To the people saying The Lincoln Project was worthless

[PTWB]

1. Would you rather have had all those devastating ads crafted to target Joe instead of Trump?

2. Look at GA. Looking like at least 100,000 people who voted for Perdue (R) voted for Biden. Without them GA would have been called for Trump two days ago.

[msongs]

1. every contribution had value nt

[PTWB]

2. Every single one.

When the margins are razor thin, should we really be discounting anyone who spent time and money trying to help?

[klook]

3. Plus, they got deep into his head

and the heads of other Republicans, throwing them off their game. And inspired Democrats to go for the jugular.

[electric_blue68]

9. Yup👍 and I'm sure they changed some minds.

[Volaris]

54. Not sure about that part. I've caught wind that 3% MORE republicans voted for donald

This time than last, so they didnt change any of THOSE minds

But the above poster is correct, every contribution helps. If nothing else, they showed Dems how to run ads that push the envelope. We might not like the idea of playing dirty, but these are FASCISTS we are trying to vote out of office.

[electric_blue68]

58. Been a Liberal Dem since voting at 18 in '71 and...

I've never had a problem with "going low" when circumstances warrant it.

Maybe bc I can be a brash NYC'r? 😁

[calimary]

61. THIS! THIS was the best part of all.

Throwing the CONS OFF their game! AND inspiring Dems to go for the jugular.

Hope the Dems learn - and absorb - some good lessons from it all.

[bigtree]

4. so we're done giving black voters credit in Ga?

Link to tweet

[electric_blue68]

6. This would be, of course, a fabulous irony! ❤️👍

[PTWB]

8. Hell no!

Black voters are, as usual, carrying a disproportionate amount of our party’s load.

I am NOT saying that TLP deserves all credit for all successes - I’m saving it is incredibly foolish (and inaccurate) to say that TLP didn’t help and didn’t change any minds.

[Mariana]

26. "I am NOT saying that TLP deserves all credit for all successes."

It is perfectly obvious that you weren't saying that. Anyone who implies otherwise is being highly dishonest.

[ehrnst]

30. After so many self-described "progressives" called voters of color "establishment shills"

when they voted for Joe in the primaries on Super Tuesday this year, I think they are owed a huge apology and a debt of gratitude from those so-called progressives.

However, I will not turn away any attempt to take Trump out, and I think it's completely possible to do both.

[misanthrope]

98. Why does it have to be binary?

It is possible for multiple things to be true at once. Perhaps they all added to the result you see.

[former9thward]

5. There is no evidence they had any affect beyond their own votes.

They are all DC consultants looking for their next gig. They failed.

[PTWB]

10. Blah blah blah.

100k people who voted for the Republican Senator in GA did NOT vote for Trump.

[former9thward]

24. You have no idea the party affiliation of any of those 100k people.

Or what motivated their votes.

[PTWB]

27. LOL

That’s a losing argument, friend.

100,000 people voted for the Republican Senator in GA but did NOT vote for Trump.

“There is no evidence of the immeasurable!”
“You can’t quantify the unquantifiable!”

TLP helped. We were lucky they were on our side.

[oldsoftie]

71. I do. Because I know some of them. They all voted for Perdue. Not trump

Could they ALL be lying? Sure. But assuming they're not, thats a small sample of how its happened.

[former9thward]

84. You know some of the 100k

OK....

[oldsoftie]

87. Yes. why is that hard to believe? Biden got FAR more votes than Ossoff.

These people fit the description of the Op. As I said, only a few people, but I can easily see it expanded over the state.

[Historic NY]

50. REally...

[Gothmog]

104. You are wrong

Link to tweet

[former9thward]

105. So???

You are giving credit for that to the Lincoln Project???

[Gothmog]

106. Yeah

Link to tweet

[NurseJackie]

7. Thank you! But... haters gonna hate.

I see purer-than-thou groups all over the internet (and in real life) that have difficult seeing, understanding, or accepting anything that doesn't comport with their world view.

