Rick Wilson on the future of the Lincoln Project.

[My Pet Orangutan]

Last edited Wed Oct 14, 2020, 04:52 AM - Edit history (4)

Larry Willmore Interview: Black on the Air.
Sunday, October 12, 2020
Transcribed. All errors are mine.

There's no home to go to. The Republican Party was fucking Alderaan. It's gone.

RICK WILSON [44.54]: We made a deliberate decision at the beginning of this to burn our boats, okay. Burn the bridges behind us because you know what? If you're looking in the rearview mirror and thinking, 'Hey, maybe I'd like to go back and do the Florida State Senate Committee's work and make two million bucks off that project next year', you'd always be conflicted. So we decided we would burn it all to the ground.

There's no home to go to. The Republican Party was fucking Alderaan. It's gone. There's no; there's no planet there anymore. It's just Trump now. And the people ... it is completely broken. There's no ideological predicated underneath Republicanism now. Like even though all these fights over judges, they're no longer about ideology, they're about control. You get Mike Lee out this week saying, "Well, you know we can't have democracy because it's disorderly. It doesn't, it doesn't promote the kind of human good I want." You know that that's not a party that any of us recognize anymore.

And, you know, we're not in the party building business, particularly. I mean, maybe we end up having to because I think a lot of people agree this country could use a viable center-right party as a counterweight. We could use a dynamic. I've had a lot of Democratic senators like, "You know, I want a dynamic back and forth. I don't want to just be like rough-shodding". But that's a long way off.

I don't know what the future holds, Larry. I mean, that's part of the like, weird sensation of this: We're running at a million miles an hour. I sleep about four hours a night, maybe. I go very fast, all the time, we all do. This is the hardest working group and it's not just me and Steve and Reed, and two Stevens and Mike and Jennifer. We've got about 50 people on staff on salary now. These kids are like 22, 24, 26. They're the hardest working people I've ever seen in any campaign that I've ever been in. They bust their ass every day. Our comms team, our digital team, our political tea, uh our organizers in the field, they just kill it every day.

And a lot of them are also former and homeless Republicans who thought ... ... You know, these are the 9/11 kids, right? These are post 9 11 kids. But they're like, What? What world is this? The fuck! What the fuck world is this? I can't be part of, you know, Donald Trump, who looks and sounds and talks and walks like an authoritarian.

You know, Like I said, I don't know what the future holds, but I know ... I know that the work we're doing now matters. That I know. It's important to people, and I know it's making a difference. And look, I sleep better at night, even the short windows, I do sleep than that I have for 30 years, man. I don't have any moral doubt that we're doing the right thing.

And there's plenty of campaigns you get in your life, you're like 'Yeah, I gotta make. I gotta do this. I gotta pay the mortgage. But this guy's an asshole, or this guy's a scumbag or this crazy or this guy's crazy or you know', but, you know, I never feel that way. Right now I feel like we're in the fight.

LARRY WILLMORE: ... What would you like to see if you were starting a new party? I know you can't predict. What would you like to see? How would you start something new? Because you've probably gonna throw out all this trump stuff. But what does the Republican Party look like for Rick Wilson? What? What would that feel like? Are there any people out there that that represent that right now?

RICK WILSON: Not right now. I mean, look, there are two Republican candidates in the whole country, both running for State legislative offices who are affirmatively Anti-Trump. Two. One statehouse guy, I think in Michigan. One statehouse guy in Vermont. That's not a party. That's not even a full zoom call.

Someday this country is going to need another center-right party to generate ideas, and ... to talk about the things that the Republicans claim to care about. Individual liberty, free markets, free trade, national security, you know, that trumpism doesn't care about. I think those ideas are valuable. I'm not, like I said, I'm not in the party building business right now. I'm not the policy business right now. I'm in the freedom business. I'm of the democracy business.

