Republicans against Trump

“…another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership, this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions.”

This quote is from a statement signed by 238 former Republican officials and campaign staff going back to the George H.W. Bush administration. They are urging Republicans to vote for VP Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz.

Fostering division is one of the primary results of Donald Trump’s actions and bombastic demagoguery. His angry, hateful, racist and destructive fear mongering has divided the nation. But it has also divided Republican voters. Trump has created a movement of Republicans who will not be voting for him in November.

There has never been the amount of organized, publicly visible, opposition within the Republican party faithful to the party’s presidential candidate. This is an unprecedented phenomenon. An Associated Press news article said, “It’s a striking chorus of detractors, one without precedent in the modern era, coming from those who witnessed first-hand his conduct in office and the turmoil that followed.”

Trump has had many members of his administration publicly declare that he was incompetent, unfit and should not be reelected. Wikipedia lists 40 former Republican high level federal officials (including George W. Bush, Dick Cheney and Mike Pence) who do not support him. Some former critics of Trump (notably his VP pick JD Vance ) have since abandoned their assessments to rejoin the cult. They have apparently abandoned their integrity for personal ambition. But their original, honest and accurate statements are still valid.

Republican, and former congressman, Adam Kinzinger spoke at the Democratic convention. He spoke about how Trump is not what the Republican party is or should be. He said, “The Republican party is no longer conservative. It has switched its allegiance from the principles that gave it purpose to a man who’s only principle is himself.”

There are currently at least four organizations of Republican voters actively working to defeat Trump’s reelection. This article highlights these organizations and links to some of their videos. These are good messages that easily can be shared by email or social media Sharing these is something all of us can do to help defeat Trump.

Republican Voters Against Trump (https://rvat.org ) says, “Donald Trump proved during his time in office and since why he is unfit to be President of the United States. Even those who have voted for him in the past realize just how dangerous a second Trump presidency would be…” On their website there are many short videos of ordinary Republican voters – who voted for Trump in the past – explaining why they can not vote for him again. These are not slick, scripted attack ads. They are real people speaking in their own words.

Republican Voters Against Trump say, “It takes courage to speak out against your party. It takes courage to change your mind about Trump. It isn’t easy, but these voters understand that our democracy is worth saving. Listen to them explain in their own words why they can never support Trump again.”

You can add your story on the website. You can share these testimonials with your friends and relatives. This website proves that “real Americans” and not just “radical liberals” are voting to end the Trump fiasco.

Typical of these Republican Voters Against Trump is Kyle Sweetser who also spoke at the Democratic convention He said, “I am not left-wing, but I believe our leaders should bring out the best in us, not the worst. That is why I am voting for Kamala Harris.” Kyle is a construction worker from Alabama who voted for and donated to Trump (the only political donations in his life). You can find his short speech on C-span (https://www.c-span.org/video/?c5129006/kyle-sweetser).

Republican Accountability PAC is the parent organization and financial arm of the Republican Voters Against Trump. They work to, “…amplify the voices of disaffected Trump voters to reach persuadable Republicans just like him and convince them not to vote for Trump” (https://www.ra-pac.org).

Republicans for the Rule of Law (https://www.ruleoflawrepublicans.com) is a group of “life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law.” They say, “The American experiment in self-government can only survive if we all agree to abide by the laws and rules we make together. That means everything from election outcomes to jury verdicts to court decisions. Republicans for the Rule of Law hold fast to the principle that no one is above the law, from the average citizen to the president of the United States.”

They have many good, short videos Their video “No one is above the law” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E82ij1Rc5lg) is especially good and features ordinary citizens. So is “The President is not a King” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=efJ_0wlkAeQ) which discusses checks and balances and limits on presidential authority.

The Lincoln Project (https://lincolnproject.us) is a political action committee (PAC) founded in 2019 by moderate conservatives and Republicans who oppose Trump and Trumpism. On their website they say, “The Lincoln Project is dedicated to the preservation, protection, and defense of democracy.” Their two goals are to defeat Trump at the polls and ensure “Trumpism” fails. They say, “Today, we find our nation divided again, faced with a growing authoritarian movement populated by millions of radicalized voters…Donald Trump and those who ascribe to Trumpism are a clear and present danger to the Constitution and our Republic…This is why we fight.”

The Lincoln Project is fighting Trumpism by creating hundreds of short ads pointing out the dangers, lies, bad polices and simple ridiculousness of Trump, the MAGA movement and other far right Republicans. Some of these are hard hitting political attack ads but others are positive appeals for creating a better country. Some are even humorous.

Here are three that would be good to share. The most recent is simply called “Danger” (https://lincolnproject.us/danger/) and is a quick summary of Trump’s threat to democracy. “Convention” (https://lincolnproject.us/convention) is a satirical look at what Trump and Project 2025 have in store for all of us. The video “The Funeral” (https://lincolnproject.us/funeral) talks about conservative values of the Republican party dying because of Trump.

It is not just Democrats who oppose Trump. There are many Republicans who have integrity and are putting the country before party loyalty. Lifelong Republicans are voting for Harris and Walz. Voters need to listen to these Republican voices.