An unpopular take: I find liberal hostility toward the Lincoln Project baffling. And having read this great @cjane87 profile, w/ lots of quotes from liberals, I only find it more baffling. vox.com/2020/7/17/2131…
"These are bad people who helped the GOP become what it is today, including Trump." Yes! True! Luckily, you don't need to treat them as moral exemplars or invite them to dinner. It is possible to appreciate what they're doing without elevating them as heroes.
"The ads they make don't appeal to heartland voters, just Twitter types." Yes! True! And indeed they make no claim otherwise. They are making ads directed at dynamics in & among elites. They are designed to enrage Trump, get in his head, cause him to lash out & do crazy shit.
"They're flushing their sins down the memory hole & setting themselves up to be influential in a Biden admin." Well, maybe they're *trying*, but Dems could easily just, you know, not let them. The ads are the ads; how these ppl are treated post-election is a different issue.
"The ads contain conservative themes like red-baiting." Yes! True! Those are the themes that will get to elite Republicans who are growing disaffected with Trump. They'll get to Trump himself. It's just fuckery, not a governing blueprint or a moral manifesto!
There's just something so characteristically liberal about making this into a moral referendum on the members of the project. Who gives a fuck? If they're venal people, temporarily doing a good thing for venal reasons ... that's fine! The thing itself is still good.
Sure, it's annoying they get praised so much On Here. Don't oversell it: they're pissing Trump off & creating a safe space for Rs who want to turn against Trump, no more, no less. It's not gonna swing the election, but it's, on balance, better to have than to not have.
If there were ever an election to approach in a purely mercenary spirit, this is it. If Trump is reelected, America as we know it is over. It's existential. ANYTHING that reduces the chances of that, even an increment, is to be embraced, even if Satan Himself is behind it.
