The Lincoln Project Geniuses Vow to Resurrect the GOP

The geniuses at the Lincoln Project who graciously lost elections my entire adult life are coming back the save the Republican Party. They voted for expanding abortion laws, a return to Obama-era foreign policies, higher taxes, and the Green New Deal to teach us all a lesson, I guess. Or because they have no principles whatsoever. And they are just mad we didn’t hand the crown to another candidate, like Jeb Bush, who would have lost graciously in 2016.

Former GOP Chairman Michael Steele, a member of the Lincoln Project, seemed somewhat triggered by an article at our sister site RedState. In an ironic tweet, he lectured Trump supporters about the 2102 GOP autopsy triggered by Mitt Romney’s loss. It was Mr. Steele, and the establishment, who shoved Romney at the base then had the audacity to develop the path forward as if they had fresh ideas.

Apparently, he believes the neo-conservative Never Trump contingent of the GOP is going to return and save the party:

Umm, we @ProjectLincoln supported the winner: America. And remember that "Autopsy" of the GOP, well resurrection is what happens after a thing dies. https://t.co/nC8phmhGX9

— Michael Steele (@MichaelSteele) November 8, 2020

The Republican Party is hardly dead. Support for President Trump increased from 90% to 93% among GOP voters this year. Even if he loses, Trump has mapped out the path forward. And it is hardly a return to the squish caucus. Nor is it a return to a foreign policy based on the post-WWII consensus and appeasement of Communist China.

The most puzzling thing about the Lincoln Project crowd is that they have never succinctly articulated exactly which of President Trump’s policies they disagreed with. Was it the judges with fidelity to the Constitution? The tax reform that favored investment? We’ve been pursuing peace in the Middle East my entire life, and the first real gains have been in the last few months. Energy independence and deregulation unleashed the economy and gave us leverage globally.

It seems their only gripes are mean tweets and caustic language. Many of them became just as boorish, mirroring the worst parts of a man whose character was their primary consideration. They have denigrated the base of the party and think they are going to save it? Pardon my skepticism.

These are the same galaxy brains that puzzled over how to expand the coalition to include more minorities. Trump did that in four years. Exit polls show that he received 26% of the non-white votes this election. His formula was simple: He focused on the wealth and prosperity of American citizens first. The theory of “managed decline” was quickly and abruptly reversed. Those on the lowest end of the wage scale saw the biggest gains, and more Americans were employed than ever.

This election did not necessarily prove the thesis of the Lincoln Project. Despite the presumed top-line results, down-ballot was a repudiation of the far-left agenda the Democrats have embraced. Americans like the policies, even if the fight to implement them has been fatiguing. Getting them implemented required a brawler willing to challenge the elites and their outdated consensus. The people they call “enablers” who should get booted are the very members of the GOP who see the realignment taking shape. It is those members who have a future with the realigned and more inclusive base.

Ultimately, the Lincoln Project was terribly ineffective. Their whole pitch was to attract Republican voters. The opposite happened, and the left has seen through the grift. Georgia Senate run-offs will be where they focus their efforts now, which seems like an odd move for people wanting to return to the party. A loss of the Senate majority will fundamentally change our institutions to the point that Republican candidates will have difficulty winning national elections. And these geniuses will be complicit in those changes.

Realignments are messy, and this one will be no different. Democrats are now the party of the very rich and the very poor. This makes sense as these are the classes that remain when their preferred policies are implemented. Just look at Cuba and Venezuela. Republicans, by necessity, must become the party of the working, middle, and upper-middle class. The Lincoln Project has as much disdain for these voters as Democrats do. And in the end, it will make it impossible for them to return to lead.