Republicans for the Rule of Law

Republicans for the Rule of Law is the principal initiative of the conservative, anti-Donald Trump political group Defending Democracy Together, founded by Bill Kristol, Mona Charen, Linda Chavez, Sarah Longwell, and Andy Zwick in 2019.[1][2][3] The project, a 501(c)(4) (social welfare) group,[4] created an advertising campaign to pressure Republican members of Congress to "demand the facts" about the Trump-Ukraine scandal during the impeachment inquiry against Donald Trump.[1]

Group

The group describes itself as "life-long Republicans dedicated to defending the institutions of our republic and upholding the rule of law" and primarily consists of traditionally Republican lawyers.[5] The group's legal advisory board includes Charles Fried, who served as U.S. Solicitor General under Ronald Reagan, Wendell Willkie II, grandson of 1940 Republican presidential nominee Wendell Willkie[6] and Chris Truax, the group's spokesman. Former Republican U.S. Senator Slade Gorton of Washington state also served on the group's board.[7]

Ad campaign

As the movement to impeach Trump got underway, the group spent over $1 million running cable television advertisements on Fox News and MSNBC, calling on Republicans to "demand the facts" about Trump and Ukraine.[1][8][5] The ad campaign, which included digital as well as television advertising, targeted a dozen Republican Senators[5] as well as House swing districts currently represented by Republicans, including Fred Upton (Michigan), Brian Fitzpatrick (Pennsylvania), Will Hurd (Texas), Jaime Herrera Beutler (Washington), and Mark Amodei (Nevada).[9] The group's ad campaigns also accuse Trump of abusing his office to enrich himself, citing Trump's attempt to hold the 2020 G7 summit at Trump's own Doral resort, and encourage Republicans to publicly oppose Trump's efforts to solicit foreign interference in U.S. elections.[5] The ads air on programs that attract Republican voters, including Fox & Friends.[10] Washington Post columnist Jennifer Rubin calls the ads "devastating" to Trump's credibility.[9]

Affiliated organizations

In 2020 the organization launched Republican Voters Against Trump for the 2020 U.S. presidential election cycle.[11][12]

See also

References
  1. "These Republicans May Not Endorse an Impeachment Inquiry. But They Aren't Saying No". New York Times. 5 October 2019.
  2. Rubin, Jennifer (11 April 2018). "Just in time: A new Republican group seeks to protect Mueller". Washington Post.
  3. "Meet the Other Resistance: The Republican One". New York Times. 24 April 2019.
  4. Calley Hair, Republican group calls on Herrera Beutler to 'stand up for the rule of law', The Columbian (October 11, 2019).
  5. Amanda Becker (18 October 2019). "Republican group slams Trump over Ukraine, G7 in new ads". Reuters.
  6. Jon Sharman, Trump impeachment: Republican group urges GOP senators to take trial seriously, Independent (December 19, 2019).
  7. Danny Westneat, Republicans around here are now complete lambs to Trump. Except for one., Seattle Times (April 27, 2019).
  8. "Campaign Ad: Republicans for the Rule of Law ad pressures GOP to condemn Trump for Ukraine call". McClatchy. 27 September 2019.
  9. Rubin, Jennifer (10 October 2019). "The perfect argument against Trump comes from Lindsey Graham". Washington Post.
  10. "GOP Group to Air Advertisements on Fox News Calling for Republicans to Condemn Trump Over Ukraine Scandal". Newsweek. 7 October 2019.
  11. Warren, Michael (May 28, 2020). "New GOP group launches $10 million campaign to get Republicans to vote for Biden over Trump". CNN. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
  12. Karni, Annie (May 28, 2020). "Get Republicans to Vote Against Trump? This Group Will Spend $10 Million to Try". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 28, 2020.
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