Bill Kristol announced a new $50 million initiative that will, in part, target Republican lawmakers who “enabled or capitulated to Trump by objecting to certifying a free and fair election”:
1. Short thread, with news.
NEW: RVAT FOUNDERS ANNOUNCE $50 MILLION REPUBLICAN ACCOUNTABILITY PROJECT
Today, Defending Democracy Together, home of Republicans for the Rule of Law and Republican Voters Against Trump, announced it would raise and spend $50 million…
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
2. …$50 million to defend Republicans who act to hold President Trump accountable for inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol, and to deploy against those who continue to lie to voters about widespread election fraud.
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
3. Our Republican Accountability Project will do three things:
–Work to hold Republican members of Congress who have enabled or capitulated to Trump by objecting to certifying a free and fair election accountable–including by helping credible primary challengers against them.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
They’ll also use funds to “[e]nsure that ample resources are available for those principled Republicans who do the right thing and hold Trump accountable for inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol to defend against primary challengers”:
4.
–Ensure that ample resources are available for those principled Republicans who do the right thing and hold Trump accountable for inciting an attack on the U.S. Capitol to defend against primary challengers.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
And they’ll fund primaries in open seats:
5.
–And, in primaries for open or redistricted seats, we will back new candidates who would be principled Republicans if elected to office.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
They’re reaching out directly to Republicans who might vote to impeach President Trump when the vote is held, we’re hearing, tomorrow:
6. From me, as Chair of Defending Democracy Together:
“We say to any Republican who votes to impeach or remove Donald Trump: You will not be left alone. We will help you against primary challenges.— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
7. "And before the challenges emerge, we will help explain your vote to your constituents. So do the right thing. We will have your back.”
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
8. Joining Sarah Longwell and me in leading this project will be Elizabeth Neumann, Former Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism and Threat Prevention at DHS under President Trump, and Olivia Troye, Former Homeland Security and Counterterrorism Advisor to VP Mike Pence.
END
— Bill Kristol (@BillKristol) January 12, 2021
But how effective will they *really* be? 147 Republicans objected to the certification of the election. That’s a lot of Republicans to hold accountable:
The 147 members of the hall of shame
8 senators, 139 representativeshttps://t.co/oJr8vSZFvw @karenyourish pic.twitter.com/O66CQ3GUdz— Eric Topol (@EricTopol) January 8, 2021
They’ll need a lot more than $50 million to accomplish any of the things they say they want to accomplish.
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