The Third Candidate

By Pelumi Olatinpo, May 31, 2016

By sheer force of personality and defiance, Donald J. Trump has bent the iron of the Grand Ole Party to his will. Alas, it wasn’t too long ago that visions of a contested convention (a feverishly hoped result of Trump not having the needed delegate count) stood as the saving grace between the TV-reality star and the iron throne. Now the party nominee, and like a grim reaper collecting jars of hearts, a party dazed and confused cowers at the feet of Trump and pleads for its heart.

It is therefore no wonder that though Hillary Clinton has one of the worst unfavorable ratings of any presidential candidate in recent memory, the GOP has suffered massively within its ranks to raise up a citizen that would run against her and an even more unfavorably-rated Trump.

The common talking points have been that any such endeavor is bound to fail because it’s too late in the hour; such a candidate would be marred for life and kills his or her prospects for any future national office; it is an affront to the will of Republican primary voters who have selected Trump; and on and on it goes.

Yet, throughout the course of our vaunted republic, we have greatly valued strength through courage. Whether it be George Washington or Dwight D. Eisenhower, we have always rewarded men who placed service to country above all else. Men and women who too often came close to paying the price of utmost devotion and, sadly, sometimes did. It is this knowledge, this understanding that has repeatedly framed our thinking that only the steadiest pair of hands can best man the ship of state.

And should Donald Trump become the president of these United States, in one fell swoop we would have gone against this treasured compass.

For while Lady Liberty begs nations of the earth to send her their tired, their poor, and their huddled masses yearning to breathe free, Trump assures us of a beautifully tall wall that will keep these very same out. And while Kennedy may have challenged us to ask what we can do for our country, Trump reminds us that he considers no war hero that American soldier who becomes a prisoner-of-war in the defense of his country. Trump unapologetically appeals to the rawest and most vicious of our emotions—those unprocessed, visceral and oftentimes brutish aspects of our existence. To so set citizen against citizen, and promise to pay the legal fees thereof.

Populism and justness are not one and the same. In building Nazi Germany, Hitler rode and appealed to similar vitriolic and populistic forces that enabled him to lead his nation down the path of hell. He had the support of millions of Germans who thought he was the great liberator and promoter of the underserved and unfortunate white male. There is no denying the justness of the anger of Trump supporters, but Trump as a vehicle for this anger is destructive populism.

This is a key reason the nation urgently needs the third candidate. With both major national parties several weeks away from officially declaring their nominees, it is not too late for a strong independent candidate to throw his or her hat in the ring. Several GOP donors have already expressed their plans to not support Mr. Trump and as such could easily be cajoled into supporting an inspirational candidate.

It will undoubtedly be a feisty and grueling engagement. Success is not guaranteed—but when has the absence of a guarantee stopped us from doing that which must be done? It did not stop a rag-tag group of colonies, propelled by conscience, from defying the English Crown and demanding to chart the course of theirs and their children’s posterity.

Many Americans anxiously await the opportunity to vote their conscience this November. A strong centric candidate that appeals to the virtues of our nature will go a long way to afford this opportunity.

It is a battle for God and country … and dear candidate, wherever you are, a nation earnestly awaits your rise.

 

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