these individuals have little or no experience in affairs of the State. Some have expressed openly their racism, Anti-Semitism and Islamophobia views and intentions. Mr. Trump’s close advisor, Steve Bannon, has been heralded by the KKK, and some close to Bannon are now citing the internment of Japanese during WW2 as “precedent” for the registration of Muslims in the U.S. The U.S. Senate denied Jeff Sessions a judgeship on the basis of his history of racism, but as the new Attorney General he will now be influential in choosing the nation’s judges. With these appointments, white nationalists are celebrating their political ascendance. This team will give implicit justification to whomever would choose to persecute people who do not fit into their new American order (this dangerous trend has already started). This is a slippery slope, leading to the worst possible outcome. The open Internet is suddenly threatened, and fears of the U.S. becoming a surveillance state are now very real.
- As if this were not enough, there is a multitude of Mr. Trump’s conflicts of interests, allowing the Trump family to mix their own business with high level politics. Mr. Trump’s son-in-law is consulting with attorneys as to the best way to circumvent the country’s laws on nepotism, and it was reported today by the New York Times that Mr. Trump is already using his new political status for benefit in his business dealings.
Last but not least, as an economist and researcher working on the consequences of climate change, I feel strongly that having a climate denier in the White House, and at the head of the EPA, is more than a disgrace—it is a crime against future generations. In the fight against climate change, we do not have one minute to waste, let alone four years.
The Electoral College was precisely conceived as a protection for the republic in such a situation as this — in the unusual case where a popular vote could bring a dangerous demagogue to power. We are at that point—despite the fact that the popular vote of American citizens did NOT actually choose Donald Trump. Although the count has not yet been finalized, it appears that Hillary Clinton will have received well over two million more votes than Donald Trump. All of this makes your role and your right both clear and critical.
I do not believe it is hyperbolic to say that you hold in your hands, and your vote, the future of our country and the world. In August 1940, when the Royal Air Force was the remaining bulwark against Nazism in Europe, Winston Churchill declared: “Never was so much owed by so many to so few”.
It is my sincere prayer, dear Electors, that the American people will feel similar gratitude to you for the historic decision you make on December 19th—to honor the vote of the people, and to safeguard the future of the republic by not electing Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States.
With my appreciation and deep respect for the role you serve in our electoral process.
Thank you.
Sincerely,
Dr. Anne-Marie Codur