[DemocratSinceBirth]

11. It was good for morale to see Trump get continually roasted.

That is worth something.

[leighbythesea2]

80. Agree

He deserved that. In races past, while i didnt care for the republican (i couldn't listen to W, but i could McCain) we still had some decorum. He destroyed that. Vile.

[PTWB]

13. It is crazy.

No one is saying they’re our friends or are going to stay on our side for more than 5 seconds after Joe clears 270, but they helped and deserve credit.

Not too many GOP partisans had the guts to stand up and say NO to Trump.

[mdbl]

82. I am a hater now. I hate Repuglicans

Never thought it would get to this but I do hate them.
I hate their stupidity.
I hate their racism.
I hate their narcissism.
I hate their lack of caring for others
I hate their love of themselves over country
I hate their love of right-wing hate media
I hate their willful ignorance

I could come up with more, but why bother. They will never change.

[Srkdqltr]

12. People say anything and everything. Not all is useful or right and a lot is bat ...s***......

Well you know the rest

[Tanuki]

14. Among other things, I think they normalized and provided cover for other

Republicans who were disgusted with Trump and were looking for an exit ramp. For example, they may have given someone like Cindy McCain the courage to step out and endorse Biden, which might have had an influence in turning Arizona blue.

[Marie Marie]

28. Agree.

[Alex4Martinez]

15. They kept me sane and hopeful. nt

[Sewa]

16. They did a great job of motivating voters, who were already motivated

to end Trump’s rein of terror.

It would have more helpful if they targeted Trump supporters.

[reACTIONary]

55. They did, I believe, ...

... they had a series of ads featuring republicans talking about why they would not votes for tRump. Those didn't get as much attention as the more aggressive attack ads. They weren't funny or entertaining.

However, they may have done some good in some venue.

[Cartaphelius]

17. The Lincoln Project helped this

election in ways that can't be measured but requires considerable recognition.

They created a repeated factual visual reminder, by its efforts, to not only
demonstrate the outright non-stop lies, the blatant christian hypocrisy and
eternal void of humanity that is God Father Trump and his republican,
white supremist and fascist minions.

[zipplewrath]

18. Didn't help in the Senate

Which suggests to me that they didn't matter much about Trump either.

[ehrnst]

32. That's your opinion.

But, I'll bite - do you have any data that you relied on to make that guess? You might want to suggest evidence for such an assertion.

And there's the Senate race AZ, and the GA runoff. What do you think was behind that, since you've given this such thought?

[zipplewrath]

73. Look at the senators they targeted

They were unsuccessful in virtually every one. I'm just extrapolating that they were as effective with the presidential efforts.

[Autumn]

19. To the people who think they are their allies. 1. only 1. You will see the LP target Biden

as soon as he's starting his administration. Your LP would have done better to get Mitch out of office and a few others. They are a scorpion to your frog.
It's in their nature.

[PTWB]

25. No one thinks they're our allies.

We recognize they will point their advertising guns at eventually.

[Autumn]

31. Yes, people do think they are Democratic allies. In fact some have suggested the LP has a home in

the democratic party. That's rather sad.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

67. Exactly. I've seen that stated here on DU.

So naive to think they would even want to be in the Dem party. Them fighting Trump is just more evidence of how utterly awful he really is, because TLP is against just about every policy Dems support.

[Autumn]

78. It seems so odd anymore. I saw that and thought okay so....

Progressives and Dems on the Left= not welcome

Republicans = SQUEEEE! WELCOME TO THE PARTY, WE NEED MOAR DIVERSITY IN TEH BIG TENT SO INVITE YOUR FRIENDS AND ASSOCIATES!!!

I think.


I'm a Democrat, have been one all my life, I'm staying a Democrat and moving further Left all the time. At one time I didn't mind Republicans, now I loath them and I will never accept respect and acceptance for them. ALL Republicans are Trump Republicans. They will always be Trump Republicans.

[Dark n Stormy Knight]

81. I've had an aversion to Rs for as long as I can remember.

But Rs have become far worse over time.

