Americans have been waiting nearly four years for a group of Republicans to stand up to Donald Trump, acknowledge that his actions are wrong and fight to restore sanity to our democracy.
It looks like we finally have our heroes.
What started as a small rebellion by a rogue group of Never-Trumpers has suddenly electrified the nation with a steady stream of hard-hitting YouTube videos and television ads. Whenever Trump says or does something corrupt that flies in the face of our society’s ethics, laws or values -- which is quite frequently these days -- the Lincoln Project is there to highlight it, usually within 24 hours. And the public has taken notice.
The Lincoln Project has raised $18.7 million this year, according to a report in Forbes that cited filings with the Federal Election Commission.
The group hasn’t just attacked Trump. It is going after everyone affiliated with him and everyone who has kowtowed to him.
The Lincoln Project has unleashed an onslaught of videos targeting Republican senators Martha McSally (Ariz.), Susan Collins (Maine), Mitch McConnell (Ky.), Cory Gardner (Colo.), Joni Ernst (Iowa) and Thom Tillis (N.C.), all of whom face tough challenges in November. It has also released an ad in support of Steve Bullock, who is in a neck-and-neck race against Republican Senator Steve Daines (Mont.).
The group has taken shots at Fox News, recently-demoted Trump campaign manager Brad Parscale and first-daughter Ivanka Trump, whose tone-deaf “Find Something New” jobs campaign could have come straight out of late 18th-century France.
The barrage of videos, and the publicity they have generated, has allowed Democratic candidate Joe Biden to keep a low profile and stay above the fray. The Lincoln Project is doing all the dirty work, and Biden has kept his hands clean.
The Lincoln Project is a political action committee comprised exclusively of Republican and former-Republican strategists, attorneys and consultants. The most famous among their ranks include George Conway, husband of Trump senior advisor Kellyanne Conway, and frequent MSNBC contributor Steve Schmidt.
The organization’s goal, aside from defeating Trump, is to elect people who will stand for the Constitution and oust anyone who has failed to do so under the current regime. That pretty much covers all Republicans currently in Congress except Mitt Romney (Utah) and perhaps Lisa Murkowski (Alaska).
The Lincoln Project’s homepage makes clear its members have significant policy differences with the Democrats they are championing. However: “electing Democrats who support the Constitution over Republicans who do not is a worthy effort,” the homepage declares.
In other words: Country over Party.
It has been more than six months since the group posted its first video to YouTube. As of July 27, the Lincoln Project has produced 74 ads that have generated about 73 million views online. The group has also run television advertising in several markets, including in Washington, D.C., just to get under Trump’s skin.
If the current polls and media reports of Trump’s temper-tantrums inside the White House are to be believed, their plan appears to be working.