For a group claiming "victory" they sure seem to be dropping their trophy.
For years the contingent of self-described noble thinkers dubbed the Never-Trumpers have been bleating for attention in their rabid dislike of President Trump. Whether it is the claimed conservative pundits at The Bulwark, the various anti-Trump PACs like The Lincoln Project and Republicans Voting Against Trump (RVAT), or the columnists who boldly declared their conservative bona fides like Jennifer Rubin and Max Boot, four years have been spent to get to this point.
And now they are nervous.
Four years they spent not only tearing down the president but also anyone on the right who had even tacit approval of the administration. (Rick Wilson, of TLP, has been a remarkably consistent source of humor as he has been the embodiment of all the flaws alleged of Trump.) Now that they are faced with the prospect of a Joe Biden presidency this cabal is unsettled. The very thing they have called for may take place, and they now face their own insignificance.
The Never Trump mission has been extremely direct, but their methodology has been scattershot. They claim to oppose the president in the name of conservatism, but they all have backed Joe Biden and by extension Democrats in down-ticket races. Everything about how empty the movement has been is explained in one sentence: For four years these arbiters of "True Conservatism" have never forwarded or even backed a single conservative candidate in any race.
The desire to be accepted by the left has been deeply imbued in all of them. The Lincoln Project has absolutely subsisted on donations from almost exclusively Democrat millionaires. The various players attempted to take credit when Biden emerged as the Democrat candidate, and they promoted him heavily throughout the campaign. Now that he has the chance to rise into the White House these warriors are suddenly going to become pariahs. The fact that TLP is now engaged with doxxing members of the law firm working with the administration to target voter fraud shows their desperation to remain relevant to Democrats.
Recommended
There is a sound reason for these cranks to be nervous these days, and it is not just a possible Biden victory leading to their irrelevance. Sarah Longwell pulled some double duty, as both the publisher behind The Bulwark, and founder of the RVAT PAC. As she tried to congratulate all involved to get Biden dragged across the finish line, her applause rang hollow. The results were not in any way favorable to their efforts. Let’s look at specifically what these outlets were charged with on election night.
These sour outfits were supposed to suppress turnout for Trump, were claiming to turn Republicans against him, and to cement the charge of his racist and hateful nature. Instead Trump received at least 7 million more votes than in 2016, his share of GOP support "fell" from 90 percent to 94 percent, and he enjoyed the highest minority voting support for a GOP candidate in 60 years. That is an abject and all-consuming failure with their avowed mission statement. With all of the shrieking and foot-stomping all these years this return was a repudiation of their stated goals. You get the feeling that others in their tribe have sensed this.
Reed Galen, whose production company Summit Strategic Communications has siphoned off huge amounts of the donations sent to The Lincoln Project, has already declared his new target. Galen has his sights set now on Marco Rubio because...well, who even knows with this cadre of desperate grifters. One can guess if they focus on other names despised by the left-wing the money can still flow, keeping them in Park City condo suites.
Bill Kristol is busying himself right now with supporting John Ossoff in his runoff election in Georgia, because nothing solidifies your conservative credentials than backing the pro-choice leftist alongside Alyssa Milano. Jennifer Rubin wants to draw up enemies lists. Max Boot penned a lengthy ode to his fellow Never Trump gang members, sounding more like an obituary. This is not the behavior of people who are happy with an election result.
Laughably Michael Steele, the former Chairman of the Republican National Committee, tried to suggest that there is a pathway for these destructive minds to have a place at the Republican/Conservative table once again. His call to have the GOP "resurrected internally" is ignorant on multiple levels. That he even believes there is a desire to welcome back this herd of distempered contrarians who have battled against conservative positions is pathetic. That he needs to lie about this to stake his claim explains it all. The GOP actually did well in the election -- it is on track to retain the Senate, made double-digit gains in the House (despite what Fox News claims), and there were solidified positions in most state legislatures, all while the president enjoyed increased support in the voting booth.
These Never-Trumpers are even seeing their future with the Democrats being dismantled already. Ilhan Omar lashed out at Rick Wilson over some of his debased comments regarding Muslims. Probably more telling was Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez going after The Lincoln Project specifically. In response to an activist noting how ineffectual the PAC had been, AOC called on them to fork over their ill-gotten donations and put the money to work where it belongs. It is all too amusing to see.
After all this time they have spent posturing and wooing the Democrats for cash and attention, it was just a matter of days before the Democrats looked at them as a regretful one-night stand and asked them to delete their numbers from their phones. After being dumped by those they have stroked for years they will find coming back to the party they mocked and ridiculed all the while will be an even less likely reunion. Maybe they will be welcomed in the Bernie Sanders encampment -- they seem filled with those who have profited while accomplishing very little.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member