Talk:Who Are The Electors?

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Modicum of sadness[edit]

On the surface, it seems like the only purpose of this song is to inform--the band doesn't take a definitive stance either way on how they feel about this controversial system of voting. Unfortunately, unlike most of TMBG's kid-oriented music, this one doesn't have much imagination to the lyrics. I suppose this is because they were given a specific assignment and told not to stray too much from the topic. (Contrast this to "Thankful For Your Service" from a couple years ago.) Even the music fits squarely within Linnell's wheelhouse he's been leaning on since the revamped "Finished With Lies" on Mink Car. But...is that a modicum of sadness I hear in Linnell's voice when he sings, "We're only the voters"? Personally, I think it's frustrating that my vote only goes to the Electoral College, who we hope will follow what the actual voters did. ("But it's up to them / And not up to us") Hmph. --MisterMe (talk) 09:01, 13 August 2020 (EDT)

Totally agree. Other parts that may play into that same theme are "you signal your choice" - which to my ears reduces your vote to a weak flag-semaphore, distant and vague - and "you give them your trust" - which calls to mind the problem of "faithless electors" who choose to vote against their state's majority. I assume the CNN show covered these issues (I'm a cord-cutter). On the surface the song and the video, in keeping with Schoolhouse Rock tradition (as in "How a Bill Becomes a Law"), present everything with the optimism of how the Founding Fathers were hoping things would work. If you squint and strain your ears, you can detect some of the standard complaints about the electoral college in the song Vote Or Don't. --Nehushtan (talk) 11:27, 17 August 2020 (EDT)
Yup, you guys nailed it. The CNN special spent time discussing those disenfranchised with the electoral college system (or at least the current, modern interpretation of it), and the purpose of the TMBG song was to explain how the founders originally intended it to function, Schoolhouse Rock style. A good portion of the hour was spent discussing a 2016 movement to encourage Republican electors to vote for candidates other than Trump, and the ensuing Supreme Court battle. -CapitalQtalk ♪ 11:43, 17 August 2020 (EDT)

A song close to my heart.[edit]

My personal connections with the band have been slight. I enjoyed a brief chat with Flans in 2002 in Manchester about Mink Car (in which he very politely wouldn't tell me why the UK and US versions are different) and then an brief email exchange with Bill Krauss a couple or so years ago. With this song I got to chat with Jamie Kitman, the Giants manager, via email. I was writing a textbook at the time on US politics and I wanted the band's permission to have a link of the song/video in the online version of the book. The band agreed, and I was elated to be a footnote in their official history, until the publishers decided that it didn't fit the format of the book, so it wasn't included in the final published version. I was gutted! (Mr Tuck)