And if you ask me what I want, you know, in the future from Congress, I ... Look, I want a new Voting Rights Act. I want a new Election Security act. I want An Interference with Elections Act. I want a Federal Civil Service and Ethics Reform Act. Those things. I think they're not ideological anymore. They're like the mechanical repairs that have to be done to keep having a republic. I don't think we can avoid those things.

https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/rick-wilson-on-lincoln-project-president-trumps-failing/id1234429850?i=1000494308121

[North Shore Chicago]

1. "homeless republican"

Don't know whether to laugh or cry. How about both.

[My Pet Orangutan]

3. I'm thinking there are plenty of homeless republican vets,

Last edited Tue Oct 13, 2020, 08:09 AM - Edit history (1)

sleeping under freeways.

[TwilightZone]

24. Agreed.

Stereotypes are rarely universal and not-infrequently inaccurate.

Though, in fairness, many of those homeless vets may no longer consider themselves Republicans. Politics tends to take a back seat when the primary concern is survival.

[Blue_true]

69. And many likely would vote for the person that has them that way, Trump.

To give you an example of what we are dealing with, a news crew talked to voters that were voting in a part of Texas, the line was long. A voter who voted for Biden said “I would have waited however long it took, I need to be part of ending the insanity”. A woman who voted for Trump said “I hope that after the election, we can work together”. The person who voted for Trump talked about working as a national community to solve problems. Where the hell has she been for the last nearly four years, and particularly this year, living under a rock, or walking around with her head shoved up her ass? She voted for a person that has caused nothing but division and has encouraged hate at a never before seen level.

[Sherman A1]

2. Interesting read

Thanks for posting.

[Trumpocalypse]

7. FYI

[AlexSFCA]

4. they are doing amazing work

“ Individual liberty, free markets, free trade, national security”. Dems care about these far more than gop and they are competent at this. These folks are not social conservative and that’s what current gop is all about. They are like pre-Nixon repubs.
They could probably try to built new gop by helping to elect sane candidates in gop primaries. It all starts there. At all levels. I think the only way expanding SC would work if it is bipartisan.

[ewagner]

42. I was one of those" pre-Nixon repubs"

At that time, and in the South particularly...the Republican party was indeed "the party of Lincoln"....and...Eisenhower Republicans stood from much of what the Democratic Party of today represents...

I actually KNOW what Wilson is talking about....

Nixon and his "Southern Strategy" changed EVERYTHING...

[My Pet Orangutan]

48. Goldwater.

Goldwater screwed the pooch.

[ewagner]

55. In a sense, that's true

Goldwater opened the door for the extremist element to enter the Republican Party...

His most infamous quote: "Extremism in pursuit of liberty is no vice. Moderation in pursuit of justice is no virtue."

That gave the KKK a green light.

Fortunately, Republican Party Centrists abandoned him.

BUT....

Backed by millionaires (Koch Brothers?) and a few other eccentric billionaires hiding in the facade of respectability behind economists like Milton Freidmann, built a base, not in populist movements but in educational institutions and "respectable" Republican circles. They built the base of the extremists we know today...Karl Rove was elected President of the national Young Republicans in either 70 or 72 with the help of his buddy's dad...that would be George W Bush and his dad who was Drector of the CIA at the time... Roger Stone, Lee Atwater...all of them were planting the seeds 50 years ago.

[octoberlib]

5. Thank you for posting this. Rick has said that his old career paid very, very well

but always left him feeling uneasy. Now , he feels liberated. The Lincoln Project guys are now having to battle voter suppression for the first time to get their candidate elected ; they've been involved in lawsuits with Marc Elias, and I think it's been an eye opener for them.

[JI7]

6. If they want to stop Trumpism in the future the work continues

The best they can do would be advocate for a more fair and reliable voting system.

[My Pet Orangutan]

9. No argument there

I want a new Voting Rights Act. I want a new Election Security act. I want An Interference with Elections Act. I want a Federal Civil Service and Ethics Reform Act.

[ananda]

10. Agree. Voting rights must be restored ASAP!

And all human rights!

