With 4 percent of the vote left to be counted, Hillary Clinton holds a 2 million vote lead over Donald Trump. Her total will almost certainly rise even more. She already has the second highest vote count in US history. Only Obama has done better. So how could she possibly not be the winner of the election?

The U.S. Presidency is rigged in favor of the Republicans, that’s why.

Back in the days when we were a rural society, the farmers, ranchers, and plantation owners (all conservatives) were the wealthiest dudes around, so they controlled the body politic. They absolutely did not want a “one person, one vote” rule to become the law of the land. Not for the Presidency. Here are a few of the arguments they used to rig the Constitution:

Argument: Slaves are not eligible to vote, but they deserve to have a voice in elections. By padding the vote in rural states, their voices would be heard.

Counter Argument: Really? Which slave owner wants to vote in the interests of his slaves? Wouldn’t it be a lot simpler and fairer to set them free and declare they have the inherent right to vote like everyone else? Or perhaps I haven’t made my point clear. You seem to want to keep your slaves, deny them the right to vote, and then presume to speak for them by having your vote count a lot more than city dwellers. Is that about it, oh wise ones?

Argument: There’s more. If we counted all votes the same, some charismatic snake charmer could come along and lure all the common people into his tent and tell lots of lies about us while smiling, and the common people would become hood winked like a bunch of puppies. The snake charmer would win the election.

Counter Argument: Well, politics does attract a lot of snake charmers. At best, they are evenly split among the parties. At worst, the conservatives have the market cornered with them.

Argument: Well, OK. But we are rich. And rich has its privileges. He who has the most toys should get control over the big playground.

Counter Argument: Maybe. Let’s play “king of the hill.” I’ll round up my boys, and you round up yours. We bust noses, gouge eyes, kick ass, and see who’s still standing to rule over the playground.

Argument: OK. OK. It’s one person, one vote. You don’t have to take it so darned personal.

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Addendum: The subject of this essay did not occur to me only with the recent election, so I am not a Johnny-come-lately to it. My elementary school teacher made me aware of it, c. 1946. I concluded it was an abomination then, and nothing has changed my mind in the intervening 70 years since my revelation. The 2016 election has now made its unjust character abundantly clear to most thoughtful people wherever they may reside. Here is a summary of the real issue-behind-the-issue that needs to be exposed to the light of day:

Many of us are blinded by the false belief that our Founding Fathers were all saints sent down from Heaven to establish a Constitution that would stand as a living monument to truth forever. Let’s put some light on that belief. In a well-documented article in Encyclopedia Britannica, Anthony Iaccarino, has exposed his soul to worldwide scrutiny in a short, but incisive article on this subject, aptly named “The Founding Fathers and Slavery.” In it he lists the members of that august body who were slave owners, and therefore those who had their livelihoods attached to preserving the status quo with respect whose interests were to be protected by those who might be elected to high office. The wealthy, land owners, and slave owners were their chosen few, mainly because many of the founders were also among the chosen few. Here are their names:

Slaveholders among prominent Founding Fathers
Slaveholders1

Charles Carroll Maryland John Adams Massachusetts
Samuel Chase Maryland Samuel Adams Massachusetts
Benjamin Franklin Pennsylvania Oliver Ellsworth Connecticut
Button Gwinnett Georgia Alexander Hamilton New York
John Hancock Massachusetts 
Patrick Henry Virginia

John Jay New York 
Thomas Jefferson Virginia
Richard Henry Lee Virginia
James Madison Virginia
Charles Cotesworth Pinckney South Carolina
Benjamin Rush Pennsylvania
Edward Rutledge South Carolina
George Washington Virginia

1Held slaves at some point in time.

Among these elitists were Benjamin Franklin, John Hancock, Patrick Henry, John Jay, Thomas Jefferson, James Madison, and the grand father of them all, George Washington. I will now pause and let you catch your breath, and let the molecules in your belief system realign themselves.

To his credit George Washington tried to free his slaves but was prevented from doing so by his wife’s family. He did free those under his control in his Will. My personal hero among the non-slave owners is Thomas Paine, a man who spoke out defiantly against slavery, yet who probably did more to assure the survival of democracy and liberty than any other living being. He ultimately died penniless with but two black men walking behind his funeral carriage in tribute to this man of honor and distinction whose adopted country that he loved so dearly had abandoned him for exercising his right to speak honestly and freely.