Several groups of Never Trumpers have created a media campaign that has gotten under Trump’s skin. He responds to them on Twitter, enlarging their audience. They don’t have loads of money, but they understand very well his egotism, narcissism, and vanity, and they hit their target time and again.
One recent ad from The Lincoln Project is a “Breaking News” headline in which the White House Press Secretary declares that “The president can read.”
VoteVets.org has posted blistering videos about Trump’s cowardice and betrayals.
Ads from Republican Voters Against Trump are testimonials from ordinary people who say why they would vote for anyone or anything rather than Trump. Even a can of tuna fish. And then there is Trump’s “Death Chart,” which he considers a victory.
This ad “Walk of Courage” was just released.
One of the most prominent members of the group is George Conway III, who is married to the president’s senior advisor Kellyanne Conway. Others were advisors to George W. Bush, Mitt Romney, and John McCain who despised what Trump was doing to the Republican Party, turning it into the party of racism and reaction and Trump-First.
They aim their videos at key swing states, hoping to peel away independents and like-minded Republicans who don’t want to support Trump’s brand of stupidity. Their videos react quickly to events, and they pull no punches. They target not only Trump but Republican Senators who protect Trump. They advertise in the D.C. market on Fox News, to be sure that Trump sees their ads.
The group has particularly targeted Washington and swing states like Wisconsin, Michigan, North Carolina and Pennsylvania. It has also spent hundreds of thousands against Republican Senate candidates in states like Arizona, Iowa and Montana.
Read Ken Bernstein’s piece at the Daily Kos and watch the Lincoln Project’s brilliant, hard-hitting video ad about the Republican Senators running for office this November who protected Trump. Learn. Their. Names.
And here Ken Bernstein posts The Lincoln Project’s tribute to John Lewis. Brilliant.
And here Ken B. posts The Lincoln Project’s warning about what’s happening in Portland, Oregon.
Diane Ravitch's blog 
It is essential that we flip the Senate this time around as well. The only way we have a chance of reversing our Titanic is to control bothe the Legislative and Executive Branches, The Lincoln Project has been putting that message out there as well.
You’re going to lose and big. There is no significant constituency for this hard left authoritarian turn.
“hard left”. BWAHAHAHAHAHA! Thanks for the laugh.
LOL. That’s hilarious. Biden and Amyu McGrath are “hard left.” Haaaaaaaa!!!! Tell us another one.
an “authoritarian turn”
Are you referring to mobilizing an unidentified secret police nationwide to cities with mayors in the opposition party, as Stalin did with Beria and the NKVD to control dissent? Here we are, with our secret police, in “the land of the free.”
I am going to lose big? Really? Hard left authoritarian turn? I guess you haven’t yet realized how much you have lost already. How much we all have lost already. Military invading our cities is the worst authoritarian turn we have ever experienced.
I suggest you look at your present day position before you do anymore predictions.
“Authoritarian left turn” is an especially big laugh in context of Rep presidency, Republican Senate, & 5-4 conservative majority on SCOTUS thanks to 2 rw members appointed by Rep prez & confirmed by Rep Senate… not to mention centrist SCOTUS nominee proposed by Dem pres & blocked from confirmation vote by Rep House/ Senate.
Until I see polls and testimonials that prove otherwise–and I sincerely hope they do–I am not convinced that these ads, however good they might be, will change a single person’s mind. Those inclined to be in or near the cult will ignore them, cite them as more examples of the “deep state” doing its evil. Those inclined to agree with them have already made up their minds. I would rather see the money and investment of time spent on getting out the vote (organizing transportation networks with PPE and food and drink), preparing to counter the myriad of voter suppression efforts that we know will come, and developing contingency plans when, should Biden/whoever win, the Idiot’s reactionary forces–which will be made up of certain military, vigilante and police forces, are unleashed on Americans, especially in the vicinity of the White House on the night of election day. This is a real fight that requires on-the-ground strategy and tactics, not a media event coffee klatsch. Are the people who love and pay for these ads willing to be boots on the ground on election day to make sure everyone who is eligible gets out to vote?
To paraphrase Mao’s dictum, An election is not a dinner party, or writing an essay, or painting a picture, or doing embroidery; it cannot be so refined, so leisurely and and media driven. An election is a process by which one a repressed, ignored element of society can work to no longer be taken for granted; to overthrow a criminal, reactionary ideology, something that has no place in a democratic republic. If the latter wins, there will be no democratic republic left, only the memories of some ads that made us feel good for a short while.
