US Presidental Election - Did you vote?

[SwordPony]

Clinton conceded the election which means she or her campaign cannot ask for recounts. Basically she knows she lost and went out as gracefully as she could.

[Rainbowrific Renia]

Rainbowrific Renia, the electoral college is never going away and is doing exactly what is it intended to do but I can't really elaborate on it without further violating the rules of off topic....there is absolutely no electoral college in the land of rainbows and cotton candy.  Hey I want some cotton candy!

Oh, I know that. I know exactly what its point is but when the popular vote shows a different outcome and we let a certain group of people determine a winner, it just feels useless. I'm aware that it isn't going away, but that doesn't make it any less frustrating that we have to deal with it. A popular vote should be exactly that- the most people voted this way, so that's how it goes. I truly understand why so many people feel that their vote doesn't matter and I can't even be mad at them.

Anyway, rainbows and cotton candy!

It's raining today, so I'm hoping the sun will peek out and a rainbow will come with it. I think a lot of us need that today.

[tulagirl]

Things get odd now.  Technically, Trump hasn't won MI, PA, and WI.  They are votes that will take longer to process because they're provisional or absentee.  It could take days for them to process.  It's possible those states could even flip.  At which point we'll be in complete chaos as suddenly it's President Elect Clinton.

Also, in those states, Jill Stein's votes would have tipped MI and WI to Clinton if they were votes for her.

This comes down to electoral votes left to actually win and beat his numbers. There are not enough. The race is over. Check out CNN for the current map on that. 

[Luxrayx]

Question! What is the electoral college? I looked it up, but it seems terribly pointless. What is it and what is its purpose?

[lostpony]

The electoral college is a group of representatives selected in strange ways that represent the number of presidential electors from each state...there is I believe one elector for each Senator and one for each Representative (meaning the same number as for each Congressional representative for each state) and theoretically all the electors from a state are supposed to vote together for the candidate that state's majority selects to be President.  In reality, the electors actually have discretion and cannot be challenged if they don't vote according to the majority and the rules of how they are selected are different for each state and it's a very arcane process that is very mysterious to most of the electorate.

The advertised reason for the electoral college is that it is impractical to actually tally all the popular votes of the citizens and it's a device to get the right answer:  which is why people have been saying for decades it should be replaced because popular vote is now easy to tally with modern technology.  But in reality, the electoral college was never about technical issues tallying votes but a direct result of the elite fearing the "mob" following Bacon's Rebellion where citizens took over a state government (whicvh state was that? forgot) when it wasn't acting according to the popular interests....as part of selling the Constitution to the States for ratification, the States were promised the "mob" (meaning the popular electorate) could never seize the presidency from the elites because the electoral college would ensure domination by the elites.  Along with the 2/5th rule for counting slaves as population when determining number of searts for each State in the House of Representatives and promises (that thankfully went unfulfilled) that the Bill of Rights would never be added to the Constitution, the electoral college was one of the barriers to popular democracy that got many of the Southern states to ratify the Constitution.

A lot of Americans don't know this because the majority of us are fed lies in public education and are willfully prevented from moving on to college where we learn the truths like the real reasons for the electoral college and that the Bill of Rights was never supposed to happen.  It's because of the "mob" threatening revolution that the Bill of Rights was then added on to preserve the Union finally the Federalist Papers, which we are all told explain why the Founders all promised us individual rights, in fact actually explain all this and why the elites can ratify the Constitution without fear of the electorate actually having any democratic power or individual rights.  A lot of people have died bringing us to where we are now in the civil war and before that, and all the rights stuff since the 60s etc and much of that progress is now under threat by the new Republican "elite"-class domination.

But...still rainbows and cotton candy because we've come a long way since then even with Trump and the rest coming soon.

[DazzleKitty]

This election has caused me to close down my Facebook account. Or rather, I will be deactivating it tonight. I had a friend who bashed the other side in my face, gloated when he won, and when I had one negative thing to say, he really smarted off. I'm tired of this social media drama. That's why I come here. This place is kinda like my social internet safe haven where we all get along and discuss happy things like ponies, games, dolls, food, etc.

I, like a lot of you all, am surprised at the outcome, but it's not a good surprise. I just hope he manages to keep peace with our allies for the next four years. I'm actually kind of embarrassed by this election and who won to all you international ponies. I don't like this to be a representation of what people in the USA are like. Trump does not represent me as a US citizen.

[tulagirl]

People really need to practice humility Dazzle.  That is just nuts to act that way no matter what candidate you are for or against. It is important to hear out both sides and I was never one to think it was good to push what you feel politically speaking on others.  A good friend allows their friends independent thought even when they do not agree.  We all have differences of opinion which is healthy and a precious right for us all. Some of what you feel is the exact reason I left Facebook.  The drama from things not related to politics was getting to me also and to tell you the truth, I have not missed it at all. 

On a positive note: I can't wait to get a pony I got for my birthday in the mail.

[Tap Dancer]

Why are there 4 threads (this one and 3 in the "What's Your Problem" forum) bashing Trump? I can't stand Obama, but I never posted that anywhere until now. I was bummed when he got a second term, but I didn't bash him all over the place.

I'm not trying to start anything; I'm just wondering why we have multiple negative threads?

[Spinky69er]

Why are there 4 threads (this one and 3 in the "What's Your Problem" forum) bashing Trump? I can't stand Obama, but I never posted that anywhere until now. I was bummed when he got a second term, but I didn't bash him all over the place.

I'm not trying to start anything; I'm just wondering why we have multiple negative threads?

This is the lighter discussion of the 4.  *hands cookies and cocoa around*

[lostpony]

I have missed out on two of our four trump bashing threads??  But seriously,

He has said he's going to do a lot of bad things to a lot of people and he has a majority in Congress to do what he wants.  It's very scary for many especially those he has directly stated he will attack.

I've participated in strong words against him, and for good reasons, there are many aspects of my life that stand to be diminished greatly by his threatened actions:  where I work and make money, my health care, my educational funds, and what he plans to do to the common law I depend on for my future.

Nonetheless when I saw a brief blurb on the news today with a clip of something he said today I felt sudden hope:  he at least momentarily not acting the schoolyard bully we have known for the last year or more and it occurred to me that like it or not, he is our president elect and we don't really know what he'll do...it is possible that, like so many candidates, all that puffing doesn't really reflect the person who is to be our leader and he is unconventional.  I remember a time decades ago when I really liked that dork-butt and a moment recently on the jimmy fallon show where you could see he was being made fun of and he was being a good sport about it.  So while there is likely a lot of pain ahead, and a lot of Trump supporters will inevitably be very disappointed, in my opinion, some of us who fear greatly might be pleasantly surprised.

At least there is hope, anyway.  The next four years is truly the undiscovered country and we aren't going to know what we will find there until we get there, so...it's early to despair.  We need to suck it up and sally forth, and keep a stiff upper lip.

That being said now everypony must believe I am bipolar because over the last 24 hours I've been as bad a trump basher as anyone so....that's acceptance for you.  I guess.

[ladybastilla]

I think one thing we all need to remember, regardless of where we stand in relation to what has happened, is that we still have our wonderful community here. That community exists because of our tolerance / acceptance of peoples' individuality and right to make choices without fear of being mocked or judged. Even if you feel like the rest of the earth is shaking, this is solid ground.

Further, there is a tremendous difference between supporting a candidate because you endorse their personal actions vs. supporting the goals of their campaign. The two are not, and in no way need to be, bound together.

Let's find out what Trump can and will actually do. Regardless of what that ends up being, there is no reason for it to erode the kindness, compassion and quality of our community.