The Lincoln Project and the Never Trumpers have no home in the GOP. These professionals can help us down the road https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/12/07/next-up-nevertrumpers/
The first and essential goal for Never Trumpers — the general description for the loose affiliation of former Republicans and anti-Trump Republicans who worked on behalf of President-elect Joe Biden — was accomplished with the defeat of President Trump. That was the overriding objective for the past four years. Having succeeded, however, Never Trumpers’ work has just begun.
For starters, whether they now identify as independents, as Democrats or as Republicans in exile, Never Trumpers can offer assistance and counsel to Democrats based on their lifetime of experience “on the other side.” During the campaign, that took the form of Lincoln Project and Republican Voters Against Trump ads. That can continue into the 2022 election cycle, as Never Trumpers work to complete the task of eradicating today’s GOP (more about that in a minute) by helping to defeat Trump toadies such as Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.). They can also lend a hand in exposing the abject hypocrisy of Republicans on everything from their treatment of nominees (now Republicans are pearl-clutching over nominees’ tweets or ties to the financial community?) to their investigations of fake scandals.
Never Trumpers can also bring the best of the conservative sensibility to public debate, namely an awareness of the risk of unintended consequences, an appreciation for federalism (as a way of maneuvering around Republican obstructionists in Congress) and a deep appreciation of the necessity of America’s international leadership (in contrast to isolationists on the right and left). At its best, conservatism is not a laundry list of policy positions but a set of preferences — for compromise, for partnership with civil society, for executive branch restraint......
Finally, Never Trumpers should continue the fight against the right-wing populism that has enveloped the GOP — the politics of race-baiting, irrationality and authoritarianism. At the same time, it is time to begin considering what kind of second party alternative to Democrats we need. For believers in the two-party system, a functional second party is very much required. Are the old tenets of conservatism — supply-side tax cuts, “small government” — feasible or is there a model of “radical centrism” that incorporates the best of free markets with support for nimble government action to promote the common good? (The Niskanen Center is among the leading lights in this effort.)
In sum, Trump is leaving, but Trumpism remains an ongoing threat to multiracial democracy. Freed from tribal loyalties, Never Trumpers can prioritize measures that restore and strengthen the foundations, habits and norms of democracy — an undertaking worthy of the aim to “form a more perfect union.”
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