Conservative writer and anti-Trump ringleader Erick Erickson -- long a bane of the GOP establishment -- appeared on The Real Story with Gretchen Carlson to discuss a
Advertisement
Erickson packs a lot of information into the four-minute segment, including a reference to the GOP convention from which Abraham Lincoln emerged as the nominee, despite entering the proceedings trailing in the initial delegate count. "It wasn't the elite, it wasn't Republican leaders," he explains, noting that the call was comprised of grassroots activists who find both Hillary Clinton and Donald Trump unacceptable. These conservatives believe Trump does not share their values -- and that ideology, morals and character must transcend any political party. In response to the withering critique from Gingrich, who argues that a potential third-party effort against Trump would functionally help Hillary Clinton win, Erickson shoots back with polling data indicating that a Trump nomination would a Clinton vote-getting machine in and of itself. Newt is correct that a fractured Right would hand Hillary a victory in November, which is a terrible outcome. But Erickson is right that the soul of a party and a movement can be bigger than any single election, even one with enormously high stakes. I'd also add a few points:
(1) The Right will be divided, probably bitterly so
Recommended
Advertisement
Advertisement
Here you have to make a real decision about what you want to achieve with a third party candidacy. Is it merely an expression of rage against the dying of the light, an opportunity to throw your vote away on a true believer or someone who can give voice to the case for free markets, free hearts, free foreheads? Or is the intention to actually undo the nominations by both parties by sending the nomination to the House of Representatives? If it’s the former, any potential candidate would do – anyone with enough name ID and charisma to get 5 percent in the polls and make it onto the debate stage...The smart thing for both the #NeverTrump folks and for the Libertarian Party – assuming that neither faction would ever come around to supporting Trump as the nominee – would be to nominate someone with regional political appeal and the capacity to win a handful of key states, enough to prevent either Clinton or Trump from achieving an electoral college majority. At that stage, the House votes based on state delegation for any of the top three vote getters – that’s how you got John Quincy Adams.
He's right, of course. But -- show of hands -- how many people anticipate libertarians will happily go along with this plan? Anyone?
Join the conversation as a VIP Member