Republican Michael Steele joins Lincoln Project, urges Americans to vote for Biden
On August 24, the first day of the Republican National Convention, there was yet another prominent Republican urging Americans to vote for Joe Biden this November. The widely-respected conservative Michael Steele, an attorney and regular Trump critic who served as the lieutenant governor of Maryland from 2003 to 2007 and chairman of the Republican National Committee (RNC) from 2009 to 2011, announced yesterday that he has joined The Lincoln Project – the anti-Trump organization, “dedicated to protecting democracy and holding accountable those who would violate their oaths to the Constitution and would put others before Americans.”
Steele’s job announcement came one day after George Conway, who helped co-found the group, said he would be leaving his post to focus on his family. His wife, White House adviser Kellyanne Conway, also resigned on Sunday citing the same reasons.
“Today is the day where things should matter, and you need to take stock of what matters to you and the kind of leader you want to lead in these moments. And for me, it ain’t him,” Steele told MSNBC’s Nicolle Wallace regarding his new role. ~ The Washington Examiner
In making his announcement to join the Lincoln Project, Steele criticized the current president ‘for his “narcissism” and for “chaos and confusion” under his leadership, expressing a commitment to “resetting the course of our nation” and working towards a different future for the Republican Party,’ according to Forbes.
During his appearance on MSNBC yesterday, Steele, who has long been a critic of Trump and the Trump administration, is quoted as saying, “We believe in something other than one man. I’ll be damned if I’m going to cede that ground to Donald Trump who is not now nor has he ever been a Republican.”
Forbes went on to share that more Biden Republican endorsers may be forthcoming. The Biden campaign has launched a “Republicans for Biden” initiative, which they say will be a “national effort to engage Republicans who are supporting Biden this fall,” and “encourage Republicans to organize their communities for Biden using the Vote Joe app and other relational organizing tools.”
On August 24, CNN provided a fairly comprehensive list of notable Republicans who have come out against Trump and will be voting for Biden this November. That list of Republicans includes:
- Former Ohio Gov. John Kasich
- Former New Jersey Republican Gov. Christine Todd Whitman
- Former Hewlett Packard CEO Meg Whitman
- Former New York Republican Rep. Susan Molinari
- Former senior Trump administration official Miles Taylor
- Former Secretary of State Colin Powell
- Former Pennsylvania Rep. Charlie Dent
- Former Nebraska Sen. Chuck Hagel
- U.S. veteran Edward Good
- Former Republican national security officials for Biden
- More than 70 former national security officials from multiple Republican administrations along with former Republican members of Congress announced their endorsement the day Biden officially accepted the Democratic nomination.
‘Republicans for Biden’
On the first day of the Republican National Convention, more than 20 former Republican lawmakers announced they were supporting the former vice president. Along with Dent and Molinari, former Arizona Sen. Jeff Flake announced his support, along with the following former office-holders:
- New Hampshire Sen. Gordon Humphrey
- Virginia Sen. John Warner
- Texas Rep. Steve Bartlett
- Pennsylvania Rep. Bill Clinger
- Missouri Rep. Tom Coleman
- Hawaii Rep. Charles Djou
- Oklahoma Rep. Mickey Edwards
- Maryland Rep. Wayne Gilchrest
- Pennsylvania Rep. Jim Greenwood
- South Carolina Rep. Bob Inglis
- Arizona Rep. Jim Kolbe
- California Rep. Steve Kuykendall
- Illinois Rep. Ray LaHood
- Iowa Rep. Jim Leach
- Maryland Rep. Connie Morella
- Mississippi Rep. Mike Parker
- New York Rep. Jack Quinn
- Rhode Island Rep. Claudine Schneider
- Connecticut Rep. Christopher Shays
- Vermont Rep. Peter Smith
- Texas Rep. Alan Steelman
- New York Rep. Jim Walsh
- Virginia Rep. Bill Whitehurst
- New Jersey Rep. Dick Zimmer
To hear the former RNC Chairman discuss the first night of Trump’s Republican convention, noting in particular the contradictory messages for Black Americans, see the video accompanying this article.
~ Posted by Richard Webster, Ace News Today / Connect with Richard on Facebook and Twitter