I am loathe to disagree with you about anything, Greg, you who are so thoughtful. But I do think that they are having an effect, Greg, and mostly because they use Trump’s own words against him, which his hard even for Trumpanzees to ignore. We’ve seen dramatic shifts, of late, among independents–very important–and I suspect that these ads are part of the reason for that.
Agree with you about the get out the vote effort. This is KEY.
As I wrote, I hope I am wrong and I hope you and others will soon be able to cite polls and tangible stories that they have changed minds. I really do want to be judged as completely wrong and hyperbolic about this after election day. Just haven’t seen any evidence yet. And this is the best thing I’ve seen this year, another reason why boots-on-the-ground engagement and commitment is more important now since WWII (those Louisianans, I keep casting them off and they keep pulling me back):
https://crooksandliars.com/2020/07/russel-honor-reacts-trumps-storm-troopers
I just read that the Biden campaign has fielded 600 lawyers around the country to monitor election practices and to mount challenges where need be. Here, a frightening piece about the recent Georgia election debacle: https://theconversation.com/georgias-election-disaster-shows-how-bad-voting-in-2020-can-be-141678
I agree. We will need many, many “boots on the ground” to assist people to get to polling places (along with the much needed PPE) as any mail in ballots will be seen by “you know who” as so much a case of fraudulent voting.
Greg is spot on that voter registration and turnout are key. Unsurprisingly, red states have passed laws that make registration difficult. For example, Georgia requires that information on a voter registration be an “exact match” for information about the person already held by the state. Tennessee passed a law that levies heavy penalties on voter registration groups that submit incomplete registration forms. Many states have purged voter rolls on various pretexts. While some states have same-day voter registration or registration at polling sites, many have requirements that people be registered 30 days or so (the exact number varies) before the election.
Not trying to beat a dead horse (I guess I am), but have’t the Trumpanzees ignored everything for the past four years, the same words that are in all these ads? And now they’re going to change their minds? Ignore them. Get out the vote. Period. Nothing else matters anymore.
Agree about getting out the vote. Also about the Trumpanzees. But independents are being swayed, I think. I sure would like to see a lot of white suburban women switch their vote.
To be fair, not all red states have done this. Utah has actually made it easier to vote–including all mail-in voting and same-day voter registration. They have also forbade straight-ticket voting, which has been a huge problem in Utah. That’s not to say that voting in Utah is perfect, but turnout has been much higher since then.
I love the ads. They are run on FOX and in markets with lots of Republicans.
Why disparage them?
The ads also run on Trump’s favorite show “FOX and Friends.”
I can’t stomach “Fox and Friends” for more than the 30 seconds or so it takes to flip through that channel. It actually causes physical pain to listen to those idiots.
I don’t disparage the ads (although I admit to disparaging the people behind them). As I outline above, I think there are better, more useful expenditures to be made, most importantly in voter turnout. And since the ads are running on Fox, isn’t it ironic that the network is making money off them while not changing one mind? If you see any evidence of changing minds, please post!
Tears watching the John Lewis ad. More humans like him, please!
This is hopeful. We need the Republicans who feel this way. It one of the reasons we feel the way we do. Worried about kids and grandchildren, scary virus, so much division but most of all devastating lack of leadership!
Kathleen Collins ktacollins@gmail.com 917 747-5438
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Agree. It is uplifting just to see Reps who are not Trump-dittoheads raising their voices, showing they’re not afraid of reprisals, & inviting others to join them. One of the most discouraging things to view since 2016 has been the craven self-abnegation of once-centrist Rep office-holders as they knuckled under to positions they never held pre-Trump. I don’t really care about the cultish Trumpista voters, they’re a lost cause, & no more than 30% of 2016’s voters. A good %age of them, sans a Trump ticket don’t vote anyway & will be gone once he is. These Never-Trumpers are reminding politicians & voters alike that the Rep party has room for others under the umbrella: you don’t have to profess libertarianism, evango-fundamentalism or TeaPartyism to be a Republican.
Someone has kidnapped and bodysnatched Diane Ravitch. Sad.
Exhibit A right here, Bob.
Hmmm. “A hit, a very palpable hit.”
If someone wanted to kidnap/bodysnatch Diane Ravitch, he or she had better bring an army (or perhaps Trump’s Gestapo). “Though she be but little she is fierce,” as Shakespeare said. Not someone who suffers fools gladly. For example, she was fierce enough and of sufficient independent and analytical intelligence not to be just another mindless, knee-jerk member of an extreme ideological cult such as the Republican Party has become in the age of Don the Con.