My husband voted to reelect an R for County supervisor about 10 years ago. I was like, But why?!!! He said he thought he'd done a good job. I said, It doesn't matter! He's a Republican!!! Never vote for a Republican!!! Give NO.power to them.

Well, he's come to agree with me. Especially now. If you can call yourself a Republican now, there is something seriously wrong with you.

And I agree with those who say Dems have made a mistake by allowing Rs to move the "center" so far right. Ffs, Nixon & Reagan would be too liberal for Rs now.

[Gothmog]

107. Thank you The Lincoln Project

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

111. This makes me smile

Joe is giong to be POTUS and the Lincoln Project helped

Link to tweet

[Cha]

113. Mahalo for this, Goth! Of course TLP

helped our Democracy immensely!

WE WON!

[joshcryer]

66. As if the left wouldn't be attacking Biden from the same talking points.

I mean geez.

I'm reminded of this famous thread: https://www.democraticunderground.com/1002184082

[Autumn]

72. You are going back to 2012 to a banned poster to attack the Left?

The Democrats on the Left that voted and elected Biden AND Obama? You should consider moving on from that grudge, it can't be healthy. The Left is part of the Democratic party. The Republicans and the LP aren't.

[joshcryer]

74. You don't think those same attacks won't return?

I'll note that they are attacking the middle from the right there.

There's no question Biden is going to get attacks from all sides, just like Obama did his entire tenure. There's absolutely no question. So I find the Lincoln Project to be small potatoes. Once this thing is over they will fall into relative obscurity.

[MrsCoffee]

88. +1

[spanone]

20. I found their ads inspiring.

[phylny]

21. I think they were instrumental in slinging mud

and attacking with ferocity so Joe's message could be calmer and more hopeful.

I appreciate what they did.

[BigOleDummy]

36. Agreed

And well said

[Wednesdays]

22. Amen. nt

[Cha]

23. Who would that? Of course TLP

had Priceless VALUE!

[George II]

29. Exactly, thanks very much!

[CaliforniaPeggy]

33. I absolutely agree, my dear PTWB!

They gave us incalculable help.

[ffr]

34. I think TLP did something that our side is still incapable of, marketing good candidates

Whether they were effective or not is left to interpretation, but they were powerful and in many, positive messages mostly crafted to elect Joe Biden & Kamala Harris.

[Mr.Bill]

35. Now, I don't do facebook, twitter, etc.,

but the thing that stands out to me about The Lincoln Project to me was the only place I saw it was here. And I know plenty of people who never heard of it. It was entertaining to be sure, But I doubt it made many Trump people vote for Biden. Maybe influenced a few undecided voters.

[Hekate]

37. Thank you

[KT2000]

38. Who would even say that

They were fearless and pushed trump's buttons expertly.

[BobTheSubgenius]

39. I completely agree.

A quarter of a 1% tick is still a step in the right direction. It's impossible to know if their efforts swung a random district somewhere.

For want of a nail, the horse was lost...

[Ferrets are Cool]

40. I have continued to applaud them with vigor.

[SergeStorms]

41. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.

That's the way I always looked it. Are we going to be friends after this? Probably not, but I thank them for their energy and assistance in this campaign. I gave them about $100 for their efforts, and it wasn't money I consider wasted.

[grantcart]

42. 30 years from now they will still be writing PHD dissertations on the LP

[Historic NY]

43. Worthless to who? They drove Trump nuts and kept the idiots off center.

I salute them in fact i donated to them

[Peacetrain]

44. A huge Thank you to the Lincoln Project.. huge thank you

[NYC Liberal]

45. Trump won a higher percentage of Republican voters than he did in 2016.

They didn't persuade any Republicans.

[melman]

48. Truth

[Yoyoyo77]

83. Highest Turnout for an Election Since 1900!

Biden has already gotten the most votes ever in our history. Meanwhile Trump is just below the old vote record set by Barrack Obama. More Republicans and Democrats have voted alike than in history.

