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Jim Allen

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Sorry #NeverTrump, but America already has a third party candidate: Donald Trump
6/4/2016 12:09:37 AM
I love the way Kelsey states it in the video!

Sorry #NeverTrump, but America already has a third party candidate: Donald Trump


U.S. Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump speaks at a campaign rally in Sacramento, California, U.S. June 1, 2016. CREDIT:REUTERS FEED

Conservatives are desperately seeking someone other than Trump to vote for. Someone not called Hillary Clinton. Michael Bloomberg has said no. Mitt Romney doesn’t seem keen. The Libertarians have nominated former New Mexico governor Gary Johnson (again) and the neoconservativeBill Kristol has suggested a guy with a beard called David French. Never heard of him? Me neither. The lack of formidable options is no coincidence. The #NeverTrump movement has too many obstacles to overcome. The fact that Paul Ryan, the GOP's most senior elected official, has just given in and endorsed Trump suggests that the bandwagon is not going to get very far at all.

A third party bid usually only gains traction as a vote against politics-as-usual, as a protest not just against weak presidential picks but against institutional stagnation. Trump has already offered that challenge and won.

Marginalisation is a problem. Trump’s Right-wing critics are ideological conservatives: a movement within a party and a movement that is, itself, hugely divided. The rest of the party is rallying around Trump nicely.FiveThirtyEight reports: “Trump’s share of the Republican vote at this point in the campaign is right in line with past nominees.” In fact, at this moment in the cycle Trump is backed by a higher proportion of Republicans than Reagan in 1980, Bush in 1988, Dole in 1996, Bush Jnr in 2000 and McCain in 2008. This is partly because he benefits from a historical trend towards party polarisation and because Clinton is loathed by anyone right-of-centre.

But Trump’s victories also point to a fact that too few people have yet to reconcile themselves to: he is popular among Republicans. Oh, there are those that hate him and he has high negatives. Moreover, there is polling evidence to suggest that the public would welcome a third party run. But there always is. And, with the exception of Ross Perot in 1992, the outsiders rarely ever crack a couple of percentage points on election day.

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A second NeverTrump challenge is division. Social conservatives and hawkish conservatives are not going to back a Libertarian alternative. Likewise, the Libertarians are unlikely to go for French – a man with old fashioned views on sex. Incidentally, the fact that the Libertarians have picked two office holders of weight – Mr Johnson and former government Bill Weld – at a proper convention suggests that they are in far ruder health than the neoconservatives. Bill Kristol’s choice of French, given some moral backing by Mitt Romney, sadly suggests that he couldn’t find anyone bigger or better. His name alone writes Trump’s gags for him: “Will French do what the French always do and surrender?” etc. He may well be morally and intellectually superior to Trump but he is politically microscopic. And Trump has shown that the only way to win as a candidate of no experience is to be a candidate of tremendous entertainment. Will French dominate the shows in the way that The Donald has? Je ne sais pas.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/opinion/2016/06/03/sorry-nevertrump-but-america-already-has-a-third-party-candidate/

May Wisdom and the knowledge you gained go with you,



Jim Allen III
Skype: JAllen3D
Everything You Need For Online Success


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