Ricochet is the best place on the internet to discuss the issues of the day, either through commenting on posts or writing your own for our active and dynamic community in a fully moderated environment. In addition, the Ricochet Audio Network offers over 50 original podcasts with new episodes released every day.
Bill Kristol, the editor of The Weekly Standard, is interested in an alternative to Hillary-Trump – a third option on the ballot, preferably a conservative one, and definitely an honorable one. Jay is interested in the same thing. They discuss it in this half-hour – with a mixture of wonder, anxiety, and hope.
Support Our Sponsors!
The Great Courses Plus is offering our listeners a chance to stream hundreds of their courses, including The Conservative Tradition – a $320 value- for FREE – when you go to TheGreatCoursesPlus.com/QA
Get control of your inbox! Visit sanebox.com/ricochet today and they’ll throw in an extra $25 credit on top of the two-week free trial. You don’t have to enter your credit card information unless you decide to buy, so there’s really nothing to lose.
Subscribe to Q & A, Hosted by Jay Nordlinger in Apple Podcasts (and leave a 5-star review, please!), or by RSS feed. For all our podcasts in one place, subscribe to the Ricochet Audio Network Superfeed in Apple Podcasts or by RSS feed.
Trump 2016, Bill.
There are many of us open to an alternative.
I have disliked Trump for a very long time. His recent run for the presidency simply made my dislike and distrust of him deeper. I am very pleased to be on the same side as people who I have respected for a very long time. People like Jay Nordlinger, Mona Charen, Kevin Williamson, Charlie Cooke, Jonah Goldberg, and a whole host of others who believe that character does matter in the person running for president. I have lost a lot of respect for those who have not only dropped their previous resistance to Trump, but have gone so far as to be advocates for him. I do respect those who can hold their nose and vote for him, though. That is something that I personally can not do, but I do not hold it against them. The former group, those, like Chris Christie and Rick Perry, frankly, disgust me. They remind me of the collaborators in the Vichy government of France. Their choice, unlike the nose holders, isn’t pragmatic. It is self serving.
So, you few intellectually superior “conservatives” don’t approve of the voter’s choice and are desperately seeking someone who you think, in your brilliance, should be the candidate. You just don’t get it, and there isn’t even a point in arguing with you. But, don’t kid yourselves. You are in the super minority and don’t have even a remote chance of electing someone else. Trump was not my first choice either, but the more you try to take it away from him, the more you fuel the Trump defenders.
Condi’s name didn’t come up in this conversation. Assuming she’s been approached . . . ? Her answer is still nay, I suppose? She would be a formidable third option.
Okay, but if Trump is Hitler, what does that make Hillary Clinton?
I agree with Bill Kristol about the effect of this election on young future voters, especially young future Republicans.
I dread the Clinton-Trump debates, when they start hurling personal insults at each other.
I do wish Mr. Kristol good luck finding a decent 3rd party candidate who will run to represent those of us who wish to support an honorable, conservative candidate.
At this moment, I am firmly in Jay’s camp. I will not vote for Trump in the upcoming California primary. Cruz is the most attractive one still on the CA ballot, so I’ll vote for him.
Hoping for some kind of miracle at the convention, where Trump is deemed unfit for office and tossed out. I realize that’s not likely, so…
Come November, I MIGHT consider voting for Trump (since I hate/fear Hillary more), but only if I see some drastic walk-backs from his more looney proposals (deport 11 or 12 million illegals, ban all muslims, to name just 2) to much more rational levels, and if he has a sane and conservative VP and other cabinet positions clearly lined up.
I would like to see what 3rd party candidate Jay and Bill could suggest, though.
I would point out that roughly 2/3 of the voters have NOT been voting for Trump. His victories have been mostly because of that vote being diluted 16 ways.
Late in the podcast Bill Kristol bemoans “the erosion of the rule of law and constitutional norms,” of “our civic and political structures.”
Twelve million illegal aliens.
Sanctuary cities.
The H-1B visa and refugee resettlement scams.
The growth of the TSA.
The left-wing takeover of state-funded universities in states with Republican governors and legislatures.
The continuing abomination of affirmation action.
Yes, his preferred candidates sure upheld the rule of law and conserved civic structures.