We must build an army to destroy the enemy within. The Never Trumper strategy is proven. Ross Perot did it to George Bush (senior) and we, the people, were punished with the criminal Clinton gang for the next 30 years.

Halperin book: Never Trumpers plot with Democrats to doom Trump 2020 reelection

by Paul Bedari | Washington Examiner, October 29, 2019 04:29 AM

Never Trump Republicans are secretly plotting with Democrats to foist a moderate Republican onto the 2020 ticket as an independent with hopes the third-party candidate would pull enough votes away from President Trump to guarantee the election to the Democratic nominee, according to a new book by political journalist Mark Halperin.

In How to Beat Trump: America’s Top Political Strategists on What it Will Take, Halperin revealed an “audacious scheme” to put a key Republican, such as Utah Sen. Mitt Romney, on the ballot.

The “moonshot project,” which would begin next spring, would have a goal of pulling at least 3 points away from Trump’s reelection, enough to rob him of reelection in a close election.

“Given the broad support the president has from the GOP, the candidates and their allies would have to be prepared to take tremendous heat from their own tribe. Still, if the election is as close as expected, a talented and committed challenger could pull enough votes in a battleground state to make it impossible for the incumbent to win, especially if the Democrats deftly manage the Green Party,” wrote Halperin in the book, a copy of which was provided to Secrets in advance of today’s release.

He listed several names in the mix besides Romney, who has been in a tiff with Trump. They include Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson, and former Rep. David Jolly of Florida.

“Each candidate would offer a record of public or elective service, a sterling reputation, access to campaign funds through personal wealth or strong relationships with donors, high name identification, and an unambiguous message: I am doing this to defeat Donald Trump and save the future of the Republican Party. Alternately, a single candidate with a national reputation, rather than a series of state-by-state challengers, might make a bid. If Ridge or Thompson, or perhaps Mitt Romney or Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker, got ballot access and ran on the same message in a handful of states, they could potentially deny Trump reelection even if they won just 3% of the vote,” wrote Halperin.

It would be really great if the people within the Trump Administration, all well-meaning and good (I hope!), could stop hiring Never Trumpers, who are worse than the Do Nothing Democrats. Nothing good will ever come from them! — Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) October 23, 2019

He told Secrets it is a real threat to Republicans and Trump. “It is indeed very scary to them. And it would take next to nothing to pull off. It checkmates them,” he said.

Trump has recently been on the warpath against Never Trump Republicans.

Over 75 Democrat and Republican political experts, campaign officials, and those elected to office talked to him for the book, which charts a month-to-month blueprint for what a Democratic candidate would have to do to beat Trump in 2020. They conclude that it won’t be easy.

The book has raised eyebrows because Halperin was accused of sexual misconduct while a newsman.

In October 2017, he was accused by several women of sexual harassment when he was ABC political director in the 2000s. He subsequently apologized saying, “I’d like to take the opportunity to again apologize to the women that I mistreated, who told their stories, and who were hurt by me. I wasn’t a perfect person when I made these mistakes. I’m not a perfect person now. I’m happy to be judged by perfect people.”

I just published If You’re Attacking Me, You’re Missing The Point: Judith Regan Defends Publishing Mark Halperin… https://t.co/4PvWwmoknk @OliverDarcy — Judith Regan (@JudithRegan) October 25, 2019

He lost TV analyst posts and an HBO project based on Game Change, his best-selling book on the 2008 presidential election, after the charges came forward as part of the #MeToo movement that took down several media figures.

His publisher Regan Arts was blasted for giving Halperin a venue, and several of those who talked to him for the book distanced themselves from the author. But Judith Regan, the publisher, said in a post on Medium, “The response to Mark and the publication of his book should not be a demand that he be banned from the public square. Instead, apart from the merits of his reporting and writing, Mark’s book and his reemergence should be part of a real conversation about wrongdoing, atonement, and that beautiful, powerful, transcendent human gift: forgiveness.”

The book is expected to get wide circulation because Halperin is considered politically savvy. He also writes a widely followed daily email newsletter, called Wild World of News, that has been providing excerpts of the book.

Of the plot to take Trump down with an independent, Halperin said that the plan could come from a Never Trump conference or antsy Democrats.

“The strategists say that this gambit might hatch independently after a lively Never Trump confab, but they also note that the Democrats actively can spur such a plan by working with intermediaries and broaching a series of policy and personnel deals to lure prospects into the fray,” he wrote.