NEEDS MORE PARTISANSHIP

This op-ed by five members of the new Republican anti-Trump organization is ... um, well-intentioned:

Alongside dozens of prominent Republicans, ex-Republicans and independents, we are announcing “A Call for American Renewal,” a nationwide rallying cry against extremist elements within the GOP, and highlighting the urgent need for a new, common-sense coalition....

We want to give voice to the millions of Americans who feel politically homeless and mobilize them to help chart a new path forward for our country....

Tragically, the Republican Party has lost its way, perverted by fear, lies and self-interest. What’s more, GOP attacks on the integrity of our elections and our institutions pose a continuing and material threat to the nation....

We will not wait forever for the GOP to clean up its act. If we cannot save the Republican Party from itself, we will help save America from extremist elements in the Republican Party....

But we will not rely on the old partisan playbook. We intend to work across party lines with other Americans to oppose extremists and defend the republic wherever we can.

Together with our patriotic allies in other parties, our movement will stand against fearmongers, conspiracy theorists and the opportunists who seek unbridled power.

In order to have an impact, these people don't need to persuade Democratic voters (who already understand the problem) -- they need to persuade some fellow Republicans. Polls suggest that Trump has lost his appeal for a small but somewhat significant percentage of Republican voters. These people would appear to be reachable.

But they can't be reached if this group stresses working "across party lines" with "patriotic allies in other parties." Even Trump skeptics in the GOP believe that there simply aren't any "patriotic allies" in the Democratic Party. That's what their politicians and the right-wing media have told them for decades.

The members of this anti-Trump group can talk about the threat to America posed by the Trumpist GOP mainstream, but the average Republican voter is undoubtedly thinking: What about the threat to America posed by the evil Democrats?

Which is why this manifesto needs more partisanship. These folks need to tell fellow Republicans that they want a new GOP that will defeat us.

They write this:

Some no doubt will urge us to join the Democratic Party. We believe that inching toward a single-party system would be dangerous and would fail to represent the diverse viewpoints in our nation.

America cannot have just one party committed to preservation of its democratic institutions. There must be at least two, if not more.

Do even Trump-averse Republican voters believe that Democrats are committed to preservation of America's democratic institutions? They've been told for years that we aren't. Why would they think we are?

If these anti-Trumpers were combining a denunciation of Trumpism with the message "This is how we'll beat the Democrats," a few GOP voters might respond well to it. But even the rare Republican voters who admit that Joe Biden won in 2020 don't want to live in a country where Democrats can win. So this effort won't reach any of them.