Months after a short-lived effort to take on President Donald Trump in the Republican primaries, former Rep. Joe Walsh, R.-Ill., recently announced last week the formation of a new group dedicated not only to defeating Trump's reelection but also to defeating Republican senators and governors.
In announcing "The Bravery Project" on his syndicated radio program, Walsh — who held a Chicago-area House seat from 2010-2012 — left no doubt that, like The Lincoln Project, he was gunning for loyalists to Trump who happen to be Republican members of Congress.
"Donald Trump is unfit to be president," he told Newsmax. "And all of the Republicans who are worshippers and enablers of this man have forfeited their right to hold office."
In Walsh's view, Republican Sens. Joni Ernst of Iowa and Susan Collins of Maine, both of whom are locked in close reelection races, are among those who deserve to lose for being defenders of Trump. While Ernst is a strong supporter of the president's agenda, Collins has voted with him only 47% of the time and has broken with Trump on such key issues as the repeal of the Affordable Care Act.
Walsh, the first "Tea Party" conservative to win a Republican primary for Congress in 2010, admitted that "there was some good policy" coming from the Trump White House.
"But, first and foremost over any issue is that these Republicans have enabled Trump to embarrass our country," he added.
He also expressed hope that Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R.-Ky., would lose "because he's been there too long."
Walsh said that many former colleagues of his privately echo his assessment. As he put it, "they'll tell me privately, 'Joe, I agree with every freaking word you say about [Trump].' But they can't say or do anything because they feel they would lose their status within the [Republican] party."
Freely admitting that this is the same position as The Lincoln Project — defeating Trump as well as several Republican members of Congress — Walsh quickly added that there is one fundamental difference between their endeavor and his.
"They are primarily funded by rich Democrats and will advance [Democrat presidential nominee Joe] Biden policies," he said. "I plan to fight the Biden agenda and help rebuild a Republican Party after Trump is gone."
Acknowledging that the populist conservatism of which Trump is emblematic would live on whether he is reelected or not, Walsh pointed a finger at Republican Sens. Tom Cotton of Arkansas and Josh Hawley of Missouri, and Florida's Republican Gov. Ron DeSantis as among the chief perpetuators of "Trumpism."
"Those are the people we have to fight for control of the Republican Party after Trump," he said.
John Gizzi is chief political columnist and White House correspondent for Newsmax. For more of his reports, Go Here Now.
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