'Catalyst for a movement': Ex-GOP senators launch fight against 'radical' Trump populism

Three retired Republican senators are creating a resistance movement against former President Donald Trump and the MAGA populists they argue are usurping the party of former President Abraham Lincoln.

Retired Sens. Alan Simpson (R-WY), John Danforth (R-MO) and William Cohen (R-ME) announced Tuesday in a Washington Post editorial their intention to fight radical conservatism with a new political organization to honor what they called Our Republican Legacy.

"Recently it has become popular to assert that this traditional brand of Republicanism is dead, replaced by a new populist, radical version," they write. "We disagree."

"In our view, traditional Republicanism, though currently in eclipse, is no more extinct than the sun was over portions of the country on April 8. And all of us who believe in it must do what we can to ensure its expeditious return."

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Our Republican Legacy will serve as a "big tent" for those who ascribe to the tenets of the Republican Party they hope will "reassert themselves because they are as relevant and critical to the well-being of our nation as ever."

They include the supporting the Constitution, national unity, fiscal responsibility, free enterprise, and "steadfast" opposition to Russia.

"It is certainly true that each of these principles extends back in history — in some cases, way back," write the three former lawmakers. "The rule of law dates from the time of Moses, the free enterprise system to Adam Smith. But to recognize a principle as old is not to say that it is outdated — and none of these five are."

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The group is not a lobbying organization or a political action committee, but a "digital rallying place" with news, commentary and debate "for all of those currently dispirited about the state of our party and see nowhere to go with their beliefs."

"In short," the Republicans write, "this group will be a catalyst for a movement to reassert traditional Republicanism against the populist version it has become under Donald Trump."

The group hopes Our Republican Legacy will fill a void.

"Many Republicans have given up on trying to winch their party out the populist ditch," they write. "National resistance has been missing. Our Republican Legacy will provide that resistance."