Before we get to this new polling data point, a few reminders: (a) Hillary's popular vote win is irrelevant to the outcome, (b) her entire "victory" margin came out of deep blue California, (c) she burned through millions of dollars in non-competitive states, in pursuit of meaningless style points, and (d) denial and blame-storming aren't instructive exercises. But if lefties want to waste the next few years in pursuit of a doomed push to supplant the electoral college with the popular vote, conservatives should urge them to go for it. That exercise would be far less constructive than working to retool the priorities and messaging that have rendered their party decimated across the country. Leah noted earlier that this survey measures little public appetite for electors yanking away Trump's election victory, but some liberals are crowing about this finding:
As the Electoral College gathers to cast their votes for president Monday, Republicans and Democrats are sharply divided on whether the institution should determine who wins the White House. A new Morning Consult/POLITICO survey shows that a plurality of voters, 45 percent, said the Constitution should be amended to shelve the Electoral College in favor of the popular vote, compared with 40 percent who said the system should remain as is...Partisan leanings were the top factor in how registered voters viewed the process. Americans who identify with the Democratic Party were most likely to back a constitutional amendment, with almost 7 in 10 Democrats saying the popular vote should determine who takes the White House. Meanwhile, most Republicans (62 percent) said the Electoral College, which Trump won 306 to 232, should remain in place. Almost half of independents (47 percent) were in favor of replacing the Electoral College with the popular vote...
So the topline number appears to be primarily driven by Democrats' partisan frustration, with most Republicans leaning in the other direction. Again, have at it, Democrats. Ed Morrissey turns to the constitution and explains why this is going nowhere:
The Constitution established the Electoral College as the process for electing the president and vice-president, a system so well embraced that later amendments fortified it rather than acted to eliminate it. Opponents of the Electoral College would have to pass another constitutional amendment to eliminate it, which would require the approval of two-thirds of both the House and Senate plus three-quarters of the states to ratify it...Which states would be willing to surrender their influence on presidential elections? It would take 38 to ratify even if one could get Congress to pass it with two-thirds majorities. Wisconsin, Pennsylvania, and Michigan just got a taste of what being a swing state means, joining others like Colorado, North Carolina, New Hampshire, Ohio, and others. Would southern states surrender their electoral power to the Yankees? Would Midwestern states allow California and Florida to pick their presidents? Not a chance.
Recognizing their long odds, lefties have channeled their rage elsewhere:
Electoral College protest in Atlanta. pic.twitter.com/kZIkD0qEQ7
— Erick Erickson (@EWErickson) December 19, 2016
And on this subject, here's former White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer making a similar point to our observation from earlier:
Imagine if Trump, or a future PEOTUS, won by Bush's '00 margin, 270-268. The liberal EC coup would be real. That's why this is dangerous.
— Ari Fleischer (@AriFleischer) December 19, 2016
Never fear, Democrats, help is on the way:
Obama: I want to develop "a whole new generation of talent" in Dem party https://t.co/OkC3IQM9eM pic.twitter.com/8eIwKu9llT
— The Hill (@thehill) December 19, 2016
He's certainly been an effective coach and mentor to his party's up-and-comers over the last eight years:
Democrats in the Obama years pic.twitter.com/Wy3v74cQhi
— Morning Joe (@Morning_Joe) December 19, 2016
And that doesn't even capture the extraordinary sea change at the state legislative level (which makes the above amendment scenario even more far-fetched). It's all good, though -- the Democrats' fresh new future is right around the corner.
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