Who is @ResoluteSquare? Grifter Version 2.0 of @ProjectLincoln.
“New and improved” is a term that’s often used in advertisements. Companies refer to products as “new and improved” when they’ve created a different version of something or made improvements to it. It’s now widely regarded with contempt as the utter intelligence-insulting nonsense that it is.
Enter the wild and wacky transmogrification of those dog-faced pony soldiers of the scandal-ridden Lincoln Project as they try to reboot their careers with a new “pro-democracy” news site … Resolute Square.
Let’s begin with a little history as we unpack their dirty laundry…
There is an obvious irony to be seen in the various stories surrounding the beginnings of this group of disaffected Republican consultants who started out as anti-Trump warriors. It was Reed Galen in an interview with Lesley Stahl who said,
We do not represent any candidate. We don’t represent any campaign. We don’t represent any political party. So it allows us a great deal of freedom. You know, we sail the seas and when the opportunity presents itself, you know, we unfurl the Jolly Roger and go to town.
What an amazing coincidence that all of a sudden, 7 Republicans all had a Kodak moment at exactly the same time. It’s more likely that they all saw their influence waning and the only to save their careers as professional provocateurs was to float their boat on the rising tide of anti-Trump politics. The devil in the details is that they have to basically reject everything on the Conservative side of politics to attract those yummy Democrat dollars that will make it happen. And throw money at the project they did … after all, Donald Trump was the ultimate bad guy and definitely “a clear and present danger.” What patriotic “Democracy Defender” wouldn’t want to fund his destruction?
Early in the timeline of Project Lincoln’s existence, Stephen Kruiser recognized the blatant hypocrisy of the so-called “Principled Conservative” schtick put out by the LP prophets of sleaze…
As we are all painfully aware, the Never-Trump crowd has laughably been blathering on and on about their principles since 2016. If milking as much money as you can while crapping all over 9/10ths of the people you sided with for most of your career is a “principle,” then they have a case. I’m not opposed to anyone making money legally, but I will shoot your high horse if you’re a petty sellout pretending to occupy a position of moral superiority.
The Lincoln Project has rapidly distinguished itself as the worst of the worst. Sure, they bark about principles like all the Nevers do, but they’re so transparently awful that I doubt even they believe their own b.s. Over in Never-Trump Grifterland, the Lincoln Project makes the writers at The Bulwark look like the American Conservative Union.
The major players in the Lincoln Project continue to portray themselves as principled anti-Trump Republicans or — in Schmidt’s case — independents. In reality, they are all advocates for the Democrats now. It’s not just Trump who they want to defeat, it’s any Republican currently running who didn’t disavow Trump and join their pathetic little reindeer games.
Some Democrats who share the same level of distaste for Trump have also seen through the obvious hypocrisy of the “Never-Trump” professional hucksters. Nathan Rabin, comments on this blog, “Goodbye Forever, Never Trumpers, and Thanks for the Laughs:”
I relate to the Never Trump contingent because we have a common enemy: Donald Trump. That has proven such a powerful, potent bond that it has inspired Democrats to donate money to an organization like The Lincoln Project, which is made up Republicans, ostensible former Republicans and folks whose party affiliation appears to be very much in flux.
The Lincoln Project was a very successful hustle. It got an enormous amount of press, both due to the novelty of Trump being constantly, viciously and personally attacked by people who previously used their powers of persuasion to help Conservatives and due to the effectiveness of its propaganda.
The stated goal of the Lincoln Project was to get Trump out of office. It has succeeded. Its other, less stated goals, was to make a shit-ton of money, increase the public profiles of its members and be on the right side of history where Trump is concerned. It succeeded just as spectacularly at that.
In 2021, Fox News exposed the Lincoln Project’s donors and there were some big names and big numbers.
- Democratic dark money group Majority Forward donated $1.35 million
- Investor and philanthropist Gordon Getty donated $1 million
- Lone Pine Capital founder Stephen Frank Mandel donated $1 million
- William Harris of “Anburst” donated $800,000
- Aderdeen, Inc. President Alfred Clark donated $701,000
- Billionaire David Geffen donated $500,000
- Democratic dark money group Sixteen Thirty Fund donated $300,000
- Katz Watson Group founder and President Fran Watson donated $300,000
What the geniuses at The Lincoln Project probably didn’t count on was just how far left the extremist forces in the Democratic party were going to take their politics. Once they threw their grappling hooks over the side of that ship, they were committed nonetheless. That’s where they find themselves today. Evidence of this hard left turn was underscored in August 2022 when Stuart Stevens thought it was a good idea to trash this tweet about Ron DeSantis from his wife Casey with what Western Journal called “a dishonest attack against the man many believe to currently be the face of the Republican Party at the moment.”
In response,
Stevens claimed the Florida governor was playing “military dress up” and acting “like a tough guy.” He even went as far as to criticize DeSantis’s weight.
Also in this piece at The Western Journal, Michael Austin concludes,
If nothing else, this proves that Stevens and the other RINOs at the so-called “Lincoln Project” don’t stand for true Republican values and are therefore doing a disservice to their namesake.
Perhaps renaming it “The Benedict Arnold Project” would be appropriate.
Grifter recognition continues even into 2023 with the Lincoln Project. “Lincoln Project mocked for posting Biden victory lap about China spy balloon: It’s down just like inflation.“
Twitter users mocked The Lincoln Project congratulating President Biden for shooting down the Chinese spy balloon and lowering inflation in what many saw as a tone-deaf tweet on Saturday.
Although this balloon was spotted in Montana on Wednesday, the U.S. waited until Saturday when the balloon had passed over the Atlantic Ocean to shoot it down. Many political figures criticized this hesitation, but the anti-Trump organization celebrated the move and bragged about the president’s accomplishments on Twitter.
“Balloon down, just like inflation. Joe did that,” The Lincoln Project tweeted along with a video of Biden saying “We’re going to take care of it” spliced with a report stating “It appears that China spy balloon has now been shot down over the Atlantic Ocean.”
Twitter users blasted this tweet for ignoring past record-high levels of inflation as well as undermining the threat of the Chinese Communist Party.
“You can’t send enough money to these people,” Fox News contributor Joe Concha wrote.
Former congressional candidate David Giglio agreed, “These people still go around pretending that they are Republicans. They aren’t. They are the ultimate grifters. A total con operation.”
“This is the best parody site on Twitter,” National Review contributor Pradheep Shanker tweeted.”
Further evidence of how firmly The Lincoln Project has cemented its relationship with full-blown Liberalism is version 2.0 of their grift … ResoluteSquare. Realizing their current grift machine is running on fumes, they decided to reinvent themselves as a media powerhouse.
Shown below is one of their pieces of “news”:
From the Resolute Square website…
Resolute Square is an ambitious effort to rethink how the media fights against autocracy beyond the 2024 presidential race. FOX News went from a small upstart to defining an entire era of political discourse. Resolute Square is no less ambitious.
Resolute Square will grow to be what it must be: a media platform built by warriors to go to war. It will be your voice to take on bullies, liars, and freaks like Tucker Carlson, Nick Fuentes, and Ben Shapiro. The political right has merged with the far right, and their propaganda machine is growing. Every hour of every day, dozens of radical, right-wing media outlets pump poison into the democratic bloodstream. They thrive on conspiracy, incite hatred, promote violence, spread lies, and tear down America.
But we want to build Resolute Square through the support of members and the pro-democracy community, not a handful of malicious billionaires and wannabe despots. That all starts with individuals like you helping and becoming members of the movement.
They mean, “That all starts with suckers like you.”
According to their about page, “From the fearless voices behind The Lincoln Project comes Resolute Square, a community of creators, thinkers, strategists, and activists committed to taking on the autocrats and their right-wing media mouthpieces to defend democracy. Our mission is to expose, inspire, inform and lead — and give you the tools to fight the poison peddlers who are trying to destroy our democracy.”
Also featured among their offerings is chief honcho Rick Wilson’s new podcast, unsurprisingly named…
You see, it’s not good enough that Conservatives with whom they once shared seats at the table are now opposing political players with differing points of view … they must now be referred to as “The Enemy.” Rick must be a real source of entertainment at neighborhood get-togethers (if his X/Twitter feed is any indication, which I’ve covered here).
Let’s be clear. The permanently Trump-offended folks at The Lincoln Project never were “Principled Conservatives.” They were merely opportunists who happened to be on the side of town where they could make a good living until their influence capital started drying up.
A recent email demonstrates why they are merely a continuation of disgusting rhetoric that is the modus operandi of the original grifters.
Queue up MediaBiasFactCheck.com…
RESOLUTE SQUARE: These media sources are moderately to strongly biased toward liberal causes through story selection and/or political affiliation. They may utilize strong loaded words (wording that attempts to influence an audience by using appeal to emotion or stereotypes), publish misleading reports, and omit information reporting that may damage liberal causes. Some sources in this category may be untrustworthy.
Lest there be any doubt that there has been a highly suspicious turnaround in his politics, the following real posts by Rick Wilson are presented without comment…
“Never-Trump” has run its course, as he was just one guy. The transport trucks hauling that hatred are bogged down in the mud. It’s time to “create” a new common foe and realizing they can’t really create a “common vision,” they must invent something that the mob mentality will naturally gravitate to … someone or a group of people upon which to focus a new mutual hatred. Group psychology 101.
It should be noted that Rick Wilson reveals on his Twitter bio that, tellingly, he is an “ad guy.” That voice of common sense whispering to you in the corner of your mind should be telling you something right now … Rick Wilson is trying to sell you something.
There’s a sign for that. It should also be flashing in the corner of your mind.