[PTWB]

85. They did because I personally know several.

You could just as easily say that if not for TLP, Trump’s share would be EVEN HIGHER.

And how many Independents leaning R went D in the end?

We didn’t win this election with Democratic votes only, not by a long shot.

[AmericanCanuck]

46. Thank you Lincoln Project

Your contribution was invaluable.

[Evolve Dammit]

47. Lincoln Project did, and is doing great work. Messaging was spot on.

[Hermit-The-Prog]

49. trump responded on twitter to The Lincoln Project, therefore TLP had an effect on trump, at least

TLP also gave me some needed laughs.

[bucolic_frolic]

51. They waged a war in Trump's head

Their ads were so edgy that few sane moderate Republicans would listen to them. They boosted Democratic morale. We would never be so unkind to the opposition.

We still struggle with turnout. I say that because we didn't do as well as the polls indicated, or as we hoped, in Senate and House races. Why? Because Republicans voted for Biden, but stayed (R) down ballot. IOW, we didn't turn out enough all by ourselves, to win.

[japple]

52. Hope they will go after Puredoodoo during the interim. Would love to see

that smarmy bastard get his just desserts in Georgia runoff election in January 2021.


NOTE: Please keep Georgia, Rev. Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff in your thoughts and send good vibes their way. Also, if you can, a few $$.

[JI7]

53. Most people upset about LP are the types that booed Hillary and other Democrats in 2016

at the democratic convention.

[PirateRo]

56. The Lincoln project did well

Some really terrific work. I don’t judge them badly at all. It showed a moderated version of what the party used to be and, I think, can be again once the slag is purged. That includes the 70-80 worthless,faithless Republicand that voted to keep the monster and every god damned fundie.

[backscatter712]

57. Even if the LP didn't get any Trump voters to convert to Biden.

I think they got a few percent - enough to get past the Bannon line, as Rick Wilson put it.

But even if they didn't, they had a hell of an effect on the rest of us - us Democrats, and independent voters.

All those ads - from the psyops comedy ads aimed at Trump himself to Mourning in American and their state-specific versions were definitely a bit hit for our side, and that got us fired up, ready to go, and we were crawling over broken glass to get those ballots cast. That made a huge difference. Sure, call it "The LP was only popular with Democrats", but that has positive effects too.

[carpetbagger]

59. How many Nazis did the USO kill?

But it sure feels better having uplifting entertainment in the fight. The system is so saturated that money seems to be having limited effect (what I've heard, I'm not informed terribly well here), but we needed confidence, it helped.

[Pisces]

60. EXACTLY!!!

[StarfishSaver]

62. I hate to imagine how this would have turned out if they HADN'T weighed in

Everybody on our side busted our asses - especially black activists and voters - and every but of that effort contributed to where we are.

[LisaM]

63. I don't think it was worthless. But I do say....

don't trust the members going forward. The enemy of my enemy is my friend.....but these are Republicans, and they don't really want the same things we do.

[StaunchDemocrat1957]

64. I have enjoyed Totally! The Lincoln Project!

If we had a corrupt President in our party I would hope I would have the good sense to move away from him!
I thank those involved a million times over!

[BlueIdaho]

65. Anyone who's spent time in advertising will tell you

There is no hypodermic effect with advertising dollars spent. You can’t say X number of ads equals Y number of (in this case) new Biden voters. It doesn’t work that way. What these ads did was to help create an atmosphere of Trump incompetence and cruelty. I bet it was also the advertising that bored into Donny’s head like a wood worm. I’ll take that as terrific outcome and money well spent.

[zipplewrath]

90. In the senate?

Can you detect any effect in the Senate races they targeted?

[BlueIdaho]

92. Here's the tricky part...

You’d really need to run a double blind study with the only difference between the two groups being one group receiving the ads and the other not and then compare the results... Which can’t really happen. There are so many variables at play it may be impossible to ever attribute a result to just one element.

