In a recent column, Jonathan V. Last, the Editor for The Bulwark. asked What's It Going to Take to Get Chris Christie Onstage at the DNC? He explains:
The end goal should be getting one or more of these Republicans on stage at the Democratic convention in Chicago, where they could deliver a message like this:
Thanks for the gracious reception. I know, I’m not one of you. I don’t like Donald Trump, but I’m still a Republican and you guys are Democrats.
But here’s the fact: Here, in this arena, we’re all Americans first. Which is why I can walk safely through this crowd. Which is something I wouldn’t have been able to do at the Republican convention last month.
That fact—that the Republican party has been infused with lawlessness—is one of the great tragedies of our time, because the truth is: We need two healthy political parties in America. We need the yin and the yang. And Donald Trump has made the Republican party sick. He’s like a cancer. And for the country to survive, he needs to be cut out of our politics.
That’s why, for the first time in my life, I’m voting for a Democrat for president.
I went on a mini-tirade last week arguing that Kamala Harris should be having dinner with the Pences once a month and openly trying to earn their votes. But there are lots of Republicans who should be on the target list: Liz Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, Mike Gallagher, H.R. McMaster, Nikki Haley, John Kelly, and Chris Christie are just the start of the list.
Biden and Harris should be going to every one of them, personally. They should thank them for their service and for keeping their honor. They should tell them that they don’t expect them to be Democrats and that they respect their conservative commitments. But that they’re going to work hard to earn their support over the next eight months.
I’m unworried about Biden winning in Colorado. But in Colorado, there are others running for election who clearly will back Trump (the existential danger) AND others (dangerous, but perhaps not at an existential level) in the broader MAGA cult.
We know there are some anti-Trump Republicans who can speak out in Colorado:
- The Republicans who were part of the effort to disqualify Trump. Plaintiffs Norma Anderson, Michelle Priola, Claudine Cmarada, and Krista Kafer. Colorado attorneys associated with the effort may be registered Republicans, but they clearly are willing to work to oppose Trump: Mario Nicolais (who was an active Republican, but now is Unaffiliated), Martha Tierney, Eric Olson, Sean Grimsley, and Jason Murray.
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Former state GOP chair Dick Wadhams has the right idea. Commenting on Dave Williams, a new GOP chair, he said “The party will be led by a MAGA-stolen-election-conspiracist who wants to reject unaffiliated voters from the Republican primary,” Wadhams said at the time. “None of them understand a changing Colorado electorate that rejects Trump.”
I’d like you to recommend Republicans willing to speak against them. Who have you known or read about that would be clear voices and able to appeal to Republicans and the Unaffiliated who could vote a Republican ballot? WHO ought to have Shad Murib and other leading Colorado Democrats approach? And if they can be encouraged to speak out, WHEN should those effort appear: now, before the primaries? in July, just after the primary’s winning candidates are certified? Or should it be a traditional “general campaign,” kicking off after Labor Day?
So, in comments below, make your suggestions:
- what race?
- who is a Republican who could be approached to speak out? and
- when? Should there be an effort to push before the primary to see if the worst can be avoided? Or should it wait until after the primary, making it a clear choice between a Democrat and a MAGA minion?
Or, as always, add a comment on something else you’d like readers interested in Colorado to think about.