As we enter the beginning of October, the Republican Presidential Primary is heating up, well not really.  There is the obvious frontrunner, Donald Trump, who is consistently ahead by more than 30 points on his competitors, and didn’t bother to attend the two debates.  Then there are his challengers whose “surges” involve them going from 2 percent in the polls to 8 percent while Trump is at 46 percent.  So there is no point discussing the lopsided Republican primary. 

Instead, I am going to highlight a number of people and organizations who are either Republicans or former Republicans who are doing the hard (and sometimes thankless) work taking on Trump and the illiberal populism he represents.  They could reasonably be called the equivalent of the Russian dissidents who so fiercely opposed the Soviet Union.  They are a diverse group, but all of them have no qualms about speaking out against the Madman in Mar-a-Largo and describing him as the wannabe tyrant that he is.  For those who think that everyone who is right of center has succumbed to the throes of the Orange Caligula, these people prove otherwise.  Some of their material is dark, but much of what they contribute give me hope, and a sense of admiration. 

1. The Bulwark.

The Bulwark is a website that offers analysis of the Trumpified Republican Party and current events from the perspective of former Republicans. It was founded in 2019 by Charlie Sykes, who hosted a talk radio show in the Milwaukee suburbs for over two decades.  He first came to prominence as someone who spoke out against Trump on the eve of the Wisconsin primary in 2016¹.  The Bulwark is staffed by a number of people who left the Republican party after Trump came on the scene.  

The Bulwark hosts a number of podcasts and newsletters on its site, which covers the gamut from the news of the day, to interviews with people, to discussions about Hollywood. I always enjoy reading and listening to their content, as it is laced with as much wit and humor as darkness.  Whenever I feel distressed about the state of our country, I think of the Bulwark, and its growing audience of readers, and it gives me hope.

2. Republican Accountability Project.

Founded by former Republican and Bulwark contributor Sarah Longwell, it was created after January 6th with the purpose of holding Republicans accountable for that day.  What is special about Longwell is that in addition to being a writer/podcast host for the Bulwark, she is an activist fighting to preserve liberal democracy, as is evident by the group she founded. 

R.A.P started out with a scorecard on whether representatives upheld the will of the people by voting to certify the 2020 election, and whether they spoke out against the attempt by Trump to overturn it.  Since then, they have run ads featuring former Republican voters speaking to the camera explaining why they were no longer voting for the G.O.P under Trump.  The ads were particularly effective during the 2022 midterms, when R.A.P spent money opposing the more extreme Republicans running for office.  During the current Presidential Primary, they have aired ads and billboards opposing Trump in Iowa and during the Presidential debates.

3. Country First.

A political action committee (PAC) founded by Congressman and January 6th committee member Adam Kinzinger, it originated with Kinzinger recording a video message urging his fellow Republicans to abandon Trump after January 6th.  At the time, it seemed like many in the G.O.P would be receptive to that message.  Unfortunately as we all know, most elected Republicans regressed from any specks of desire to move on from Trump. 

Despite the resistance from many of his colleagues, he started Country First as a PAC and an organization that seeks to organize people around the concept of putting Country ahead of Party.  In the two and a half years since it began, Country First has evolved and expanded.  There are chapters in most states, some more active than others, and there are private group chats on social media sites like Facebook and Reddit.  It has hosted online townhall meetings with people that have attempted to put principles and truth before power, such as hosting Chris Christie before the first Primary debate in August. 

In 2022, Country First endorsed several reasonable Republican challengers and incumbents, from election clerks, to U.S Senators.  They were successful in some of the races, most notably when it helped Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger hold off his primary challenger. In recent months, Country First created an academy where it is training principled people that want to run for office the basics of how to build a campaign, and Kinzinger created a newsletter on Substack where he offers his unvarnished opinion on topics such as his former colleagues in Congress.

4. Principles First.

Founded by Heath Mayo, it is an organization dedicated to promoting the conservative principles that the mainstream of the Republican Party used to espouse. Mayo was dismayed with the principles (or lack of principles) the party embraced under the direction of Donald Trump.  So in 2019, he and other people who shared the same concerns organized gatherings across the country to promote the principles of free trade and American involvement throughout the world that the G.O.P until recently stood for. 

Starting in 2020, Principles First has hosted an annual conference at the end of February, with next year’s conference scheduled for February 23-25.  What was noteworthy last year was the comparison with the Conservative Political Action Committee (CPAC).  While CPAC’s attendance declined, and cost hundreds of dollars to attend for one day, Principles First’s conference attracted 400 people, and cost 45 dollars to visit all three days, with the cost being the same next year. Principles First conferences consist of roundtables and interviews with principled people from both sides of the aisle featuring intelligent discussion of important issues.  The organization has drafted a Declaration of 15 Principles that they believe are important for the current environment and Mayo consistently tweets his desire to build a new coalition of people to support principled politicians.

5. Joe Walsh.

He is a former Illinois congressman who notably behaved like many of his MAGA cohort today during his time in public service.  During his reelection campaign against now Senator Tammy Duckworth, he complained about her constant invoking of her military service.  But when Trump became President, he turned against the party and ran a long-shot primary challenge against him in 2020.  He currently hosts a podcast called White Flag, where he invites guests of all political persuasions, including die hard Trump supporters.  At the same time, he is unsparing in his criticism of Trump on his podcast and Twitter (X) feed.

6. Ron Filipkowski.

Ron Filipkowski is a former attorney and someone who was involved with the Republican Party in Sarasota Florida, until 2016.  After Trump was elected President, he retreated from politics until the middle of 2020, when he sent out a video of himself as part of a campaign called Republicans against Trump.  He then began to tweet clips and retweets of what various members of the MAGA movement were doing after the 2020 election, with their overheated Stop the Steal rhetoric and their calls for violence.  He has kept tweeting ever since.

He is also the editor of MediasTouch Network, where he co-hosts a podcast that touches on what is happening in the MAGA world.  If you want to know what is happening amongst the various MAGA influencers, his Twitter (X) feed is the place to go.  His comments to his tweets are hilarious and will not disappoint. 

Honorable Mention:

The UnPopulist.

The Unpopulist is a newsletter that documents the rise and spread of illiberal populism throughout the world.  While the contributors span the ideological spectrum, I am including the newsletter in this post because it is a reminder that Trump style populism is happening all over the world.  Articles have covered the controversial judicial reforms in Israel, the rise of Hindu Nationalism in India, and the actions of far right parties in Europe.  One theme that is interwoven throughout all the pieces is a robust defense of classical liberalism, which the authors believe is the best style of governance to guarantee prosperity for everyone.

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As I have written about above, these are several conservatives/ex-conservatives who have sacrificed toeing the party line, the Republican career ladder, and even members of their own family to speak their beliefs about a party gone wrong.  We should thank them every opportunity we can. While most people in the Republican Party have succumbed to the populist fervor, there are many ordinary voters and public figures who have broken with the party over Trump, especially if you read the testimonials in the R.A.P website.   I also believe that President Biden, should he win a second term, should work with these people and organizations to try to create a new Center-Right. 

I do not know how it would be done, or whether Biden, a Democrat, can have any influence in influencing a center-right political movement.  But I believe even Biden believes that MAGA style populism will go away on its own, even if Trump loses and lands in jail.  There are too many influencers and figures existing in that movement to believe otherwise.  These 6 people/organizations certainly can be a seed to create a conservative party that believes in the basics of Liberal Democracy.  Biden should have an interest in trying to get the ball rolling on creating one.  After all, it is essential to have at least two political parties that believe in the tenets of Liberal Democracy.

1. The last state won by someone other than Trump (Ted Cruz) ↩︎