"the logical conclusion of a lot of things the Republican Party has been doing" for decades

[dajoki]

The Lincoln Project, the rogue former Republicans trying to take down Trump, explained
The Lincoln Project’s goal is to get Trump out of office. But some argue its members helped him get in.
https://www.vox.com/2020/7/17/21316641/trump-lincoln-project-gop-2020

snip//

But as historian Eric Foner argued in 2016, Trump can be seen as “the logical conclusion of a lot of things the Republican Party has been doing” for decades, with predecessors like Richard Nixon’s “law and order” presidential campaign, rife with racist implications, and populist appeal as a businessman railing against Washington corruption. To many liberals, Trump isn’t an aberration; he’s the culmination of a decades-long political project.

The Lincoln Project and its GOP exiles, writer Eric Higgins argued on July 12 in the newsletter Welcome to Hell World, are an example of a “memory hole” in action: Everything that happened before Trump (like the Iraq War or the existence of the Bush administration or the murder of Trayvon Martin) has been forgotten by liberals allying with the group and sharing their ads in service of getting Trump out of office.

The fact is that the coalition is made up of people who until very recently were happily ensconced in the GOP—meaning that it’s not the policies pursued and beliefs espoused by Trump that are the issue. It’s just his delivery. This is not an abstract issue. The president is part and parcel of the entire Republican project and its logical conclusion after five decades of cultivating an increasingly enraged white base filled with economic and cultural grievances for which the GOP has blamed on the uneven but inexorable march to greater equality in American society.

snip//

Higgins told me that the Lincoln Project’s ads were an appeal to liberals who believe that conservatives are their ideological opponents but not their enemies. “The commercials are part of a general effort by LP to present Trump as an aberration, a mistake, something out of the right-wing mainstream,” he said, “rather than the logical endpoint of the GOP and the direct ideological heir of the movement that began in earnest with Ronald Reagan.”

When I asked him about the ads themselves, he said, “Frankly all they do is make me angry by pretending there’s any major difference between Reagan [or] George W. Bush and Trump other than style.” He added, “I’m clearly not the target audience."

snip//

[Sherman A1]

1. Precisely

[KPN]

2. The goal of those behind the Lincoln Project is to save the Republican Party from its own

demise. The only thing they have in common with liberals/progressives is the desire to see Trump gone from the White House. We Democrats because Trump is so obviously bad for our country, they -- the LP Republicans -- because they see another Trump term as the total ruination of their party.

I am skeptical that they will be our ally once Trump is gone, certainly not when it comes to fundamental progressive principles regarding social/economic justice and equality.

[unblock]

5. thing is, reasonable pro-business people will eventually vote democratic

the truth is that the democratic party has always been supportive of business, they just don't want owners to cheat the way republicans allow them to. as the bigots and idiots run the republican party, pro-business people will eventually conclude that the stability democrats offer, even if it comes with a progressive agenda, is better than the insanity the republican party offers.

[KPN]

8. That goes for many "unreasonable" pro-business people as well in my view. Not recognizing the

catastrophic failure of economic policy over the past 45 years is "unreasonable" -- a trait that clearly exists among a significant share of business people. I have no illusions that they will be our allies going forward.

[brush]

13. They won't be allies once trump is gone and we shouldn't expect them to be.

Right now let's use them to help us get rid of the monster they created.

After that, Biden/Dems will restore as much of what trump destroyed as we can before we square off with the untrump repug party.

I'll take that deal.

[unblock]

3. i'm willing to believe that some republicans are regretting their deal with the devil

democrats had the moral fiber to kick the bigots out of the party in the 1960s. that's not to say we're perfect even now, but generally, the big bloc of bigots that had voted with democrats ever since the civil war were finally shown the curb when we passed the civil rights laws, and nixon was all to eager to scoop them up.

republicans at that point had been pro-business, but not as particularly bigoted as the democratic party. they nixon formed a competitive electoral coalition with the pro-business republicans and the formerly democratic bigots. this was known as the "southern strategy".

republicans were bigoted enough to tolerate the overt bigots in their midst, but not comfortable enough to be explicit about it. thus started the "coded" messages republicans became famous for. tons and tons of statements and winks and nods that gave the overt bigots enough to reassure them that the republican party was a happy home for them, but not so overt, just vague enough so that they could pretend to be all innocent about it.

