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Michael Cianchette is a Navy reservist who served in Afghanistan. He is in-house counsel to a number of businesses in southern Maine and was a chief counsel to former Gov. Paul LePage.
It all came down to Pennsylvania.
Before electronic devices became commonplace in schools, the opportunity to watch something was an exciting development. Seeing the CRT television rolled in on a cart — with VCR supported on a shelf underneath — was the mark of a good day.
In 6th grade, my class was part of a “teaching team,” with one teacher leading math and science with the other focused on English and social studies. We had several months-worth of Fridays where we watched “The Voyage of the Mimi,” an old PBS show from the early 1980s.
Our social studies teacher was — to put it kindly — not as academically discriminating when it came to her in-class viewing selections. But as kids, we were way less interested in historical accuracy and more excited to be allowed to watch TV at school.
In our segment on the American Revolution, we spent a lot of time watching “Schoolhouse Rock.” When that finished, she popped another VHS into the machine. It was the movie “1776,” based on the musical.
The academic merit of the film is a bit questionable in hindsight, but I still remember the climax where the heavy question — Would the Continental Congress vote for independence? — hung in the air. Ben Franklin, one of the three delegates from Pennsylvania, called for a division to decide the state’s single vote, where each member was polled independently.
The thrill of parliamentary procedure was palpable. Franklin voted for independence. The movie version of John Dickinson opposed it. That left the question to James Wilson, Pennsylvania’s third delegate.
It all came down to Pennsylvania.
The film, like most, took some liberties with the history upon which it was based. But Wilson — and therefore Pennsylvania — voted “yea” for independence, and the matter was decided.
We might get a real life James Wilson in this election.
Forty-eight states — in their unenlightened dedication — award their Electoral College votes in a winner-take-all contest. Maine and Nebraska follow a more representative model that still respects each state’s inherent independence within our federal system.
With these winner-take-all approaches, there are a small number of states that will decide the presidential election. Prediction models from 538, a data science outlet owned by ABC, indicate Vice President Kamala Harris is leading in Michigan, Nevada, and Wisconsin, while former President Donald Trump has the upper hand in Arizona, Georgia, and North Carolina.
The final swing state is Pennsylvania.
It seems unlikely that the swingiest of swing states will come down to a single vote, as it did in “1776.” Yet it seems near certain this year that Pennsylvania will support the winning candidate and, in many scenarios, it is the state that gives either Harris or Trump the final Electoral College votes they need to win the presidency.
So it might all come down to Pennsylvania.
At the end of 1776, as well as in real life, John Dickinson — whose position against independence was defeated — took the loss in stride. Actually, he did more than that.
He refused to sign the Declaration of Independence and, since the Continental Congress voted that only people who signed the Declaration could remain delegates, he was forced to give up his seat.
So where did he go? He joined the Pennsylvania militia to fight the British. His loss at the vote did not diminish his love of country.
As we rush towards election day, there will be a significant number of Americans who oppose Pennsylvania’s vote. Here’s hoping they can follow the example of John Dickinson and our civic life can imitate the art shown on an old VHS tape to a bunch of Maine 6th graders in the mid-1990s.
Election notice: The BDN will stop accepting letters and columns related to the Nov. 5 election on Wednesday, Oct. 30. Not all submissions can be published.