From libertarian Michael A. LaFerrara:
Why are the Clinton supporters mad at the Electoral College if they knew beforehand it would decide the winner? Why didn’t they say something before the election?
Does anybody really believe that, had Trump won the national popular vote but lost the election, or if Kerry had squeaked by in Ohio, that these same folks would be screaming their heads off about how “unfair” it all is or refusing to attend the inaugurations of the “illegitimate” President Kerry or President Hillary Clinton? Don’t make me laugh.
Trump and Clinton both went in and played by the same electoral rules, as established by the U.S. Constitution. Both campaigned for an Electoral Vote majority, not a popular vote majority. Trump won the election fair and square. Trump is the legitimately elected president of the United States.
It’s probably true that many or most of the Democrats who want to do away with the electoral college would not feel the same way if it had helped a Democrat win and were expected to do so again in future elections. But by the same reasoning, it’s also true that many or most of the Republicans who want to keep it would become resentful enough to oppose it if cost *their* candidate the election and were expected to do so again in future elections.
Whether or not we should abide by the electoral college does not depend on the integrity or consistency of the people who support or oppose it. It is its own moral question and deserves to be addressed as such.