I believe Lincoln Project contributed to the outcome but that’s about as close I could ever get.

[zipplewrath]

99. Preaching to the choir

I think mostly they were entertaining people already disposed to not voting for Trump. I will say, someone suggested that their ads would be a good study for democrats to look at how republicans talk to republicans when they want them to change their minds.

[BlueIdaho]

100. Excellent Point!

[Gothmog]

115. We're staying in the fight: to defeat Trumpism we must also defeat David Perdue.

Link to tweet

[COL Mustard]

68. I'm A Former Republican. I Donated to the Lincoln Project. I Also Donated to Biden-Harris And....

To DU. I will be delighted to donate more to DU and to the Dems.....

Anything that gets the Trumpster Fire out of the WH and out of our body politic is fine with me!!!

And of course I voted for Biden-Harris.

[jaxexpat]

69. Can't argue with that.

There's Georgian voters in the neighborhood and I can testify that they are definitely prone to be distracted by entertaining ads. He'll, I've seen them go dead still and stare gape mouthed at the freaking mailman. Wish I were overstating this.

[anamnua]

70. Towards the end I began to find the Lincoln Project ads

almost addictive.

[AllaN01Bear]

75. it was well worth it.

[SayItLoud]

76. To the people saying that I say;

STFU. What have you done that equals what they did for our country, democracy and human decency? Did you give millions of people focused powerful messages? Did you give millions a laugh or chuckle during some of the darkest days in American history? Did you visualize kids in cages, racists ranting, a DOJ gassing peaceful protesters? If you did then I apologize to you, and respect you if you didn't then STFU.

[Pepsidog]

77. Lincoln Project did a great job. They can help in Dem election anytime.

[BrightKnight]

91. It's an American election and partisanship has limits.

If a Democratic wing-nut threatened core democratic values and institutions I would turn on them in a heartbeat.

[Pepsidog]

93. Absolutely. And that's what Trumper's don't understand. Their false sense of patriotism is rooted in

in ignorance an basic lack of understanding what constitutes a democracy and the basic freedoms granted by our constitution. 30 years of RW media has twisting and distorting their minds to think that liberals are the enemy, are some sort or communist cabal handed us Trump. Unless we can do something to course correct, or deal with RW propaganda the next guy like Trump with half a plan could really destroy our country. We need to plug up all the things we thought were norms that Trump pushed aside and codify them to so we don’t get another Trump. All the things we thought were rules but weren’t like the president’s assets places in a blind trust. That’s why I sure hope it’s possible to win the Senate. Lastly, Trump and all those who profited must be held responsible for his actions. Furst thing would be an Executive Order preventing Trump and family making money on the Secret Service. Make Trump flip the bill for their caddies and rooms at his hotels.

[JHB]

79. Whatever. This is an unproductive topic. Let's revisit in, say, June...

When they'll have had time to show their hand in a post-Trump reality.

[PTWB]

86. Why?

What the do next isn’t the issue. They’re not our friends. They helped take down Trump. That was the biggest issue we’ve faced in my lifetime.

If we hadn’t taken down Trump, what happens next June would be a lot less important. But now that Trump is gonna be gone, we can actually get back to worrying about dealing with NORMAL Republican bullshit instead of an authoritarian populist trying to destroy our country.

[TigressDem]

89. As Jesus said, "Those who aren't against us, are for us."

The level of crazy has gone off the charts and whoever in the Republican range ideologically that can refrain from moving fully to the FAR REICH, is someone we can work with.

Lincoln Group putting their foot down on the Republican party becoming a shit show. Helpful.

All the Military who supported Democracy over DUMP. Helpful.

Scientists and others who supported Democracy over DUMP when normally they abstain from showing favor. Helpful.

ALLIES are not always the people we thought we would have beside us, but when they stand up in such a devastating time, they deserve the credit due.


IMHO

[LanternWaste]

94. Any objective numbers and/or analyses of trends...

to support either side of the argument?

Or just a series of post hoc ergo propter hoc fallacies?

