Thread: Top conservatives gather to plot third-party run against Trump

Top conservatives gather to plot third-party run against Trump

The meeting is scheduled for two days after tonight's primaries in what many Republican operatives believe will determine whether Trump is on an unstoppable march to the nomination.

By SHANE GOLDMACHER
03/15/16 02:33 PM EDT

Three influential leaders of the conservative movement have summoned other top conservatives for a closed-door meeting Thursday in Washington, D.C., to talk about how to stop Donald Trump and, should he become the Republican nominee, how to run a third-party “true conservative” challenger in the fall.

The organizers of the meeting include Bill Wichterman, who was President George W. Bush’s liaison to the conservative movement; Bob Fischer, a South Dakota businessman and longtime conservative convener; and Erick Erickson, the outspoken Trump opponent and conservative activist who founded RedState.com.

"Please join other conservative leaders to strategize how to defeat Donald Trump for the Republican nomination,” the three wrote in an invitation obtained by POLITICO that recently went out to conservative leaders, "and if he is the Republican nominee for president, to offer a true conservative candidate in the general election."

The meeting is scheduled for Thursday, two days after winner-take-all Florida and Ohio vote in what many Republican operatives believe will determine whether Trump is on an unstoppable march to the nomination or is likely to stall out short of the 1,237 delegates he needs.

One person involved in the gathering described it as in the “embryonic” stages.“ It’s not like there’s a royal grand plan that’s going to be unfurled," this person said. "People aren’t giving up on the Republican Party yet."

Still, Wichterman, Fischer, and Erickson represent three boldface names to host such a gathering. All three have deep ties to the social conservative movement, which Ted Cruz has tried to unite behind his candidacy.

Wichterman, in addition to his top job for Bush, served as a senior adviser to Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist. He now works for Covington, a law firm in Washington, D.C.

Fischer, in 2012, helped bring together a group of more than 200 conservatives from across the country to unite around Rick Santorum’s candidacy. An event in Houston he put together raised $1.8 million in a day.

And Erickson, who has sparred publicly with Trump for months online and on his radio show, has previously said, “I will not be voting for Donald Trump at all. Ever.”

Other GOP donors, who are interested in exploring the possibility of challenging Trump, recently commissioned a study on the feasibility of launching a last-minute, independent bid.

Trump dominates the GOP delegate count with nearly half of the states already voting in the Republican presidential primary. According to POLITICO's calculations, he would need to amass slightly more than 50 percent of the remaining delegates to secure the nomination outright.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/0...#ixzz432YODQI1

Anonymous collective declares ‘total war’ on Donald Trump, again

Boehner backs Paul Ryan for president

These people are pathetic wacko-birds who have ruined our country exploiting our Republican Party to do it. We want protected trade, secure borders, illegal aliens deported, legal immigration paused and down-sized and fiscal responsibility. And if any of these egg-heads had a clue we wouldn't already be in the sewer. Trump is the only one who wants to pull us out of this mess and he is without a doubt the only one with the common sense, intelligence and unwavering loyalty to the American People needed to do so.

STAY TRUE! STAY TRUMP!!

John Boehner Withdraws 2016 Support for Paul Ryan, Backs John Kasich Until First Vote

Conservative leaders gather to plot against Donald Trump

By Gloria Borger and Tom LoBianco, CNN
Updated 12:57 PM ET, Thu March 17, 2016 | Video Source: CNN


(CNN)Conservatives at a meeting in Washington on Thursday had "absolute consensus" on trying to stop Republican front-runner Donald Trump from getting enough delegates to clinch the party's presidential nomination, according to a source familiar with the discussion.

Conservative leader Bob Fischer gathered more than a dozen activists and Republican lawmakers to discuss how to stop Trump from getting their party's nomination.

The source said the consensus was around preventing Trump from reaching 1,237 delegates, and then stopping him at the convention. The source added that the conservatives are optimistic for this option, adding they believe "it is possible."

The idea of a third party being formed to combat Trump remained a bone of contention for the group, the source said, adding, there was "real division" over the idea. But there was also discussion that if Trump is the GOP nominee, then "the GOP ceases to be a party for traditional conservatives, who must go elsewhere."

The thought process at this session was to work with "an existing third party instead of trying for ballot access." That would probably be the existing Libertarian or Constitution parties.

This source said the meeting was made up mostly of "diehards of the conservative movement," including, "Reagan revolutionaries, if you will."

Not all the attendees appeared to be giving up on Trump's existing challengers.

"I'm there to support Ted Cruz," said Mike Farris, a Republican lawyer, as he left the Army and Navy Club, where the group met behind closed doors for close to three hours. "There's a lot of Cruz support."

Rep. Trent Franks, a member of the House Freedom Caucus, attended the meeting briefly. So did conservative leader Bill Wichterman.

The event was advertised as a meeting of the group Conservatives of Faith. Erick Erickson, who has floated the idea of a third-party candidate against Trump dialed in to the meeting by phone.

With wins in at least three nominating contests on Tuesday, Trump is the overwhelming front-runner in Republican delegates, though he still faces the possibility of a contested convention this summer, particularly if either of his remaining rivals, Cruz or Ohio Gov. John Kasich, gathers momentum.

http://www.cnn.com/2016/03/17/politi...ves/index.html

This is hilarious. The Republicans want to start a third party? They hardly can manage their own party. They would be better off looking for a worm hole in space to find a new fresh planet to start over with.