In the aftermath of Donald Trump's stunning presumptive Republican 2016 presidential nomination,

a small group of never-Trump advocates have been pressing forward with an attempt to recruit

somebody to run as a third-party candidate. According to the Washington Post, Republicans

including Bill Crystal, Eric Erickson, Mike Murphy, Stuart Stevens, and Rick Wilson have been

throwing out names. Some of those names,

Senator Ben Sass from Nebraska, Ohio Governor John Kasich, retired General James Mattis,

and even ridiculously another reality TV billionaire Mark Cuban. A viable third-party candidate

could achieve a couple of things for conservatives who don't like Trump. One, it could

consolidate support outside the Trump

movement, providing the core for rebuilding movement after Trump goes down. Second, it could theoretically

throw a few key states to the third party candidate stopping both Hillary and Trump from winning

the requisite number of electors to gain the White House. You need 270. If you don't get 270,

it goes to the House of Representatives. And if it goes to the House of Representatives, throws the process into the

House of Representatives, then presumably somebody else becomes president. So here's the case against

doing any of this. Five reasons not to run a third party candidate. One, not going to work. In 1992,

Rossboro won 18.9 percent of the popular vote. He won

Zippo, zero electoral votes. In 1980, John Anderson, won 6.6% of the popular vote. Zero electoral votes.

In 1968, George Wallace, racist, won 13.5% of the electoral vote, and he won 46 electoral votes all in the deep south.

The chances of a third-party candidate doing significant enough damage in key swing states to take away electoral votes really slim or none.

Second reason, it appears desperate. It's unlikely to work, so it seems like a Hail Mary to find somebody who can stop Trump and Hillary.

If it fails, that minimizes the level of opposition to both the candidates.

Never Trump isn't desperate. We know Trump is a disaster for the GOP and the country.

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