Before the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, Donald Trump claimed the “system was rigged”. Trump is a notorious flip-flop when it comes to his opinions. He also uses “reverse psychology” in case of bold accusations. Hence, I stated in my 6 August and 22 October blogs that Trump probably implied that the system was rigged in his favour.
Afterwards, the Democrats claimed the “system was rigged” as the Electoral College overrules the U.S. popular vote. This complaint only emerges when there is a different outcome between both. Snopes: “On four occasions prior to 2016 (most recently in 2000), the Electoral College installed in the White House a president who received fewer popular votes than his opponent.”
On 9 November 2016, it was clear that Clinton had won the popular vote albeit by a small margin. That small margin still continues to grow until today. On 23 November 2016, Politico reported that “Clinton’s lead in the popular vote surpasses 2 million”. For a breakdown, see the “spreadsheet compiled by David Wasserman, an editor at Cook Political Report who is tracking turnout” (Snopes).
To put this number of 2 million in some perspective, I refer to a 23 November NYT quote: “Hillary Clinton has widened her lead in the popular vote to 1.5 percentage points, a spread not seen for a losing candidate since the disputed election of 1876.”
On 22 November 2016, New York Magazine reported the following: “Experts Urge Clinton Campaign to Challenge Election Results in 3 Swing States”. This article is slowly gaining traction (eg, CNN, Guardian, HFD, UC Berkeley). The latest news is that Jill Stein may/will challenge the election results of Michigan, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin (eg, Guardian).
The issue at hand is this: “The academics presented findings showing that in Wisconsin, Clinton received 7 percent fewer votes in counties that relied on electronic-voting machines compared with counties that used optical scanners and paper ballots.” (NYMag)
NYMag: “While it’s important to note the group has not found proof of hacking or manipulation, they are arguing to the campaign that the suspicious pattern merits an independent review — especially in light of the fact that the Obama White House has accused the Russian government of hacking the Democratic National Committee.”
The worst possible outcome of this news would be that the system was indeed rigged. This may explain why President Obama and Hillary Clinton keep a low profile. Moreover, any challenge of the election results would label them as “sore losers“. Even if they would win this battle then they would lose the war: half of the voters would no longer trust the outcome of future elections.
This NY Magazine article is bound to become the basis of conspiracy theories, especially as it’s in the public interest not to disclose any facts about foreign hacking. Sometimes, a white lie is better than the ugly truth. Moreover, a Trump Presidency is likely to start and end as Brexit: in chaos. Chaos is part of Change and finding a new Equilibrium (part 1, part 2, part 3).
Fleetwood Mac – Little lies (1987) – artists, lyrics, video, Wiki-1, Wiki-2
If I could turn the page
In time then I’d rearrange just a day or two
Close my, close my, close my eyes
But I couldn’t find a way
So I’ll settle for one day to believe in you
Tell me, tell me, tell me lies
Tell me lies
Tell me sweet little lies
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