[betsuni]

8. K&R

[Illumination]

11. Ok...Will be looking forward to seeing a Lincoln Party!...

[My Pet Orangutan]

12. Lincoln's Party killed off the Whigs in the 1850s

That can not have escaped Wilson & Co. when naming the Lincoln Project

[Illumination]

15. You know your history! Welcome to DU!...

[JI7]

17. Lincoln's Party is the Democratic Party of Today whose base is Black Voters .

[bucolic_frolic]

13. Good minds are having good discussions

I can't blame Democrats. We've been knee-capped since 1980, really. Clinton was not a resurgent left or New Deal or Great Society. His administration was a caretaker for emerging Wall Street and money and corporate power. He was "allowed" to take office because the right didn't want the game to feel rigged, even as they were rigging it. Money and greed drove this madness. Obama was allowed to fix it, and little else. He had no time or room or majorities to fix Constitutional holes. In a way he was a caretaker too.

Rick Wilson et al can fix it? Let Democrats be part of that discussion. Do good things.

[My Pet Orangutan]

14. When judging Bill Clinton, I keep in mind,

Democrats lost the House after two years. He was then dealing with a radicalized Gingrich GOP.

[3Hotdogs]

20. Well, Clinton did "end welfare as we know it."

How did that work out?

And N.A.F.T.A. ?

[betsuni]

22. Republicans controlled the House.

[ihas2stinkyfeet]

28. nafta was a success for a lot of ppl.

it wasnt mexico that hurt the u.s., it was china. and american oligarchs.

[TexasBushwhacker]

64. NAFTA was George HW Bush's baby

He just didn't get a chance to sign it before leaving office.

[3Hotdogs]

65. Dunno. The internet tubes say Clinton signed it.

[TexasBushwhacker]

67. Yes, Clinton signed it. It was a bipartisan agreement

And most economists agree that it has been a net positive for the US.

[JI7]

72. It worked out fine and things would have kept improving if we got Gore instead of Bush

[mwooldri]

33. It seems things happen in cycles.

Clinton comes in, loses Congress after 2 years. Then we get Bush (selected for the first four years by the US Supreme Court). Dems do regain Congress but we have an economic mess to clean up. Obama comes in but lose Congress after 2 years. Now we have Trump and he has managed to trash the country and not just the economy (and in record time).

I'm hoping Biden does win, the Democrats gain control of Congress (House and Senate)... And then realise that they have 2 years to make an impact... Dems will stay home in 2022 and the Rabid Right will have managed to gin up some faux outrage and at least get one part of Congress back under their control.

And as what to do? Clean up on all aisles. Deal with Covid, shore up the ACA, get infrastructure improvements going, get a whole load of new green well paying jobs - anything that helps shore up the American economy - particularly the working person's own economy.

[My Pet Orangutan]

44. The Lincoln Project have said thsat they will be active in the 2020 midterms,

to keep the focus on the enablers and collaborators who greenlit this disaster.

[jaxexpat]

36. My problem.

Where were these guys when bush was stumbling around embarrassing us before the world? He, unwittingly, set this up and nobody is calling him out.

[Mike 03]

16. Thank you for this transcription!

Excellent.

I'm a big fan of the Lincoln Project and will be fascinated to see what they do next. I find them very inspiring. I fight better on Twitter because of them.

Kicking.

[Kahuna]

18. Get rid of all the tea party turds in congress. That will go a long way

in restoring sanity to government.

[My Pet Orangutan]

19. "we decided we would burn it all to the ground"

[Historic NY]

23. Fire can be cleansing.

[highplainsdem]

21. K&R

[niyad]

25. KNR

[martouf]

26. They will always be Republicans - Do not be fooled into thinking they are friends

While they may have a common goal shared with us right now, they will always be Republicans. People who are against a minimum wage, a living wage. People who love big oil and big pharma. People who are for corporations over the humans that work for those corporations.

Do not forget these things.

[My Pet Orangutan]

27. If their next project is Electoral Reform,

they will have served their purpose. The Republican Party has no future if the people can vote.

