An alternate convention will go on – Republicans for a new president

An alternate Republican convention will be convening in Charlotte in a few months called “Republicans for a new president.” It has been organized by Evan McMullin, a former CIA officer who ran as an independent for president in 2016, who garnered enough votes in Utah to concern the president. Per The Charlotte Observer, “Organizers have said they’ll be ‘deliberating and ratifying a new vision for the future of Republican leadership and political renewal in America.'”

The convention is bringing together members of Republican led groups like The Lincoln Project, Republicans for the Rule of Law, Republicans for a new President and Republican Voters against Trump. Republican Shawn Lemmond, the former mayor of Matthews (near Charlotte) and two-time NC house member, said in the Observer, “‘What’s taken over our party is wrong. And, as a Republican, as a Christian, we simply cannot allow this man to be re-elected.'”

It should be noted that 100 former members of George W. Bush’s administration have coalesced around Joe Biden as an acceptable alternative to voting for Trump. Yet, per the Observer article, Trump’s support among Republicans and independents who lean Republican remains high at 78% per a Pew Research Center survey released this week. While high, it is down from a similar survey in March which showed such support at 85%. Our friend Jill has a post on “Some Republicans leaving the Trumptanic,” the link is below.

Lemmond said “‘I think there’s a fairly significant number of Republicans who are just disgusted with what they’re seeing out of Trump and his minions.'” Lemmond “rejects the ‘Trump cult’. He considers it ‘the biggest threat to the country since World War II and the party since Nixon.”

Then, we must layer on the voices of long time conservatives like pundits George Will, David Brooks, Michael Gerson, military leaders like General James Mattis, Lt. Colonel Ralph Peters, Admiral Williams McRaven, civil servants like John Bolton, Robert Reich and Republican campaign managers like Steve Schmidt, Rick Wilson who have each registered significant concerns over this president, his actions, his words and his lack of decency, empathy and competence.

I left the Republican party after twenty-five years as a member around 2008. I am fiscally conservative and socially progressive. We need to help people, but be able to pay for it, e.g. My main reasons for leaving are the head-in-the-sand stance on climate change, the unhealthy embrace with evangelicals and the NRA and, with the aid of Fox News’ talk show hosts, a tendency to make things up to fit the narrative. The division in our country started well before Trump, but he has used it and thrown gasoline on these fires.

I agree with these people that the GOP (and our country) needs to get back to better footing. We are retrenching from our global leadership role enabling an already predicted ascendant China. Our global reputation is well down, as we are not trusted with our untrustworthy president. A Pew survey earlier this year said 64% of Europeans do not trust the US president, trusting Vladimir Putin and Xi Jingpeng more. The global community is aghast at our botched handling of COVID-19 and Europe is now restricting travel from the US. A key requirement to addressing pandemics is tell people the truth, but this president naysayed it as a hoax as late as February 28 and continues to misinform to this day. Then, there is the racist bent of the president that has worsened racial tensions.

Joe Biden is not perfect, but he is decent person with a long history of collaboration. He will endeavor to bring us together rather than look for ways to divide us. And, for those who are falling for Trump’s narrative of rebuilding an economy he created, he inherited an economy that was in its 91st consecutive month of economic growth, with 5% unemployment, with two million plus jobs growth for six consecutive years and a more than doubled stock market under his predecessor. It continued for 38 months on his watch, which is good, but he did not create it. Before the recession, he helped make a pretty good economy a little better for a little while by borrowing from our future, but it fell back to similar growth numbers as before the election.

There are many quotes to choose from, but let me just leave you with what conservative David Brooks said. The president does not have a “sense of decency or empathy.” Joe Biden does. As an example, watch Biden console Meghan McCain before her father’s death on “The View.” That is a great window into Biden’s character and I could not envision Trump doing the same, regardless of who the father is.

Some Republicans Leaving The Trumptanic