I guess because of George Conway’s hate of Trump there have been rumors his wife is not a big Trump fan and has been leaking info. It was even said she could be the author of the anonymous book on Trump that came out last year . BTW the author of that book said they would reveal their identity before the Nov. election.
I’m loving the ads just as theater. But since they’re using standard Republican tactics, their target audience is wavering Republicans (or, perhaps I should say, recently former Republicans) who can be swayed by that sort of approach. The “Mourning in America” ad was BRUTAL (and I mean that in a good way). Schmidt strikes me as a fundamentally decent guy. Wilson and Conway as a bit more serpentine, but this time around they’ve decided to use their powers for good and I can’t really complain about that.
In ordinary times, I’d be an active opponent of positions advanced by members who comprise the Lincoln Project, but we’re far from ordinary times. I admire these fellows who have been willing to defy their party, step forward in actual, meaningful ways and say what is true.
Schmidt and Wilson in particular are regular guests on MSNBC and they are not at all shy about expressing the contempt they feel for Trump and the damage Trump has inflicted on the country. Their words are forthright, plain and memorable.
As I have said before on this forum, I will never forgive Steve Schmidt for foisting Sarah Palin on us. But he has done much to redeem himself in my eyes as a never-Trumper. He has clearly learned from his mistakes.
And while Rick Wilson is the sort of Republican attack dog I have loathed in the past for working, sometimes quite dishonestly, to elect such infamous characters as Dick Cheney and Rudy Giuliani, he did endear himself a bit when discussing Trump’s criminal behavior during the Ukraine impeachment proceedings. He opined that Moscow Mitch’s approach to the Senate trial was to try and make it all go away as fast as possible. Wilson said that there is more to learn re Ukraine. Something to the effect of, as with all things Trump, the Ukraine debacle is just the tip of the fecal iceberg, with only the sticky top presently revealed.
It was a classic exchange, well worth the 3 1/2 minutes to watch. Brian Williams’ response is hilarious.
The ads the Lincoln Project are running against Trump are based entirely on knowable facts. They’re devastating.
As the old saying goes, the enemy of my enemy is a friend of mine. Also, keep your friends close and your enemies closer.
I’m not very sanguine on the chances of this making any meaningful impact.
It would be one thing if Trump were being primaried by another Republican who had significant grassroots support. But the group the Lincoln Project is attempting to target aren’t being given the choice between Trump and Ted Cruz. Their choice is between Trump and the Democratic Party, which includes Nancy Pelosi, Chuck Schumer, Beto “Hell Yes I’m Taking Them” O’Rourke; it includes appointing liberal justices to the Supreme Court - I just think it’s asking the impossible to try to get meaningful numbers of Republican voters to set aside everything they believe about how America is supposed to be run just to get Trump out of office.
I disagree.
I think the Lincoln Project is targeting swing independents far more than hard core Trumpists. Independents went Trump in 2016 because they hated Hillary. The Lincoln Project hopes to make sure those folks understand who Trump really is, so they know how important it is to either sit this one out, vote third party or (gulp) vote for Biden. Right now, those independents are moving toward Biden.
The hard core Trumpists are unreachable. Schmidt and Wilson in particular are long time, seasoned Republican strategists in days of yore. They understand this.
Few know how to read polls and reach the wavering independent vote better than they do. And the Lincoln Project, both individually and as a group, have endorsed Biden. I’m glad they’re in the Dems’ corner this time around.
I don’t know. For all the talk about judicial appointments, how much does the average voter really care about this issue? The average voter probably couldn’t name all nine justices on the Supreme Court, name a single judge from any other court, or explain exactly what he thinks the difference is between a conservative judge and a liberal judge.
Judicial appointments have always seemed to me to be the kind of thing - like trade policy - that a lot of voters say they care about because they’ve been told it’s important. But they don’t really connect to it so it’s an easy thing for them to shake off if some other issue changes the way they want to vote.
Conservatives who don’t like Trump could just not vote for president while voting in other races.
Conway supported Trump in 2016, Schmidt endorsed Hillary, and Wilson backed Evan McMullen’s campaign.
Yeah, there was a lot more of that than people want to admit.
I read them the same way. Wilson and Conway put more effort into being entertaining than Schmidt does, but Schmidt is on more solid ground ethically, I think. Wilson and Conway are more Dark Side-friendly (witty, though).
But they’re all doing the nation’s work, now.
You can have similar or compatible core values and disagree on the correct course of action, depending on either original principles or how much you weight matters.
All that being said, however, I do tend to agree with you that there has to be a bit of smoke and mirrors going on, although I have no reason to suppose he’s more likely to be lying about his convictions than she is: they’ve got four kids to send through Harvard, and Trump’s presidency has done nicely for both of their bottom lines.
Sorry for the bump, but I’m curious - are the Lincoln Project videos actually running as television commercials, or are they just circulating on social media? Because this one looks like it’s aimed at one very specific target market, and I doubt he’s going to see it if it isn’t aired during Fox and Friends. (Also, that is some weapons-grade gaslighting right there.)
One of their ads ran last night on MSNBC. It was a fairly devastating attach on the Senators who have supported cheeto-head over the years. “Remember their names”. I can only hope that these ads are effective with the republican base.
I’ve heard from friends in the DC market that they run there (and one mentioned he saw it during a golf telecast, which seems targeted).
Rick Wilson is very open about the fact that they’re mainly for an audience of one. They have their finger(s) firmly on his psychology, and know exactly how to push his buttons. More power to them, although I don’t doubt that if a viable and palatable Republican candidate were to magically become Biden’s competition that they’d turn their powers to work for him (or her…hahahaha, as if) in a hot second and the Democrats would have no defense against it.
The main thing that makes the LP spots noteworthy is that it’s Republican on Republican violence. If they change their focus to Democrats, they’re just yet another right-wing PAC running attack ads.
Of course. I just see a lot of Democrats enthusiastically embracing them as being “on our side,” when really the only thing we share in common is a loathing of Trump and Trumpism.
And a quick call back to earlier in the thread: I don’t trust the Conways one bit. I don’t quite know what the game is, yet, but I think it’s a long con, at least in part, to assure their marketability in a post-Trump world.
It would be naive to think these folks are really on the side of Democrats, but right now the enemy of my enemy is good enough for me.
I can’t find the quote right now, which is bugging me, but GOP inside operatives admit to being very worried right now and that the Lincoln Project is taking its toll on their candidate. They consider the Lincoln Project gang traitors and one of them angrily said something to the tune of “those motherfuckers are never getting back in.” Meaning to the inside of the party.
Unattributed in the story; that’s the earliest I can find the phrase.
Wait - there are “innocent GOP Senators”? Because I’m pretty sure they all opted to cover for Trump’s criminal behavior during the impeachment vote.
Maybe Mitt, but that’s about it.