I have sometimes taken flack here for the blog’s liberal use of the term “asshole,” widely regarded as a vulgarism, to describe certain individuals or their conduct when no other description seems to suffice. I would offer the letter above as further evidence that in some cases, nothing other than “asshole” will accurately characterize the individual or individuals at issue. Indeed, I confidently offer this translation of the letter:
Hello! We’re the Lincoln Project, and we are entirely made up of assholes who depend on Donald Trump’s continued political viability to justify our pathetic existence and raise money for our own enrichment. But if you’ve been paying attention you probably knew that already…
I love the letter; if I ever write another book, I’ll use it as a graphic illustration of the unethical mind. It’s such a wonderful self-indictment, immediately beginning the list of its ethical breaches with incompetence. The Lincoln Project is a professional trolling operation, and it can’t even do that well.
The letter announces itself as signature significance for an asshole-run organization by offering false congratulations: “Congratulations, you’re going to fail.” Who does that? It’s an inherently hateful act: in my life, only one person has done the equivalent to me, and I never had any contact with him again. It is like putting out one’s open right hand and punching someone in the gut with the other.
Why would an organization whose entire reason for existence is the defeat of Donald Trump and elimination of him from the political scene set out to publicly denigrate the one most likely obstacle to his again gaining the Republican nomination for President? That’s easy; as with the news media and Trump-obsessed politicians like Liz Cheney and Adam Schiff, the Lincoln Project must nurture Trump in order to have him around to destroy. If Trump dropped dead tomorrow, the Lincoln Project, which has already revealed itself as a cabal of scam-peddling slime-balls, will be deader. So it obviously sees Gov. De Santis as a threat. No more “the enemy of my enemy is my friend.” The real enemy of the Lincoln Project is public awareness and sensitivity to toxic hypocrisy.
The letter reeks of asshole. Repeated sarcasm, ad hominem insults ( Who cares about a Presidential candidate’s height in 2021? Even Hillary Clinton didn’t use that as one of her excuses for losing), and worst of all, using the transparently dishonest device of attacking De Santis by warning him what Trump would do while the letter is doing it instead. This is an old vaudeville routine similar to “Slowly I Turn,” which the Three Stooges featured (among others): a comic tells the fall guy what he’s going to do when he finds some miscreant, and getting carried away in fury, uses the poor sap as a punching bag until he stops, saying: “Oh! I’m sorry, that’s what I’m going to do to him!” Then he does it over and over a again as hilarity ensues.
And, of course, the letter lies, because that’s what the Lincoln Project does. These people claim to be conservatives, but they helped elect Joe Biden and a party that they claim opposes all of their core ideals. Setting standards for textbooks isn’t “banning” them: a state has every right to decide what books are used in public education. No individual rights have been “destroyed” by De Santis; in fact, it is undeniable that he was one of the very few elected leaders during the disastrous pandemic lockdown who showed appropriate deference to citizens’ individual liberties at all. Disney had a sweetheart partnership with Florida, and then gratuitously attacked state policies that have nothing to do with Disney’s business. No partner in any enterprise would tolerate that. Disney was grossly over-stepping to inject itself into the debate on sexual instruction in the lower grades.
The entire letter is conceived on the level of a nasty high school mean girl’s Facebook post designed to embarrass and hurt the new girl in school. “Your Friends at the Lincoln Project” indeed.
If these aren’t assholes, I don’t know what one is.
And I do.
Ethics Alarms 
Funny. All these years I’ve been confusing the Log Cabin Republicans with the Lincoln Project. If they’re so anti-Trump, why don’t they simply support someone they like? It’s hard to total all the ways Trump’s existence had turned the world of politics and government and media upside down.
Not that this is a big deal in light of the group’s other problems, but choosing Lincoln as the symbol of a group supposedly dedicated to preserving democracy is problematical. Lincoln was more autocratic than Trump in his most fevered dreams. Like everything else about the Lincoln Project scammers, they are targeting the ignorant, intellectually lazy and dumb.
Sadly, I think the people who know about the Civil War and its era are all dying off. I don’t think younger history buffs are focusing on the Civil War and its era as they did when we were kids. I can’t imagine young Southerners knowing, but maybe they do.
“Disney had a sweetheart partnership with Florida, and then gratuitously attacked state policies that have nothing to do with Disney’s business.” (bolds mine)
Somewhere, Hyman Roth (ironically a Sunshine State resident, himself) is smiling…
Speaking of @$$holes, is that sanctimoniously smug pr!ck George T. Conway III still with ’em?
Would it be unethical to suggest that he has a…um…PUNCHABLE FACE…
Yes, this confused me.
I thought Lincoln project hated Trump. So, why fight his competition.
They should support DeSantis.
Unless they are Democrats posing as Republicans.
I thought they were never Trumpers. Sounds like they are ever-Trumpers here.
Glad I never paid much attention to them.
Why bother now?
-Jut
“These people claim to be conservatives…” is correct, they have in fact been co-conspirators in the dismantling of our Constitutional republic, they never met a war they didn’t like (and profit from), and they never oppose the many and frequent tyrannies of our huge unelected bureaucracies. If I wanted to be nice, I could say that they are perfectly round assholes.
If the NeverTrump Republicans actually got around to endorsing any other non-trump republican, I might actually give them one moment of my time.
But they won’t. Because they are homeless grifters now who will never be welcome back with the GOP and the democrats don’t need them anymore.
Why are the principals of the Lincoln Project afraid to sign the letter themselves? A non-human entity cannot neither have an opinion nor offer advice.
I cannot put faces to them here but I can put names to those who hide.
Rick Wilson, Founder
Reed Gaylen, Founder
Ms. Ryan Wiggins,
Trygve Olsen,
Ms. Tara Setamayer,
Stuart Stevens,
Jeff Timmer,
Joe Trippi – He used to be a regular on FOX
The talk in platitudes but offer no sound strategies. Stuart Stevens wrote the following: “What do you do when you are twice impeached, indicted by one jury, and convicted by another for sexual assault? Try to copy our ad to save yourself.”
This is what the Lincoln Project passes off as argument. They claim he is ripping off their ad but in fact the Morning in America ad was a Reagan ad that they ripped off.
Twice impeached for political reasons but not convicted either.
Look how they take 2 separate issues to suggest he was convicted of a crime. You are not convicted in a civil court and damages as determined by a group of people does not occur in a criminal trial.
Based on one recent podcast they are unhappy that McCarthy is holding the line on spending.
It appears that the Lincoln Project is comprised of Big Government spendthrifts who would be welcomed in the Big Government Democrat party. I believe the Lincoln Project is an arm of the DNC posing as Republicans. Anyone can register any way they want. When one of your “gear” products is a mug that says ‘Ridin with Biden’ that should be a tipoff as to party affilliation.
If you provide facts or opinions in a manner that is designed to purposely lead the reader to draw an incorrect conclusion, then that is no different than a lie. As such I cannot trust this group of people.
Don’t forget George Conway.
George is not listed on their website anymore.
I should have mentioned that the group has labeled everyone at the Capitol on January 6 as seditionists.
I have no problem with differences of opinions within the party but when the group labels it’s own as seditionists but makes no similar condemnation for those who attacked the Whitehouse then I have no time to evaluate their biased perspectives.
Obsession with height?
Makes sense – Lincoln was our tallest president!