News/Commentary

200 ex-staffers for RINOs Bush, McCain and more endorse Kamala in letter rife with Dem talking points

August 27, 2024 | | Print Article

Former President Donald Trump picked up what may amount to his best endorsement yet as scores of RINOs who worked for four notable GOP figures puckered up to Vice President Kamala Harris.

Since the GOP leader first came down his escalator at Trump Tower in New York City, he has bucked the norms and shook the status quo. Now it appeared he was also responsible for the redrawing of the party as a letter from over 200 former staffers to former Presidents George W. and George H.W. Bush as well as late Arizona Sen. John McCain and Utah Sen. Mitt Romney moved to endorse Harris.

Showcasing that the race was no longer between Republicans and Democrats, but rather a contest of America First and the establishment, USA Today reported on the letter that declared, “We reunite today, joined by new George H.W. Bush alumni, to reinforce our 2020 statements and, for the first time, jointly declare that we’re voting for Vice President Kamala Harris and Gov. Tim Walz this November.”

Pitching talking points about “insurrection,” Russian collusion, Project 2025, and the 2020 election, the signers that included the likes of Lincoln Project co-founder Reed Galen, once McCain’s deputy campaign manager, contended, “Of course, we have plenty of honest, ideological disagreements with Vice President Harris and Gov. Walz. That’s to be expected. The alternative, however, is simply untenable.”

“At home, another four years of Donald Trump’s chaotic leadership, this time focused on advancing the dangerous goals of Project 2025, will hurt real, everyday people and weaken our sacred institutions,” the letter argued. “Abroad, democratic movements will be irreparably jeopardized as Trump and his acolyte JD Vance kowtow to dictators like Vladimir Putin while turning their back on our allies. We can’t let that happen.”

The pitch followed a similar effort in 2020 when 150 of the staffers rallied behind then-former Vice President Joe Biden at the same point in the race.

USA Today highlighted other signatories including “former McCain chiefs of staff Mark Salter and Chris Koch; Joe Donoghue, former legislative director for McCain; Jennifer Lux, press secretary for McCain’s 2008 campaign, and Jean Becker, longtime chief of staff for George H.W. Bush.”

The letter that showed the support from staffers of two former Republican presidents and two wannabes came as RINOs like former Illinois Rep. Adam Kinzinger and Olivia Troye, former advisor to the 43rd president and former Vice President Mike Pence, were invited speakers at the Democratic National Convention. The letter signatories also included three interns.

Meanwhile, Trump picked up powerhouse former Democratic presidential hopefuls who had abandoned the party Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and former Hawaii Rep. Tulsi Gabbard.

Among the reactions to the endorsement letter, journalist Glenn Greenwald derided the apparent no-brainer as he contended, “If I believed what former advisers of McCain, Romney and Bush believed, I’d also endorse Kamala. It makes complete sense. It’s the same reason it makes complete sense that most of the leading neocons (what liberals called ‘Nazis’ from 2001-2015) are also vocal Democrats now.”

Likewise, the X account Cynical Publius raised the sense of betrayal brought forth by the letter while contrasting what had long been considered the distinction between the left and the right on the matter of more or less government.

“But it’s obvious now that these traitorous pieces of pretend ‘conservative’ garbage never actually cared about limited government. Rather, they were ALWAYS in favor of intrusive government, just so long as they got to be the ones to decide the scope and nature of the intrusion,” the post read before adding, “Loathsome bastards. These bloviating pieces of amoral crap never cared about limited government. They only cared about the power they could wield.”

Kevin Haggerty
Latest posts by Kevin Haggerty (see all)

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles