Quote for the day. Legal blogger Glenn Reynolds said it in reference to a proposal that recently appeared in the NY Daily News:

Our Founding Fathers created what we now call the Electoral College to protect our country against the precise danger we now face: a demagogue who has manipulated and bullied voters, exploited fears and now threatens the very foundation of our republic.

The electors have an obligation to think deeply about the sanctity of our democracy and the national interest — and they are sworn to vote not for the most popular candidate in their state, or any party candidate for that matter, but for the individual who they think will best protect the nation and the Constitution.

The electors can save us by choosing a highly qualified Republican who respects our noble traditions, values and laws. …

Instead of asking Republican electors to vote for Hillary Clinton, we suggest that Democrats organize electors from a state Clinton won to vote for someone else, in order to persuade Republican electors in other states to do the same. Democrats must show that they are not trying to push Clinton into the presidency (despite her victory in the popular vote), but acting to find a qualified alternative to Trump. That is the only goal that can unite Democrats and Republicans. …

In the course of the campaign, Trump promised to take actions that would amount to impeachable offenses. Waiting until he takes illegal actions will be waiting too long. Our country will suffer irreparable harm, our democracy will be further diminished, and we cannot be sure that a President Trump will not manufacture a war or other crisis to forestall his removal from power.

The history of dictators destroying republics through war dates back to Athens and Rome. We are on a similar precipice.

Our Founders were familiar with that history, and they left us an escape hatch we must use today.

Glenn’s point, of course, is that if history teaches us anything about the rise of dictators and the destruction of republics, it’s that the trouble usually starts with an attempt to prevent a duly elected head of state from taking office. Our founders were familiar with that history. Evidently the authors of this reckless proposal — Jeffrey K. Tullis, Sanford Levinson, and Jeremi Suri, all of whom teach at Texas law schools — are not.