Diane Ravitch won’t be part of the Trump Limbo Party: “How low, how low, how low can we go. And a little bit lower now (abandon our allies the Kurds). And a little bit lower now (kow-tow to Moscow). And a little bit lower now (lock up children; separate them from their parents). And a little bit lower now (we’re down to five cases, soon to be zero; inject disinfectant). And a little bit lower now. . . .”
Nice Trumpism, though, in your comment, Ent. Sad.
Socialist Joe Biden. Sad
Soft-on-crime mayors. Sad
Get rid of our beautiful Confederate flag. Sad
Tear down our beautiful monuments to treasonous upholders of slavery. Sad
Don’t love “Two Corinthians” the way I do. Sad
Don’t love Ivanka’s great legs as I do. Sad
Don’t recognize what great leaders Putin and Kim are. Sad
Don’t want to punish, properly, children fleeing violence and poverty in their home countries. Sad
Actually want to keep free lunch programs for poor kids. Sad
Speaks in complete, grammatical sentences. Sad
Don’t see that cornavirus is the new “hoax.” Sad
Fake news! Sad
Monsters under the bed. Sad
Scary Jack-in-the-box. Sad
Only I can fix it!!! Covfefe!!!
So much sadness! 😭
He’s a pretty sad guy. Especially these days. Nothing like losing an election and then facing hundreds of criminal and civil charges in court to put a damper on one’s spirits!
“Someone has kidnapped and bodysnatched Diane Ravitch.”
I’m imagining THAT being something like “The Ransom of Red Chief.”
Makes me double over with laughter no matter how many times I’ve seen it:
GregB and Bob Shepherd,
“The Ransom of Red Chief” is only funny because it begins with the premise that the “bad guys” actually value human life and would never do anything to hurt the child. And by that I mean that the so-called “bad guys” don’t even restrain the child to stop him from hurting them! The bad guys are actually really nice guys who wanted to (illegally) make a quick buck but only if they could make a quick buck and still keep a child happy.
Imagine how scary the story would be if the kidnappers had the morality of Trump and McConnell and the father wouldn’t give them what they demanded?
I think the democrats tend to be very worried about who they are hurting and it’s much harder to get what you want from the other side when the other side is willing to sacrifice and hurt children and you are not. In real life, what parent would have enough faith in the goodness of kidnappers to call their bluff like Red Chief’s dad did?
The people who have no scruples and don’t value human life at all — including the lives of children – will always have an advantage in negotiating. And re-reading the story, I saw the father in a different way — as a parent who was willing to sacrifice his own son to get his way because he was betting that the people he was negotiating with were more moral and cared more about human life than he did. If the kidnappers had the same lack of scruples as the father, the ending would be tragic.
Well said, NYC parent
Kidnappers foiled by facts and rapier wit. News at 11:00.
The Lincoln Project has been very effective in getting into the head of 45 and those around him. They panic and try to fight back(I’ve been watching their response after an ad has been released). But their ads also solidify the wrong that is happening and give reason for voters to not give 45 a second term.
But they are not the only ones who have a campaign. VetsVote, MeidasTouch, and Republicans for Biden.
A progressive blogger friend reminded me that the Lincoln Project team has been effective in focusing on and exposing Trump’s many flaws. However, we should not consider them allies. They are not ideologically aligned with progressive Democrats.
They are our allies in ousting Trump.
Then they can go back to the monumental task of rebuilding the Republican Party.
They are not progressive Democrats, and they don’t claim to be.
They are Republicans trying their best to cleanse the nation and their party of a malevolent idiot and liar.
Agree completely, Diane. We should all have learned by now that Dem Party suffers and warps when it doesn’t have a robust Rep Party to contend/ debate/ compromise with. Traditional party umbrellas for much of my life both encompassed liberal and conservative factions. Though one leaned overall liberal & the other overall conservative, each had to forge a middling position among its ranks to find a strong representative platform– before tangling w/the other in elections. Election results therefore struck a balance that had a good chance of representing all.
Reblogged this on Lloyd Lofthouse.
Sol Stern (https://democracyjournal.org/arguments/think-tank-in-the-tank/) and Max Boot
(https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/07/10/conservatives-have-cancel-culture-their-own/) are also virulent anti-Trumpers ….. hopefully exposing the Trump funders and peeling away the National Review and the Manhattan Institute crowd