Politics

The Lincoln Project Got Every. Damn. Thing. They. Wanted.

Count these Republicans in the winners column.

By  
on

The election post-mortem is going to be filled with hot takes. And I understand, after so much energy expended trying to undo the mess that Donald Trump and Mitch McConnell wrought, it’s important to understand the good and the bad of what happened on the left. Of course, Democrats will always learn the wrong lesson because they’re Democrats, but we still have to try.

Though official results have yet to be announced, it seems likely that Joe Biden will win the presidency. Yay! But, there’s bad news for liberals: it looks unlikely that they’ll wrest control of the Senate from the GOP… which dooms all hope of righting (lefting?) the federal judiciary and locks us all in for at least two years of gridlock. (Yes, if both Georgia runoffs break for Dems this is moot, but, well, we’re playing the odds on this one.) Given this turn of events, there’s lots of finger pointing — polls are forever broken! Court packing proponents scared moderates! Joe Biden’s coattails weren’t big enough!

And all those takes have some measure of truth to them. But I’m more interested in looking at the folks who benefited the most from the very specific way the election turned out. That’s right, it was the never-Trumpers turned political action committee, The Lincoln Project, that really came out on top.

First of all, remember that despite their (welcomed) opposition to Donald Trump, they are still Republicans. The PAC was founded by former Wachtell attorney George Conway, John McCain adviser Steve Schmidt, former Ohio Gov. John Kasich adviser John Weaver, former New Hampshire GOP chair Jennifer Horn, and veteran Republican operative Rick Wilson. Not exactly folks interested in upending the system.

They’re all fundamentally conservative. They didn’t want Elizabeth Warren winning the nomination for fear of a truly leftist agenda. And, it was those exact dreams of courting centrist Republicans that was the motivation behind Joe Biden’s nomination. So, point in their column.

And frankly, they have to be pretty happy that the Senate (likely) stays with the GOP. Sure, they put out a scathing ad against Lindsey Graham, who eventually kept his seat, but that’s not a bad result for them. It’s not like they really wanted Jamie Harrison in the Senate, they just wanted the veneer of congeniality slapped back on their politics. So, even though Graham still has a job, with Trump deposed (knock on wood) and with the memory of the biting attack ads, he’s been properly chastised.

And that conservative, pro-business majority on the Supreme Court that Trump gave them on his way out the door (fingers crossed)? Well, that suits them just fine.

Sponsored

When the history books are written about 2020’s election and the “battle for the soul of the nation,” just remember who actually came out ahead.

headshotKathryn Rubino is a Senior Editor at Above the Law, and host of The Jabot podcast. AtL tipsters are the best, so please connect with her. Feel free to email her with any tips, questions, or comments and follow her on Twitter (@Kathryn1).

Sponsored

Topics

, , , ,