Posted on 06/01/2016 1:39:22 PM PDT by jazusamo
A group of prominent conservative activists, including the writer and radio host Erick Erickson, aren’t satisfied with Bill Kristol’s suggestion of David French as a third party candidate and are still looking for another alternative to Donald Trump.
The activists are working separately from Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard who favors French, according to two sources familiar with the discussions.
“We’re not going to be jumping on board with what Kristol is doing,” said a person involved in the discussions. “We learned about this from the media along with everyone else.”
Organizers of the self-described Conservative Against Trump group said Kristol’s decision to champion French, a conservative writer, constitutional lawyer and decorated Iraq war veteran, took them by surprise, especially because French has a relatively low public profile.
“This is like flipping open the phone book and picking someone on page 325,” the source said.
The group includes Erickson, South Dakota businessman Bob Fischer, Bill Wichterman, a former advisor to President George W. Bush and former Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.), conservative columnist Quin Hillyer, and conservative strategist Liz Mair.
The group was expected to issue a statement Wednesday or Thursday.
Erickson did not respond to a request to comment for this story. On his website, The Resurgent, he wrote Wednesday that he would vote for French but gave him low odds of even getting on the ballot in many states.
“But let’s be realistic about this. David French has, charitably, 0.1 percent name ID. He will have to raise at least $250 million, dedicating almost all of that to ballot access fights and potential legal challenges to extend deadlines,” Erickson wrote.
“I’d vote for David French,” he added. “Ultimately, however, I suspect the ballot access hurdle will be too much. I suspect it really be an insurmountable improbability.”
Conservative activist leaders held a conference call Wednesday to plan their next steps, on which Erickson did not participate although he was part of a conversation Tuesday evening.
Another conservative leader familiar with the recent discussions said, “We’re still continuing our recruitment effort.”
Only a few in the group have even met French, whom Kristol floated as a possible pick on Tuesday. It met with a decidedly mixed reaction.
“I just wanted to go pound my head against the wall,” said Judson Phillips, founder of Tea Party Nation, a conservative group with about 100,000 members. “I’m sorry, David’s a great guy but he’s not impressive as a presidential candidate. Where’s the team? I haven’t seen anything about a team.
“Bill Kristol jumped the shark on this one,” he added.
French or any other candidate entering the race at this late date would face significant hurdles to getting on the ballot.
Phillips estimates French would need two million signatures to get on the ballot in states where deadlines haven’t yet passed and at least $500 million “to even have a prayer of moving the needle” in the race.
He argued that conservative activists would be smarter to pressure the Republican Party to give the nomination to Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R), who finished in second place behind Trump, at the convention in Cleveland.
Hillyer, a member of the Conservatives Against Trump movement, however, said it’s “too early” to make a definitive judgment on French.
“I am wholeheartedly supportive of David French as a candidate. I do not know him other than by reputation. He is bronze star winner and a brilliant constitutional lawyer,” he said in an interview. “Obviously, he does not have a big national name. He will have to make a good first impression and we’ll see if he does.”
French teased his potential candidacy on Twitter Wednesday.
“All the normal political rules apply. The conventional wisdom has been right. An underdog can't win. Right?” he wrote.
Other conservatives are skeptical.
Conservative strategist Brian Darling, a former advisor to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.),
speculated that Kristol may be motivated to pull Republican votes away from Trump because he would prefer that likely Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton becomes president instead.
“I worry that Kristol’s strategy is to elect Hillary,” he said. “Hillary’s foreign policy is much closer to his foreign policy than Donald Trump’s foreign policy.”
Kristol, a leading neoconservative, did not respond to a request for comment left at his office.
Why doesn’t Kristol just run himself? And who does he think he is picking the “conservative” 3rd party candidate by himself anyway? Why doesn’t *he* have a convention?
When did he turn?
So true! I can only imagine his poor twitter feed!
A bunch of public attention whores start fight among themselves
He needs to come up with a governor, senator, congressman, or a well known commentator, pundit, or businessman.
Unknowns that haven’t held high office are non-starters.
I forgot to add that anybody he selects will still lose.
What if Kristol fell over the gorilla enclosure at the zoo?
LOL He looks like he’s wearing a clear plastic mask similar to the ones bank robbers wore in the 1960’s
Then we would let him become girlfriend of the silver back, Billy boy will be happy after forever.
A group of prominent conservative activists, including the writer and radio host Erick Erickson.
They sure couldn’t afford to shoot another gorilla. :)
Yes, Williams nailed it. I don’t know which is worse in this classic “good cop/bad cop” scenario, the feckless idiot Kristol of those “reasonable” forces arrayed against him and his “pick”.
I hear you, that’s a lot to stomach at one time.
No, you need to weigh the gorilla’s contributions to the earth vs Kristol’s and shoot the smarmy guy... He might try and take over in there.
I hear you, that’s a lot to stomach at one time.
FOUR inches through a HALF-inch sphincter. I had the misfortune to occupy the stall next to him in a public bathroom once.
WHO wrote that from truthbasedlogic.com???Absolutely brilliant. One of the shrewdest analyses I have ever read. And thANKS for posting!!!
What gets me about this is that in the beginning there were SIXTEEN alternatives to Trump, but they were all defeated or rejected. But this genius is acting like there was only one choice. Your folks didn’t win William. deal with it.
Maybe the Cuckservative Party can have its own set of primaries?
I hear you.
Erick Erickson “claims” to be a Christian. (cultural)
Kristol “claims” to be Jewish. (Khazar or cultural)
To both; pfffft!
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