In an op-ed for The Atlantic this Thursday, political strategists Reed Galen and John Weaver, along with GOP media consultant Rick Wilson, argue that the Republican Party has abandoned "principle, morality, or the pursuit of the common welfare" and instead seeks to "further the personal desires and wealth of one man."
It's this transformation that inspired the trio to found the "Lincoln Project" in an attempt to "bind up the wounds" of the republic. While their primary stated goal is to defeat President Trump at the ballot box in November, their mission isn't entirely about Trump.
"Trump is the antithesis of what the Republican Party was founded to defend, and that makes him the tangible and temporal target of our current efforts," the trio write. "Defeating him is only the beginning of a national reformation that will be the work of years, perhaps decades."
The trio contend that they're not defined as being anti-Republican or pro-Democrat. They are simply pro-liberty, pro-institution, and pro-Constitution. "We are small-l liberals and small-c conservatives, militant optimists, and believers in the American experiment. We love this nation for all its flaws and all its wonders. We know our collective potential as a nation but are not blind to our collective shortcomings."
Trump, according to their op-ed, is only a symptom of America's intractable problems. But if that symptom goes untreated, it may "damage the body politic beyond repair."
"Just as Lincoln recognized the storm clouds massing ahead of the Civil War, we see clearly the gravity of our mission and the enormous tasks before us."
Read their full op-ed over at The Atlantic.