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Celebrities Issue Impassioned Plea To Republican Electors
By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 15, 2016
Modified Dec 15, 2016
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By
John Del Signore
Published Dec 15, 2016
Modified Dec 15, 2016
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Martin Sheen, Richard Schiff, Bob Odenkirk, Debra Messing, and other celebrities have released an earnest video pleading with Republican electors to vote for a qualified alternative to Donald Trump on December 19th. The video participants, representing the "multi-partisan" group Unite for America, stress that they are not asking the electors to vote for Hillary Clinton, but to vote their conscience and send a qualified person to the House of Representatives. Let it be on their conscience. (The group's website makes the case for Republican Ohio Governor John Kasich.)
"By voting your conscience, you and other brave Republican electors can give the House of Representatives the option to select a qualified candidate for the presidency," the video's participants argue. "What is evident is that Donald Trump lacks more than the qualifications to be president, he lacks the necessary stability, and clearly the respect for the Constitution of our great nation. You have the position, the authority, and the opportunity to go down in the books as an American hero and change the course of history."
It's easy to roll your eyes at the anticipated futility of show biz celebrities like, ha, Moby having any influence whatsoever over Republican electors, but the video's grave tone does adequately convey how catastrophic many people believe a Trump presidency will be for America. No matter how futile efforts like this seem, doing something is usually better than nothing. (Unless that "something" means sexual assault, mocking the disabled, trashing the parents of a fallen soldier, or appointing Putin's favorite Exxon CEO to be Secretary of State.)
Anyone who fears the consequences of a wildly unstable Putin puppet becoming Commander in Chief of the military might as well spend these few remaining days telling Republican electors how high the stakes really are. In addition to dissenting Republican elector Chris Suprun, 36 more Republican electors are needed to send an alternative presidential candidate to the House—many say that's highly unlikely, but if there's one thing we've learned this election cycle, it's that the unlikeliest darn things just keep happening. Constitutional law professor Lawrence Lessig, who is organizing free legal counsel to electors who break from their states' votes, believes at least 20 Republican electors will dissent on Monday.
Unite for America is holding a rally at the Washington monument on Saturday, December 17th and organizing vigils at state Capitols where history, for better or for worse, will irrevocably be made. More details here.
Tagged
donald trump
electoral college
hail mary
martin sheen
John Del Signore
Originally from the Albany area, John Del Signore has called NYC home since 1995. In addition to his thousands of meticulously-crafted bespoke blog posts for Gothamist, his writing has also been published in The Awl, Deadspin, The Nervous Breakdown, and performed at The Brick Theater in Brooklyn.
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Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
Gothamist is funded by sponsors and member donations
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