The prominent Republicans who have abandoned the GOP have no future in politics. Not as Republicans and not as Democrats. While they are promoted as a group, they are best seen as individuals. Their only common thread is that they hate Donald Trump. But they have taken different tracks.
Some limit their opposition to Trump – maintaining their GOP membership and support of down ballot Republican candidates. Others claim to maintain their conservative values and call themselves Republicans but are supporting the Democratic Party in a broader sense. Others – the most honest of the lot – have left the GOP and any conservative values they might have previously held.
Since each case is different, we should look at them individually.
Former Wyoming Congresswoman Liz Cheney is the most prominent member of the apostates. She was among the most rock-solid conservatives in Congress, but she did vote to impeach Trump. In response, then-House Speaker Kevin McCarthy ousted her from leadership – needlessly creating a woman scorned.
(In a previous commentary, I called out McCarthy for his boneheaded action. If she had been allowed to retain her leadership, she would never have joined the January 6 Committee. Neither she nor her father would be endorsing Vice President Harris – in my judgment.)
Cheney subsequently lost her congressional seat. Her only current political visibility is as a useful idiot for the Democrats. Once she is no longer useful, she will no longer have a role in politics. There is a chance, however, that she may get a job with one of the left-leaning news outlets as others have.
Speaking of former Vice President Dick Cheney. His endorsement of Harris is insignificant. He is a political has been. He did not even come out of obscurity to personally state his support for Harris. It was announced by Liz.
Vice President Mike Pence has said he will not vote for Trump. He will not vote for Harris, either. While he remains a Republican, there are not a lot of GOP candidates seeking his endorsement. He is on his way to political obscurity. Which is too bad, since I always liked the guy – even when Trump did not.
Former Congressman Adam Kinzinger follows in the footsteps of Cheney. He is not only supporting Harris, but he is supporting – and fundraising for – Democrat candidates up and down the ticket. Like Cheney, he lost his House seat. Kinzinger has already cut the deal with left-wing media. He appears regularly as a paid “contributor.”
Former Republican National Chairman Michael Steele is now deeply embedded as a Democratic Party operative and media personality. He occasionally refers to himself as a Republican, but that is a false flag. Steele’s switch in party and philosophy is easy to understand. Money. He is taking the big bucks from MSNBC to parrot the party line. His future depends entirely on ratings.
Attorney George Conway never had much of a political career – and less of one going forward. His claim to fame was being married to Trump’s 2016 campaign chairman Kellyanne Conway. His hostility to Trump arose only after he was denied a job with the Trump administration. He was one of the founders of the anti-Trump Lincoln Project and more recently set up his own PsychoPAC. George Conway’s obsessive hatred of Trump and his personal bitterness is trumping political or philosophic considerations. Conway has been so acerbic in his television interviews that even the left-wing press limits his appearances.
One-time leading conservative activist/writer, Bill Kristol, has almost dropped out of sight completely. His father, Irving Kristol, was an icon in the conservative movement. The younger Kristol was founder of the conservative publication, The Weekly Standard –now defunct. Following his flip to the left, Kristol had to find a new home – and he serves as editor-at-large for The Bulwark – a publication that was once conservative but is now populated by anti-Trumpers and false-flaggers. Once Bill joined the anti-Trump clan, he was a ubiquitous guest on MSNBC and CNN. Not so much anymore. Kristol had a brief political job as chief of staff for Vice President Dan Quayle.
There is a host of former Republicans who now pledge fealty to the Democratic Party and its increasing left-wing ideology. They populate the airwaves. A few names … MSNBC’s Nicole Wallace and Joe Scarborough – who, like Michael Steele, host their own shows.
The Republican apostate guest and contributor class includes such folks as former GOP Florida Congressman David Jolly, former Illinois Congressman Joe Walsh, former GOP strategist Susan Del Percio, GOP activist Ana Navarro, former Pence aide Olivia Troye, former aide to Arizona Senator John McCain Steve Schmidt, Bulwark founder Charlie Sykes, Bulwark Publisher and founder of Voters Against Trump (renamed Republican Accountability Project) Sara Longwell, Bulwark’s Tim Miller, Bush and McCain advisor Mark McKinnon and others.
Those associated with The Bulwark still claim the publication is conservative even though they now promote it as politically neutral. Regardless of it operates as an anti-Trump, anti-Republican AND anti-conservative vehicle.
Recently, 200 aides to McCain, Bush and Romney issued a letter first endorsing President Biden and now Harris. While it can be reasonably argued that this level of partisan switch-a-roos is unprecedented, the real issue is whether they will have a significant impact.
Most of these owe their media visibility to their anti-Trump stand. Once Trump is in the rearview mirror politically, methinks this cadre of useful idiots will no longer be useful. And that means they drop into the political abyss.
When Liz Cheney announced that she was voting for Harris, the left-wing press called it “blockbuster news” … a “major development.” It was about as surprising as tomorrow morning’s sunrise.
In terms of their impact on the race, I believe that whatever impact the GOP malcontents have on Republican voters is already baked into the numbers. As a campaign issue, there is nothing new. These folks have been all over the media for YEARS telling their same story – and no amount of repetitious hype is going to change anything. What we are seeing is a whole bunch of has-beens in the making – with many already achieving that status.
So, there ‘tis.
Be sure to pick up Larry’s new book: Who Put Blacks in That PLACE?: The Long, Sad History of the Democratic Party’s Oppression of Black Americans…to This Day