but the pro-business republicans were happy enough with the results that gave them political power, and so they decided that they were fine with a little bigotry as long as they got their tax cut. in short, if they weren't bigots for free, they were willing to be paid to be bigots.


but donnie finally tipped the scales. the bigots were now in charge. instead of bigots merely giving the pro-business side an electoral boost in exchange for the occassional coded bigoted statement, now the bigots were in charge and it was the pro-business side giving them the political support.



i'm willing to believe that there are some republicans who are finally uncomfortable with this arrangement and now regret it. maybe they merely regret letting the bigots run the roost, but maybe they do recognize that they've been feeding them red meat for decades.

in any event, i'm happy to have the lincoln project taking pot shots at donnie. i hope it helps us win big in november. but to their greater goal of fighting for the soul of the republican party, they've already lost. donnie has 95% approval among republicans.

this time, the bigots are kicking the pro-business bloc out. not the other way around.

[empedocles]

7. That 95% is vulnerable. Already being exploited by Wall St 'sheep shearers'.

'Education' is underway.

[KPN]

9. Already is a euphemism. More like have been exploited for decades.

[empedocles]

12. 'Currently' is the better word for what is happening on the stock market 'rebound'

to the trump believers.

[KPN]

14. Okay. I can go along with that -- and hope you are right about the "education" part, but I'm

certainly not counting on it. They didn't learn the right lesson from 2009, that's for sure.

[empedocles]

4. As toxic and terrible as traitortrump is; trump does provide a unique opportunity to

clean up much of the awful problems that have been around for a long time - if enough of the voting population gets sufficiently aware and mobilized.

Past opportunities for serious reform; were circumvented by the Watergate cover-ups and the economy, which Carter got wrongfully blamed for Nixon's inflation creations; some of the 60's radicals alienated too much of the center, preventing an extension of the LBJ great works.

This time can be different, as recognized and developed, by experienced Dems such as Speaker Pelosi. The 2018 Election results provide powerful proof of what can be done. [Without benefit of the virus].

[CrispyQ]

6. Where is the democratic equivalent of The Lincoln Project?

I don't mean candidate Biden's campaign ads. I mean a cohesive, comprehensive campaign of ads paid for by the DNC or another prominent democratic organization, that shows the difference between the the Democratic Party & the Republican Party. Ads that challenge 40 years of right wing memes, ads that take aim at Trump & the GOP led Senate, ads like The Lincoln Project's ads, only ads paid for by our side? Where the fuck are these ads?

The enemy of my enemy is my friend, is only temporarily true. If we win in November, you can bet the next campaign season, The Lincoln Project's savvy ad machine will be turned against us. And what will we respond with? Crickets. Like we usually do. Forty years of crickets.

WHEN IS THE DEMOCRATIC PARTY GOING TO HIRE A MARKETING DEPARTMENT?

[wnylib]

10. This article nails it.

The members of the Lincoln Project object to Trump's style and the bad image of the party that he presents. But they do not object to most of his domestic policies and agenda. They are using their opposition to him to polish their image with the general public by distancing himself from Trump.

When Trump is gone, they will promote the same agenda in a more polished way than Trump. Deregulation, privatization of schools and public services, tax benefits for corporations and the wealthy, merging of religion and state, etc. With a "clean" public image after opposing Trump, they will be able to convince moderates to trust them and vote for them.

These same people promoted ideologies and spin that made Trump possible in the first place. Let them attack Trump, but never be fooled about their long range goals. They are looking out for themselves, not for America or the American people.

[lame54]

11. Who will they be afterwards is the question

[magicarpet]

16. Who will they be post trDump,.... ?

A softer,... a more polished,... a less in your face - shoved down your throat form of Fascism.

[KY_EnviroGuy]

15. Republicans will always revert back to the norm no matter the cute sounding names....

they put on their projects.

It always is and always has been about small government, low taxes, minimal regulations and everything in our lives being under the thumb of the ultra-wealthy white male class of psychopaths.

Everything else from them is just fluff for votes.......

Their vision for President Biden's term is just a time to rebuild and regroup for the next billionaire-funded right-wing blitz.

Our goal needs to be to destroy the foundations of that vision.......