Republicans may have plenty of self-reflection to do if former President Donald Trump loses — but they might have an even greater reckoning to face if he wins, a longtime anti-Trump GOP pollster and focus grouper warned Wednesday.
Sarah Longwell argued in The Bulwark that fellow anti-Trump Republicans in positions of power, from politicians to retired military leaders, may live to regret not doing more to stop a man they know is dangerous.
"How are you going to feel if Trump wins on Tuesday by an extremely narrow margin? I suspect you’ll spend the next four years holding your breath," wrote Longwell, who heads up the Republican Accountability Project. "Because if Donald Trump does a tenth of what he has promised — pulls the United States out of NATO, abandons Ukraine and sides with Vladimir Putin, puts RFK Jr. and Elon Musk in charge of serious parts of the American government, rounds up 15 million undocumented immigrants into camps and deports them, seeks political retribution on those who opposed his candidacy — I suspect you’ll come to regret your silence when you could have made a difference."
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Many Republicans will believe they've done all they can by not voting for him, wrote Longwell. But that's not enough.
"The problem is that this moment demands more from all of us," she wrote. "It demands clarity. And it demands your leadership. Over the course of your career you’ve asked people to trust you. Either by voting for you, or listening to your advice, or relying on your judgment and analysis. So why is it suddenly a bridge too far for you to tell everyone what you really believe?"
Many Republicans in this position have gone the extra mile — with former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) and many others outright endorsing and campaigning for Vice President Kamala Harris, despite their policy disagreements, and emphasizing the importance of the moment for the preservation of American democracy.
That's what's needed from a lot more Republicans, argued Longwell — to give typical voters the permission structure to treat this moment for what it is and stop the former president.
"If you’re one of the small number of people who can make a difference in this moment, the question is: What are you going to do?" she concluded. "Courage is contagious. And I have one last piece of advice: No one ever regrets doing the right thing. You won’t regret it, either. So stand up. Do the right thing. It’s our last chance."
