Lessig Profile picture
11 Nov, 4 tweets, 2 min read
1/ Ugh, this is so fracking frustrating: NO, @USATODAY, this is NOT a “fact” that is “true.” usatoday.com/story/news/fac…

And the idea you would represent a complicated legal argument like this is completely irresponsible.
2/ There is NO LEGAL AUTHORITY for the proposition that AFTER a legislature has vested the choice of electors in the people, the legislature can recall that power and vest it differently.

It has literally NEVER happened.
3/ And the clear import of the recent (unanimous) "faithless elector" case is that they couldn't.

We know the framers were certainly not intending to give LEGISLATURES the power to pick the President. They expressly considered that and they expressly rejected it.
4/ To suggest now, ala @marklevinshow, that they can pick a slate of electors and tell the electors how they must vote is a complete betrayal of the original design.

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More from @lessig

26 May
The backsliding has begun. Four weeks ago, 4 states representing 4.9% of the population had R(t) numbers greater than 1. Today, it is 5 states representing 12.4%.

rt.live

#COVI19
One day later: 9 states representing 17.5% of the US population. #Backsliding
Two days later: 11 states, representing 22.4% of the population. #backsliding
Read 5 tweets
14 Jan
On @JBenton's "disappoint[ment]": threadreaderapp.com/thread/1216772…

(1/11)
Imagine I said:

"If you drink alcohol, stay hydrated by drinking water. But NEVER drink rubbing alcohol."

Would a true summary of my statement be:

"Lessig Doubles Down: IF you drink rubbing alcohol, mix it with water" ?

(2/11)
B/c that's precisely the form of what I wrote in my Medium piece:

"IF you take Type 3 donations, do so anonymously. But NEVER take Epstein donations."

That statement is NOT truthfully summarized:

"Lessig doubles down: IF you take Epstein's money, do it in secret."

(3/11)
Read 11 tweets
20 Jun 19
Ok, so seriously: this argument of some on the right that

BECAUSE "we're not a democracy, we're a Republic"

THEREFORE majority rule does not apply

is just stupidly silly and criminally ignorant about our actual history.

(FWIW: @cbinlosangeles)
I have already once made the point that by "Republic" the framers meant a "representative democracy" — so, e.g., if a "Ford truck" is a "truck," then a "representative democracy" (aka, "Republic") is a "democracy." See bit.ly/ARepublic
Not a "direct democracy," no doubt. And no doubt, the framers were not fans of direct democracy. But a "direct democracy" is just one form of "democracy," just as a "representative democracy" is too.
Read 16 tweets

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