nj.com
By Christine Todd Whitman
July 13, 2016

I’ve heard the skeptics and they are right — third party efforts to win the presidency have never been particularly successful. The truth, however, is that they never will be if we give up before we start.

Earlier in the campaign season, I made it clear that I couldn’t endorse the candidate my party is supporting. I went so far as to say, unless another option emerged, I would be forced to vote for a write-in candidate or Hillary Clinton in the general election if my preferred candidate Gov. John Kasich didn’t clinch the nomination.

The recent announcement by the FBI that Hillary Clinton was “extremely careless” with classified information, however, calls into question her fitness for the presidency.

In addition to mishandling information important to our nation’s security, she has directly lied about her activities, demonstrating a troubling lack of candor and trustworthiness.

According to FactCheck.org:

Clinton repeatedly claimed that she did not send or receive any information that was marked classified in her personal emails. That’s false. FBI Director James Comey said more than 2,000 emails contained classified information and some of them “bore markings indicating the presence of classified information.”
Clinton said her lawyers “went through every single email” to determine which ones were personal and which were work-related, and that they were “overly inclusive” in which ones were provided to the State Department. Comey said the lawyers did not go through every email. Rather, they used header information and search terms to identify work-related emails, and, he said, it is “highly likely” they missed some.

Clinton has been less than truthful about her behavior — deception should never be tolerated, but it’s particularly concerning given that matters of national security were at stake.

When someone inside the political system is not punished for actions that would have resulted in sanctions for any ordinary civil servant, it gives rise to the likes of Donald Trump and others claiming that the system is rigged. The FBI’s assessment of Clinton’s negligence and subsequent lack of charges make Trump’s wild charges seem more mainstream and reasonable.

The problem with Hillary Clinton’s deceptions and Donald Trump’s disregard for the truth or the Constitution is that it leaves the American voter with unacceptable choices.

Don’t the American people deserve better than an untrustworthy presidential candidate and a hate-mongering one?

That’s why I am supporting Better for America (BFA), which is actively working to build a pathway for a credible candidate to launch an independent run for president by establishing a ballot line in all viable states and engaging a variety of legal paths to gain ballot access in those states whose deadlines pass.

A candidate who gets on all ballots between now and Aug. 1 has the ability to compete for over 500 Electoral College votes, providing a realistic chance for an independent alternative.

This year more than ever before, Americans who care about the future of our great country should support an effort that would give us another alternative. A nation with the talent and expertise of ours deserves better than two sub-standard candidates for president — join me in supporting a third way through Better for America.

Christine Todd Whitman, a Republican, was the governor of New Jersey from 1994 to 2001 and administrator of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency from 2001 to 2003.