Gotta have faith

Does anyone recall the 1986 Geraldo Rivera TV special The Mystery of Al Capone's Vaults? The premise of Rivera's show was to provide background of Chicago's most notorious gangster (Capone) and the hotel where he conducted business before his incarceration. When this hotel was to be renovated in the 1980s, some secret corridors were discovered. After about an hour and 50 minutes of Rivera et al sharing anecdotes about Capone, the show was to culminate with the underground tunnels being excavated to reveal....what? Perhaps dead bodies?!?! Valuables?!?! Upon the vaults being opened, I believe an empty bottle was all that was found. A woefully disappointed Rivera confirmed there was nothing salacious. This was a veritable 4th of July fireworks show whose grand finale was a mere bottle rocket.

I bring this all up because the hype surrounding the Electoral College casting its votes for President was almost as insufferable yet also yielded little drama.

Donald Trump won the Electoral College vote on Monday and secured his election as the 45th president of the United States, as the latest – and perhaps last – stop-Trump movement failed to gain traction in state capitals (sic).

A fervent push by anti-Trump forces to persuade electors to defect had turned the normally mundane civic procedure into high drama.

But Trump easily surpassed the 270 electoral votes needed to win, as representatives tabbed to cast ballots in accordance with their states’ Nov. 8 decision mostly adhered to the election results. After all the states had voted, Trump finished with 304 votes and Clinton had 227.

Texas put Trump over the top, despite two Republican electors casting protest votes.

What's most hilarious is that Mrs. Clinton had more faithless electors than Trump.

One of the biggest deviations was in Washington state, where three electors voted for Colin Powell and one voted for “Faith Spotted Eagle;” the remaining eight went to Clinton, the state’s winner.

How ironic that one faithless elector in Washington voted for someone named Faith.

I digress.

Celebrities made public appeals to electors to use the arcane process to upend Trump’s victory, as some Democratic electors tried to persuade their Republican counterparts to defect. Reports that U.S. intelligence officials determined Russia interfered in the election to boost Trump – findings disputed by Trump himself – only fueled efforts to wield the Electoral College vote as a political circuit-breaker.

As electors met, thousands of protesters descended on state capitals Monday in one last push to convince Trump voters to change their minds.

In Arizona, dozens of protesters gathered outside the meeting site, marching around the Capitol mall and carrying signs that said, "Stop Trump." More than 200 demonstrators gathered at Pennsylvania's Capitol, chanting, "No treason, no Trump!"

When Republicans were shellacked in 2012, the RNC compiled an "autopsy report" to determine what went wrong and thus devise a strategy to win future elections. The Dems, however, can't seem to be bothered with such introspection. The phrase "Dead, but too dumb to lie down" seems apropos here.

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