I can't say what is objectively true, but I can say that if I were in that situation, I absolutely would feel responsible for the outcome if I could have reasonably affected it.
McGuirk808
joined 2 years ago
Look at it selfishly:
- 100% chance of killing someone
- 25% chance of killing someone
Pulling the level is the only way to have a shot at not being saddled with the guilt of killing someone. Sure, killing 5 people is worse than killing 1, but avoiding that personal impact entirely is a desirable goal in and of itself.
There is no specific appointment for the losing presidential nominee. They just lose and move on.
The idea with the US government is checks and balances between government branches. Congress and SCOTUS have some degree of power over the president and each branch can keep the other two in check. Historically it has worked well, but things have been changing quickly in the last 10-20 years, but especially with the two Trump admins.
The current situation with Trump is particularly different for a few reasons:
- Trump is incredibly popular with primary right-wing voter base. There is evidence this may be changing, but it's been the case for 10+ years now.
- Trump's popularity has allowed him to put intense pressure on members on congress. He can threaten to primary any sitting senator or representative that doesn't support everything he does. These threats are not empty and he has absolutely gotten people voted out of office due to his clout with republican voters. Most Republican members of congress are terrified of opposing him. Since republicans currently hold majority, congress is more or less toothless and completely deferential to Trump right now.
- Two supreme court justice positions became open when Republicans had control of the government, so they have shifted SCOTUS leanings strongly to the right.
Trump has a perfect storm of control over the systems normally in-place to hold him accountable.
Once we have an administration ran by adults in power again, we're going to need to seriously re-evaluate and update our system of checks and balances, or future administrations will continue to exploit these problems until the country rots and dies.
If I could have done something to prevent it, but chose not to, and someone died, I would feel just as bad as if I pulled the lever and killed someone.