Looks like someone needs to say this for the hundred thousandth-and-second time: The United States is a constitutional republic, not a democracy. The Constitution makes it very plain. While the federal government has some democratic institutions (the House of Representatives – sort of) it also includes some very un-democratic institutions (the Senate, the Supreme Court) because the United States is not a democracy, and the Founders set it up deliberately to prevent government by direct democracy.
Leave it to MSNBC’s execrable talking head Chris Hayes to neither know nor care about any of this. On Friday, he was in a bit of a snit over new polling showing Donald Trump pulling ahead of Kamala Harris in the Electoral College–and proved, once again, that he’s willing to throw out the founding principles of the nation if it means his side might not win an election.
What a jerk.
MSNBC host Chris Hayes fumed over new poll results showing former President Trump as the favorite to win the Electoral College and therefore the presidency in November.
On his X account Friday, the “All in With Chris Hayes” anchor blasted recent poll results from famed pollster Nate Silver showing that Harris would most likely beat Trump in the national popular vote if the election were held today, though Trump would win the Electoral College.
“It’s clear as day the Electoral College is, to quote the great Justice Jackson a national suicide pact,” Hayes posted.
Here, see for yourself:
Independent of the model itself, it’s clear as day the electoral college is, to quote the great justice Jackson a national suicide pact. Just a wildly dangerous institution that undermines democracy but also creates all manner of rube-goldberg machinery to be attacked by bad… https://t.co/NROBirf3yt
— Chris Hayes (@chrislhayes) August 29, 2024
Just a wildly dangerous institution that undermines democracy but also creates all manner of rube-goldberg machinery to be attacked by bad actors.
Chris, Chris, Chris. There is no democracy to undermine. The United States is not a democracy. It never was a democracy. It never will be a democracy.
See Related: Exclusive: Kaplan Poll Shows Trump Trailing Harris by 4 Points Among Registered Voters
Nate Silver’s Latest Election Projection Model Will Crush Liberal ‘Joy’
The Electoral College ensures that the smaller-population states – like, for example, Alaska – still have a say in the election of a president. It’s not quite like the Senate, which was originally intended to be the forum where each state’s government was represented, and so every state has an equal voice, as every state is an equal member of the Union – that, Chris, is why this is the United States of America, not the United State of America. The House of Representatives is the People’s House, and the states have delegations in proportion to their population; that’s a democratic institution but only one in a government that is deliberately set up to avoid direct democracy.
The words “democratic” and “democracy” do not appear in the Constitution. The Constitution does guarantee to the states a “republican form of government.” As in, a republic, Chris. Article 4, Section 4, clearly states:
The United States shall guarantee to every State in this Union a Republican Form of Government, and shall protect each of them against Invasion; and on Application of the Legislature, or of the Executive (when the Legislature cannot be convened) against domestic Violence.
In short, Chris Hayes has no idea what he’s talking about, and he is in a snit because he thinks his side might lose. Furthermore, he’s willing to throw away the Constitution to ensure his side wins.
That’s unscrupulous.
The Constitution, including the Electoral College, was set up by some of the most brilliant minds of their time. They put in place a governing document that has survived a civil war, two world wars, and everything the socialist left could throw at it. It’s still the best governing document on the planet, even if Chris Hayes and his fellow Democrats would love to just ignore it. The Electoral College fulfills a vital role, ensuring that the republic will not be ruled by New York and California, and for that reason alone, it’s worth preserving.
I would advise Mr. Hayes to do some reading – he might even want to try reading the Constitution itself since he apparently has very little idea of what’s in it. But he might also want to read, say, the Federalist Papers. If the Constitution is the “what” of our national government, the Federalist Papers in large part present the “why,” and even Hayes may gain a little insight from them.
Of course, he will do nothing of the sort. He isn’t interested in history, or good government. He’s a naked partisan, not very well-informed, and has no interest in anything but The Side, and he would be happy to throw out everything that made the United States a great nation if it gives The Side a win.