I want a new Voting Rights Act. I want a new Election Security act. I want An Interference with Elections Act. I want a Federal Civil Service and Ethics Reform Act. Those things. I think they're not ideological anymore. They're like the mechanical repairs that have to be done to keep having a republic. I don't think we can avoid those things.

[calimary]

30. I won't ever be able to forget these things.

Not ever.

They’re gonna have to do more than just sound like reasonable people. A HELLUVA LOT more.

I trust them about as far as I can throw my house.

I will ALWAYS trust republi-CONS only as far as I can throw my house.

[GusBob]

32. Sorry I'm with him

The freedom business and the democracy business sounds great to me

And no authoritarian rough shod business

[jaxexpat]

39. Thank you.

[octoberlib]

45. You mean like Elizabeth Warren , who was a Republican until she was 47?

In your world people never, ever evolve and change? Sad. Anyway, The Lincoln Project's goal isn't policy but working to retain and defend our Democracy. I'm fine with that.

[martouf]

53. They have clearly stated their goal is to remove Trump. Not to become enlightened.

I have not heard any of them evolve on the issues that matter to us. As far as I know, they simply wish to remove the embarrassment that is Donald. They want their old GOP back. That is the same GOP we've fought against for years.

[JI7]

70. Steve Schmidt said same sex marriage should be legal in 2008

[martouf]

75. Steve Schmidt is responsible for giving us Sarah Palin. Need I say more?

No amount of his apologies will ever satisfy me and allow me to forgive him for putting Sarah Palin in a position where she could have beeen a heartbeat away from the Presidency.

As I said before, I appreciate the current assistance from people like Schmidt. However, once Donald is gone, he will still be a Republican. He will fight for Republican causes, not Democratic ones. The Lincoln Project has come out against Trump and his enablers. They have not come out against traditional Republican positions.

[Roc2020]

29. Burn and rebuild from the ground up

The GOP is not dead but on their back. They will be back, but it's going to be hard washing off Trump.

[NewJeffCT]

35. The GOP of the 1920s & 30s

survived causing the Great Depression & then openly supporting Hitler & Mussolini in the 1930s. Can they survive Trump causing a near Depression, a pandemic running wild across the country & his open support of Putin & autocracy?

[Turin_C3PO]

40. Demographics are against them.

Every year, the minority population increases and more of the more liberal younger generation votes. I believe the rethugs will have to moderate to stay relevant.

[OnDoutside]

56. I believe TLP, if they do go the Lincoln Party route, will attempt to disregard the nutty Right most

15%, and aim to eat into the right leaning Democratic Party space. The huge mistake the GOP made was to pander to that fringe, because it has resulted in the rest of the GOP denying their right of center politics and that ultimately is going to destroy them. TLP would reposition themselves and screw the nutjobs.

[Boogiemack]

31. And Amy Coney Barrett should seal the GOP coffin. i hope we can bury it on Nov. 3. Tnks Mitch! nt

[Gothmog]

34. The Members of the Lincoln Project have burned their ties to the GOP

[DownriverDem]

37. Saw him on 60 minutes

Rick said the same thing about his association with the repubs is over.

[Ferrets are Cool]

38. That last paragraph!!

"And if you ask me what I want, you know, in the future from Congress, I ... Look, I want a new Voting Rights Act. I want a new Election Security act. I want An Interference with Elections Act. I want a Federal Civil Service and Ethics Reform Act. Those things. I think they're not ideological anymore. They're like the mechanical repairs that have to be done to keep having a republic. I don't think we can avoid those things."

[dlk]

41. Wilson spent many years helping to create this monster

It’s all good and well he’s working to defeat Trump today. However...

[Kahuna]

57. I watch their LP vlogs on youtube. They acknowledge their participation...

in creating the current republican party. They are determined to defeating all of trump's enablers.

[dlk]

60. I don't dispute the excellent work they're doing in this election

In my view, though, it needs to be seen within the context of their entire body of political work and what the results of their efforts have cost us over time.

