George Conway, other conservatives, launch Lincoln Project super PAC to 'defeat Trump'

William Cummings | USA TODAY

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WASHINGTON – A group of conservative critics of President Donald Trump – including the husband of White House counselor Kellyanne Conway, George Conway – have launched a political action committee aimed at stopping his reelection.

The group includes conservative attorney Conway; former adviser to Sen. John McCain Steve Schmidt; former Ohio Gov. John Kasich adviser John Weaver; former New Hampshire Republican Party Chairwoman Jennifer Horn; and conservative pundit Rick Wilson.

"Patriotism and the survival of our nation in the face of the crimes, corruption and corrosive nature of Donald Trump are a higher calling than mere politics," Conway, Schmidt, Weaver and Wilson wrote in an op-ed for The New York Times that ran Tuesday. "As Americans, we must stem the damage he and his followers are doing to the rule of law, the Constitution and the American character."

In the op-ed, they announced the founding of the Lincoln Project, a super PAC that "will be dedicated to defeating President Trump and Trumpism at the ballot box and to elect those patriots who will hold the line.

"We do not undertake this task lightly, nor from ideological preference. We have been, and remain, broadly conservative (or classically liberal) in our politics and outlooks. Our many policy differences with national Democrats remain, but our shared fidelity to the Constitution dictates a common effort."

A filing with the Federal Election Commission showed the form to launch a super PAC called Rough Riders for America was filed on Nov. 5. A month later, an amendment was filed to change the group's name to the Lincoln Project.

Though many conservatives have spoken out against Trump since his 2016 victory, few have taken their opposition beyond critical editorials or social media attacks.

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Political strategist Reed Galen, who is listed as the group's treasurer, told the Associated Press that the launch of the Lincoln Project represented a "shift from talk into action." He called it a "big turning point for the political season and for the president’s reelection."

Weaver told AP that the group plans to focus on winning over Republicans who are wary of Trump in battleground states like Michigan, Pennsylvania, Wisconsin, Arizona and North Carolina. They also plan to work against Senate Republicans who have supported Trump, such as Sens. Cory Gardner of Colorado and Martha McSally of Arizona.

The group said Trump's "actions are possible only with the craven acquiescence of congressional Republicans" who they say have "embraced and copied Mr. Trump’s cruelty and defended and even adopted his corruption."

The Lincoln Project's target voters represent a relatively small segment of the electorate. Trump has enjoyed solid support from Republicans since taking office. A USA TODAY/Suffolk University Poll published Sunday found the president had an 87% favorability rating among registered Republicans voters.

But the Republicans and former GOP members behind the super PAC say Trump's supporters in the party have "abandoned conservatism and longstanding Republican principles and replaced it with Trumpism, an empty faith led by a bogus prophet."

"Mr. Trump and his fellow travelers daily undermine the proposition we as a people have a responsibility and an obligation to continually bend the arc of history toward justice," they said. "They mock our belief in America as something more meaningful than lines on a map.

"Our peril far outstrips any past differences: It has arrived at our collective doorstep, and we believe there is no other choice."

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