Reports: Anti-Trump Republican Evan McMullin to launch independent bid for presidency

[workinclasszero]

Reports: Anti-Trump Republican Evan McMullin to launch independent bid for presidency
By LOUIS NELSON 08/08/16 08:52 AM EDT

Evan McMullin, the chief policy director for Republicans in the U.S. House of Representatives, will offer discontented members of his party an option this November by launching an independent, conservative bid for president.

http://www.politico.com/story/2016/08/evan-mcmullin-2016-presidential-run-226784

[global1]

1. Is This An Effort To Throw The Presidential Decision Into The House?....

Is that the plan? What? He's ex-CIA? Hmmm....

[workinclasszero]

2. Maybe its a last ditch effort to stop a Putin puppet

from gaining the white house?

[Skidmore]

4. My diehard Libertarian nephew

has cherished that plan for a while as a means to get the Libertarian ticket chosen by a Republican led House.

I am so sick of this neverending election cycle.

[whatthehey]

5. I truly don't get this fear

Now I understand the mechanics just fine but what I don't get is how anyone imagines that a split Republican vote will get MORE EVs rather than less. Clinton's support from Republicans is not unusually large enough for its loss to flip any blue states, but almost every pale red state if you split the R vote between Chamber and Tea Party will flip blue. So if AZ would have been 52/48 R with Trump alone, if you add in this establishment splitter it becomes, say, 35/17/48 instead. At the best, maybe a couple states like UT goes Milquetoast R instead of Nutcase R, but who cares unless they take an otherwise D state, which with a split vote becomes far less likely.

Giving the Republicans two alternatives simply cannot increase their EV total, and will certainly reduce it in close states as split votes leave Clinton with a plurality win.

[sofa king]

11. Maybe?

I was pretty sure that was what they were aiming for earlier in the year, with the object of taking states away from Mrs. Clinton. But at this point no third party is going to act as anything but a "spoiler" who would take votes away from the next-closest candidate, politically.

It's a practical impossibility at this point for any also-ran to take any electoral votes away from the two major parties in the general election.

However, if it's a very close-run thing, an elector could choose to piss away an electoral vote on a spoiler candidate, this guy for example, to toss a Trump victory into the House. Any Trump victory would be a close-run thing, indeed.

In that unusual case I suppose a "real fake Republican" candidate could wind up spiking Trump, but it would be totally up to some individual electors. And, it would probably start a Second Civil War.

[MineralMan]

3. Well, I wish him every success in defeating the Orange-Haired Mole Rat.

Indeed I do.

[wcast]

6. To me it is an effort to drive more Republicans to the polls.

Everything we have heard the last week or so is the fear that Trump will be a drag down ballot. By giving those Republicans that may sit out the election someone to vote for, they will, in all probability, vote for the other Republicans running down ballot.

Republicans don't dislike Trump for his beliefs or platform, they dislike him because they fear Democrats will win and take back Congress. All the other noise about Trump not reflecting true Republican values is just that, noise.

[matt819]

7. Like so much on the right

This has an odor.

This guy is 40 years old and described as a former CIA operative, which can mean anything, and that he is the chief policy director for the Republicans in the House.

Sorry, folks, but this is essentially meaningless. First of all, at 40 years old he probably didn't have much experience at the CIA. With an 11-year career, is experience would have been at junior and mid-level. (As a former intelligence officer, I can tell you that that's a reasonable assumption. Even people I worked with who eventually attained extremely senior rank were, at 40, mid-level officers - a little management, definitely no leadership or policy involvement.)

As as a policy director of some kind, he was essentially a staffer. Maybe a staffer in a visible (to the Republican House members) position, but a staffer nonetheless.

He is no more qualified to run for, or be, president than Trump is, or than Rubio or Cruz or Carson, et al.

Also, Clinton's TV ad buys in the pipeline have been reported at more than $90 million. And that doesn't factor in a 50-state campaign, staff, volunteers, and more. Even Trump has struggled to raise money, and he is one of the most visible Americans in recent history. Unless he has a multi-billionaire backing him, there's no way that this run is possible.

So, what gives?

Is he a spoiler of some kind?

How does a person like this split off the vote - and from whom?

And why?

[sellitman]

8. When Trump quits this guy will be their standard bearer

That's OK with me. He will lose to Hilary too.

[workinclasszero]

9. Whoa!

Maybe that's the scam!

The PTB in the thug party could be setting this guy up to take Trumps place when he quits the race!!!

It makes sense because they hate the second place loser Cruz too.

You might have hit on something here!

[liberalnarb]

10. He's a little late to the party ain't he?

[Blue Idaho]

12. Yay!!! Another Mormon runs for the Presidency!

I hope Brother Romney shares some of his crib notes with Elder McMullin.

[st17011864200074656]

13. He'd better get crackin.

Time is not on his side, but I'm pretty sure it's already passed him by.

https://ballotpedia.org/Ballot_access_for_presidential_candidates#Requirements_for_independents

[Granny M]

14. If he was serious,

you'd think he would have been working on this before missing the filing dates of about 20 states. Have to wonder what's up with this.

[st17011864200074656]

16. The very-very-absolutely-very last gasp of #NeverTrump???

the mind boggles

[Granny M]

17. I guess it's a last gasp at getting more repubs out to vote for the down-ticket.

Welcome to DU!

[catbyte]

15. Meh, where was he 15 months ago?