[Kahuna]

61. Even on 60 mins Sunday night, they said they're done with gop politics...

Does that mean they're done forever? Time will tell. But they are right now determined to unseat republicans of any and all offices.

[dlk]

63. Understood, expediency is what matters today

But when the election is over, I’m in no big hurry to give them a pass.

[GusBob]

43. Why do we discuss and argue politics?

To educate ourselves and to change the way people think act and vote

Sounds like Wilson at al have made the change

After the election I'd like to see them advocate for Voting/election security and maybe climate change issues

To be cynical there is money to be made on both fronts

[brer cat]

46. K&R

[Tarc]

47. I'm going to light a stick of dynamite here and toss it in

The conservatives movement will always be a cancerous, lecherous stain upon America while its wagon is hitched to batshit crazy Christians.

Not ALL Christians are loons...Unitarians are ok, Catholics are kinda ok, a few others. But the "pray the gay away", tent revival, Baptists, evangelical types are a plague.

[FakeNoose]

49. I believe Rick Wilson and Steve Schmidt

They want to be the "good guys" even though they might not be ready to become Democrats just yet. I think they're sick of the same-old-shit from the Repukes and they have been for a long time.

Yes they made a lot of money getting Repukes elected, but look how it has messed up our country. The Lincoln Project guys want to change all of that. If George Conway has already quit the group - what does that mean? Maybe he's not ready to burn bridges like Rick Wilson and Steve Schmidt are doing.

Let's stop looking a gift horse in the mouth. These guys are really helping!

[roamer65]

66. I think they are gonna burrow into the GOP like a tick and wreak havoc.

They will bring about the long needed party purge to bring it mainstream.

[yardwork]

50. After Watergate, the Democratic Party got pulled hard to the right.

Is this happening again? In the mid-1970s, overall the voters were much more progressive than they are now. Nixon's disgrace pulled a lot of former Republicans into the Democratic Party, and then all those people voted for Reagan and the country descended into hardcore selfish conservatism.

Don't let it happen again. Let these guys rebuild their Republican Party. The Democratic Party needs to go left.

[My Pet Orangutan]

51. Democratic Party got pulled hard to the right

That process began with Carte and VP Mondale tacked further to the right in 1984.

[Celerity]

52. +1000

[Azathoth]

54. What's ironic is that Trumpers just dismiss LP as "doing it for the money"

It's a universal article of faith among them that anti-Trump Republicans are just doing it because of all the "Soros bucks".

As with other cults, even sacrificing yourself and your future to prove to them how misguided they are merely reinforces their loyalty to the cult.

[OnDoutside]

58. Thanks, I listened to the full podcast, it's excellent and Wilmore is a super interviewer. Raw, but

all the better for it.

[My Pet Orangutan]

62. yw

[Hekate]

59. This is a must-read for DUers. Kick, Rec, Bookmark.

[NorthOf270]

68. Did he mention Max Cleland?

Just curious.

[My Pet Orangutan]

71. Not as such, but reading between the lines

There's plenty of campaigns you get in your life, you're like 'Yeah, I gotta do this. I gotta pay the mortgage. But this guy's an asshole, or this guy's a scumbag or this crazy or this guy's crazy or you know', but, you know, I never feel that way, right now. I feel like we're in the fight.

[GulfCoast66]

73. Not specifically. These guys admit they were mercenaries for the right. It was never personal.

But about the pay. No they claim to see the damage they helped reap.

Well, I can sympathize because at 54 years old I was a republican voter longer than a Democratic voter.

I can’t change that fact and nothing I can do will take away those votes. All I can do I push for Social Democratic ideas I now believe in. Not saying these guys are Social Democrats! Not by a long shot.

But with time they too can change. It appears in some ways they already have.

Glad for their help. Not interested in bring their unbridled free market shit into the Democratic Party.

[Poiuyt]

74. I still say they should just rename the Republican Party

It doesn't resemble the Republican Party of even just a few years ago.

They could call it the Trumpist Party or the Trumpian Fascist Party, or something like that.