On Mar. 17th, 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. 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.
- Bob Fischer, a South Dakota businessman and longtime Conservative convener. 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.
- Erick Erickson, the outspoken Trump opponent and Conservative activist who founded RedState.com. 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.”
The source said the consensus was around preventing Trump from reaching 1,237 delegates, and then stopping him at the convention. 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, 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.
A 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.
With wins 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.
NYC Wins When Everyone Can Vote! Michael H. Drucker
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