title:  Bill Kristol: Independent Candidate Will Announce Candidacy Against Trump
text: As Republicans unite around GOP candidate Donald Trump, all hope seems to be lost for the  Never Trump  camp.But Republican strategist, commentator and neoconservative Bill Kristol may have just revived the  Never Trump  camp with one tweet:Just a heads up over this holiday weekend: There will be an independent candidate an impressive one, with a strong team and a real chance.  Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) May 29, 2016Although Kristol has in no way hinted at who that candidate may be, one can assume it could be from a shortlist of conservatives who have been openly hostile to Trump: Senator Ben Sasse of Nebraska, former presidential candidate Mitt Romney, Governor of New Mexico Susana Martinez, or perhaps Kristol himself.Should a conservative  Independent  run against Donald Trump, such a move would all but ensure a Clinton victory. A split GOP would pave the way for not only a Democratic takeover of the White House, but the GOP would suffer badly in their vulnerable Senate elections, and Democrats could very well take back the House.Simply put, Republicans putting in a third party candidate would be the revolution Sanders and Trump have been talking about all along, and neither would benefit much from it.It s amazing that Republicans haven t learned their lesson from the last two elections   that a last minute effort to add pizzazz to an election never bodes well for their end game. They learned that when McCain tried to pander to women with Sarah Palin in 2008, and they learned that in 2012 when they tried to entice business Republicans with Mitt Romney.Perhaps this third party candidate, aside from Gary Johnson of the Libertarian Party, could have a real representation by the electorate, sending a strong message to the GOP that their flirtation with right-wing extremism needs to come to an end once and for all.Maybe that was the GOP s end game after all   put the final nail into the coffin that is extremism and start anew, because with America s growing diversity, they won t last long cow towing to the crazies.Featured image via George Frey/Getty Images