Any vote that Green Party nominee Jill Stein gets in this year’s presidential election will likely come straight from the pocket of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton. A larger-than-expected vote total for Stein in any given swing state could tip it to GOP nominee Donald Trump. On top of that, anyone who would consider voting for Stein would probably never vote for a Republican in a million years. That should make Stein a valuable asset to Trump and the Republicans. I believe they should take on a strategy of propping her up. Under federal campaign laws, it would probably be illegal for Trump to funnel any of his campaign cash to Stein’s campaign. Besides, she probably wouldn’t accept anything from Trump anyway.
However, there is a legal way to help Stein out – and it’s one that she cannot refuse. Anyone who wants Trump to win could form a political action committee (PAC) and spend the money on ads touting Stein’s candidacy. As a result of the Citizens United ruling by the Supreme Court, the government cannot restrict the political expenditures of PACs. In other words, PACs can raise and spend as much money as they want, benefiting any candidate or cause they want. The only catch is that they can’t give money to any candidate or be in contact with any candidate about how to conduct their business and/or how to raise and spend their money. They must operate completely independently of any political candidate. Therefore, in addition to supporting Trump, wealthy individuals who favor him should also be spending a portion of their PAC funds advocating for Stein. That would seem to be a well-rounded strategy.
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