Trump ressurects talk of third-party run

[Crumpets]

Could it be so?

http://www.cnn.com/2015/12/08/politics/donald-trump-independent-election-2016/index.html

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[Frodo]

Donald Trump is the George Wallace of our era, the more so if he runs as a third party candidate.

[Lief 🗽]

Good, good. He needs to keep the pressure on the party establishment.

[temmie b. <3]

Donald Trump running as an Independent would be the best case scenario for Clinton and/or Sanders.

[Pandaguineapig]

If he wanted to run 3rd party he would have to decide almost immediately due to ballot deadlines/ sore-loser laws

[Likely Voter]

Not sure Trump has done the math. If you multiply the number that would support his 3rd party bid times his total support times GOP primary voters you end up with maybe 5%. Sure that's enough to hand the election to Hillary but it's not exactly something Trump should be trumpeting, except as a threat perhaps

[Ljube]

Good, good. He needs to keep the pressure on the party establishment.

[Atlas Has Shrugged]

I have a hard time seeing him getting ballot access if he stays as a Republican. He'll have to drop out midway through to get such a campaign organized.

[MK]

Everytime Trump mentions "3rd party" the GOP starts being nice to him again just watch the next 48 hr news cycle. 


I will agree that Trump shouldn't say things that give is opponents openings to attack(if i were his advisory),but then again if he acted like the typical politician he lose his appeal.   Its the reason why somebody like Cruz cant be in the same spot as him.

[TJ in Oregon]

Trump is holding the GOP as hostage. Unfortunately we can't send the SWAT team after him. These are the moments when I am strongly tempted to opt for mutually assured destruction, but then again that might be what Trump wants.

The GOP needs Trump to get enough votes that he can't drop out and go third party in time but not enough to win. We have the thread the needle carefully.

[tmthforu94]

Trump is holding the GOP as hostage. Unfortunately we can't send the SWAT team after him. These are the moments when I am strongly tempted to opt for mutually assured destruction, but then again that might be what Trump wants.

The GOP needs Trump to get enough votes that he can't drop out and go third party in time but not enough to win. We have the thread the needle carefully.

At this point, I think the only option is to go all-out on him and hope he doesn't run third party. I think it would hurt the party in the long run if we allow Trump to be our nominee, even if it means allowing Hillary to be president for four years. If he runs third party, he shows his true colors by handing the presidency to Clinton.

[TJ in Oregon]

Trump is holding the GOP as hostage. Unfortunately we can't send the SWAT team after him. These are the moments when I am strongly tempted to opt for mutually assured destruction, but then again that might be what Trump wants.

The GOP needs Trump to get enough votes that he can't drop out and go third party in time but not enough to win. We have the thread the needle carefully.

At this point, I think the only option is to go all-out on him and hope he doesn't run third party. I think it would hurt the party in the long run if we allow Trump to be our nominee, even if it means allowing Hillary to be president for four years. If he runs third party, he shows his true colors by handing the presidency to Clinton.

I don't think we need to go all out against him to stop him from being the nominee though. I still don't think he can actually win the Iowa caucuses and once someone else does that person will get a bump. Trump's leading but he's still only polling ~25%. Going nuclear will only feed the beast I fear.

[True Federalist (진정한 연방 주의자)]

If he wanted to run 3rd party he would have to decide almost immediately due to ballot deadlines/ sore-loser laws

Has the constitutionality of sore loser laws ever been tested?  Asking for a friend who thinks his free speech might be infringed.

Yes.  We have them in South Carolina.  We also allow for electoral fusion.  A few elections ago, a minor party nominated someone who was running in the Democratic primary and then lost the primary.  That party (I forget which one it was) did not get to run that candidate as their own because they lost their lawsuit.  Incidentally that is why despite South Carolina laws allowing fusion, major party candidates never seek out additional ballot lines.  If they see another party's nomination and lose it, they'd be kicked off the ballot as the sore loser law doesn't distinguish between major or minor parties.

[SteveRogers]

If he wanted to run 3rd party he would have to decide almost immediately due to ballot deadlines/ sore-loser laws

Has the constitutionality of sore loser laws ever been tested?  Asking for a friend who thinks his free speech might be infringed.

I'm actually writing a paper on this right now. The answer is "kinda sort of." While the Supreme Court has never ruled on an explicit sore loser law, in 1974 the Court in Storer v. Brown upheld a party disaffiliation law that functionally accomplished the same thing (candidates had to remain unaffiliated with any political party for a year in order to run as an independent). Several lower courts have upheld sore loser laws, and the Supreme Court has now on numerous occasions recognized a state interest in preventing "party splintering" and "excessive factionalism" on the general election ballot. And in Timmons v. Twin Cities Area New Party, the Supreme Court basically scoffed at the idea that a law limiting the universe of candidates a minor party can nominate imposed a severe burden on the minor party's first amendment rights. So I'd say sore loser laws would almost certainly be upheld under the current Court.

Edit: Oh, and more recently a federal district judge in Michigan upheld the state's sore loser law that kept Gary Johnson off the ballot there.

[Mr.Bakari-Sellers]

Trump support grew because party establishment supported Jeb instead of Rubio
 Now, regardless if he runs third party, Trump may very well cost the R's the election.

[wolfsblood07]

This is not good.  All along there have been folks who thought Trump is in cahoots with the Clintons.

[publicunofficial]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

[Pandaguineapig]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

[JonathanSwift]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

So says the illiterate moron who doesn't even know how to punctuate a sentence.

[Pandaguineapig]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

So says the illiterate moron who doesn't even know how to punctuate a sentence.

Lol, let trumpy do your thinking for you, loser

[JonathanSwift]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

So says the illiterate moron who doesn't even know how to punctuate a sentence.

Lol, let trumpy do your thinking for you, loser

Thank you for confirming your inability to use proper English punctuation.

[Pandaguineapig]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

So says the illiterate moron who doesn't even know how to punctuate a sentence.

Lol, let trumpy do your thinking for you, loser

Thank you for confirming your inability to use proper English punctuation.

I take it you, as a Trump supporter, dropped out of high school?

[JonathanSwift]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

So says the illiterate moron who doesn't even know how to punctuate a sentence.

Lol, let trumpy do your thinking for you, loser

Thank you for confirming your inability to use proper English punctuation.

I take it you, as a Trump supporter, dropped out of high school?

No, I did not. I take it you never went to high school?

[Pandaguineapig]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

So says the illiterate moron who doesn't even know how to punctuate a sentence.

Lol, let trumpy do your thinking for you, loser

Thank you for confirming your inability to use proper English punctuation.

I take it you, as a Trump supporter, dropped out of high school?

No, I did not. I take it you never went to high school?

Just asking because most trump supporters dropped out on account of a baby they have with a blood relative

[JonathanSwift]

Trump might not even need ballot access. With his profile, name-rec, and media attention, he could easily wage a damaging write-in campaign.

Not really because his supporters have problems with spelling

So says the illiterate moron who doesn't even know how to punctuate a sentence.

Lol, let trumpy do your thinking for you, loser

Thank you for confirming your inability to use proper English punctuation.

I take it you, as a Trump supporter, dropped out of high school?

No, I did not. I take it you never went to high school?

Just asking because most trump supporters dropped out on account of a baby they have with a blood relative

Well, I'm glad to know that your parents will be supporting The Donald, but they are hardly representative.