National Review: #NeverTrump Third Party Run Ends in Next Clinton Presidency

In an article for National Review, Michael Taube outlines the pros and cons for a third party anti-Trump Republican ticket, ultimately concluding that such efforts would almost certainly lead to a Hillary Clinton presidency.

It’s becoming clearer that, barring any unforeseen mishaps or modern miracles, Donald Trump will have the most delegates at the Republican National Convention in Cleveland. While he may not reach the magic number (1,237 out of 2,472 delegates), he probably won’t be that far off.

In the event of this political nightmare coming to life, what will the anti-Trump Republicans do?

Supporters of the informal #NeverTrump movement have already made their intentions known. If Trump becomes the GOP presidential nominee, some have indicated they will vote for the likely Democratic presidential nominee, Hillary Clinton. Others are hedging their bets, hoping for a brokered convention that could lead to another nominee: Ted Cruz, John Kasich, or someone else, perhaps Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan.

There is another strategy afoot. Some prominent conservative thinkers, including The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, favor a high-profile “Independent Republican ticket” as a means of combating Trump’s candidacy.

[…]

I’m obviously not suggesting that Republicans must vote for Trump. It’s up to them to make this decision. They also have the freedom to stay home, spoil their ballots, or support a small, existing right-leaning outfit such as the Constitution party or the Libertarian party.

But when it comes to an Independent Republican ticket, as tempting a strategy as it might be, I believe that it would massively backfire. When the cons outweigh the pros, the best move is to make no move at all.

Finally, I believe this ticket would only smooth Clinton’s path to the White House. That’s not something any Republican, pro-Trump or anti-Trump, should ever want or desire. No matter how much they might be repulsed by the likely GOP presidential nominee, there are better options than voting for the donkey.

Read the rest here.