[PTWB]

95. You're asking to measure the immeasurable.

100,000 people chose to vote for (R) Senator Perdue but NOT Donald Trump.

[zipplewrath]

101. The senate

To me, it is the fact that you can't really see any evidence of their handiwork in the senate. With all of those races, you'd think that they'd be able to point to SOME race and say "see, we helped".

[coeur_de_lion]

96. Lincoln Project proves that

Republicans and Democrats CAN work together when it really counts.

I will always be grateful for them and respect them.

[Earthshine2]

97. TLP got under Trump's skin. They also inspired us to keep up the fight ...

by reminding everyone how Trump is pure, selfish, evil.

[Duppers]

102. The fact that they are former repups

Would make other repubs take their brilliant videos more seriously, a credibility factor, I would think.

There were many R's in my neighborhood who had Biden signs on their lawns.

[Gothmog]

103. The Lincoln Project flip a significant percentage of votes

Link to tweet

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

108. OP, people say all kinds of stuff.... most of us luv LP ads and we know that they were directed at

us liberal progressives as much as for independents and there was that small minority of repubs too. The idea was to get ALL OF US off our arses and vote. And we did!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

IMHO people who do nothing but sit at their computers all day and pass judgement on the efforts of others are the "worthless" ones LOL Not worth worrying about.

[Hotler]

109. Not worthless but, I wished it was the Democratic party that funded and produced the ads.

TLP got the lime light and we got a back seat. I still don't trust them.

[Gothmog]

114. Thank you Steve Schmidt

[Gothmog]

116. Never Trumpers played a critical role in beating him. The numbers prove it.

Thank you to the Lincoln Project

Link to tweet

It’s too early for a definitive evaluation of what happened, because exit polls are no more reliable than pre-election polls. But both the Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump (RVAT), the other major Never Trump organization, shared with me preliminary data to show that their work actually played a critical role in Biden’s victory. Their numbers are in line with publicly available exit polls showing that nationally 7 percent of 2016 Trump voters and 8 percent of Republican or Republican-leaning voters backed Biden; currently, Biden is leading in the popular vote by 3.4 percentage points.

The Lincoln Project contends that 85 percent of the counties it targeted in 10 states moved away from Trump — and that doesn’t even include Arizona, where ballots are still being counted and endorsements from Republicans such as Cindy McCain undoubtedly contributed to Biden’s lead. The Lincoln Project concludes that, across the top battleground states, Biden flipped an average of 6.8 percent of voters who cast a Trump ballot in 2016. Nationally, it believes, 5 percent of voters who voted for a Republican congressional candidate voted for Biden.

In the battleground states, Lincoln Project asserts that 7 percent of 2016 Trump voters switched to Biden in Pennsylvania, 6 percent in Michigan, 7 percent in Wisconsin and 6 percent in Georgia. The swings among independent voters, moderate voters and college-educated White voters away from Trump were even bigger in some cases. Given the narrowness of the outcome in these battleground states (Biden’s biggest margin so far is a 2.6-point win in Michigan), those numbers, if accurate, suggest that Republican and Republican-leaning voters helped deliver the election to Biden.

RVAT’s numbers tell a similar story. In Wisconsin counties where RVAT spent the most, it asserts, Trump underperformed Republican House candidates by seven points. In Pennsylvania counties where RVAT spent the most, it asserts, Trump underperformed Republican House candidates by five points. Again, those are decisive margins in such close states.

While RVAT focused only on the presidential contest, the Lincoln Project also tried to defeat Trump enablers in Senate races. Obviously, the Senate campaigns did not go as well — only two Republican incumbents have lost so far. The reasons vary from state to state, but one common theme is that moderate Democrats had trouble winning in red or purple areas when so many progressive activists were talking about defunding the police, socialism, Medicare-for-all, expanding the Supreme Court and banning fracking.

[Gothmog]

119. Thank You Project Lincoln

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

117. The Lincoln Project was very successful

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

118. Thank You Project Lincoln

Link to tweet