Romney in particular has become a boxing bag at Trump campaign events after he voted earlier this year to condemn the president over an article of accusation. And Trump’s feuds with McCain and the entire Bush family are long-running and well-documented.
In an open letter received by POLITICO, the group “Romney Alumni for Biden” says Trump’s rhetoric and actions are antithetical to the Republican Party in which they believe.
“What unites us now is a deep conviction that another four years of a Trump presidency will morally bankrupt this country, irreparably damage our democracy and permanently transform the Republican Party into a toxic personality cult,” the group wrote in the letter, published on Romney4Biden.com and released on the day that Trump will deliver his main convention address. “We can not sit and allow that.”
The 34 total signatories include staff from finance, operations, policy and events of Romney’s presidential bid.
POLITICO also received a letter in advance from Bush alumni supporting Biden, whose signatories are former Secretary of Commerce Carlos Gutierrez, Bush’s domestic policy adviser Sally Canfield, former ambassador James Glassman and former U.S. treasurer Rosario Marin. The group praised Biden’s ability and ability to work across party lines and launched a website that raises money for the Delaware Democrat.
“Joe Biden has proven himself over years of public service. We have respected him for reaching out, considering a different point of view and making a thoughtful decision to benefit the nation,” the group’s letter said.
While Romney is not affiliated with “former employees” pro-Biden letter, the Republican Utah makes no secret of his disgust for Trump. He has consistently been one of the most anti-Trump GOP lawmakers since winning his Senate seat in 2018, namely voting to convict the president in February on allegations of abuse of power.
Trump has often belittled Romney by striving for the 2012 loss to former President Barack Obama. Although Romney did not vote for Trump in 2016 (instead he wrote in his wife), the ex-Romney staff will go a step further this November by distinguishing the Democratic nominee.
The effort is led by Micah Spangler, who served as Florida’s field director for Romney’s failed bid for the presidency. A lifelong Republican, Spangler said his aversion to Trump’s takeover of the GOP forced him to rally support for Biden.
“We know him to be a good man and an honest man, and a reliable executive, legislator and policy maker. This is a time in our country where we desperately need one, ‘Spangler said of Biden. “We need an adult in the room.”
The letter tips Biden to fight the coronavirus pandemic because of his decades of public service and an perceived ability to unite the nation. But moreover, the letter praises Biden’s character over his policy chops – a theme of the opening night of the Democratic National Convention.
“Spending time with Senator Romney on the campaign trail, from stops from small towns to mass gatherings, in minibuses and megabuses, we saw a thoughtful and compassionate man rooted in humility, service and devotion to his family and citizens,” the letter read last. “We know Mitt and Joe share the same essential, presidential traits – traits that make Vice President Biden the clear choice to lead the United States through this dangerous, uncertain time.”
Biden receives praise from a host of disgruntled Republicans in his bid for the White House, following the address of former Ohio Gov. John Kasich on the first night of the DNC.
Republican alumni efforts join the ranks of groups such as The Lincoln Project, notorious for bombarding Trump with inflammatory ads, and Republican voters against Trump, who have intimate testimonies of votes. And on the opening night of the Republican National Convention, more than two dozen former Republican lawmakers publicly signed Biden.
More than 100 McCain Senate and campaign staff signed up for Biden’s approval Wednesday, establishing the friendship the late Arizona senator enjoyed with Biden. The staff said they trusted Biden to lead the country through the coronavirus pandemic and defend the country’s national security.
“Given his lack of incumbent presidential leadership, his attempt to increase divisions among Americans instead of bridging them, and his failure to uphold American values, we believe the election of former Vice President Biden is clearly in the national interest, “they said endorsement.
Mike Sistak, Romney’s field director of Michigan in 2012 and another signer, said the growing numbers of anti-Trump Republican groups fill him with hope for the future of the GOP.
Believing that the party is not out of austerity is the key to the Romney Alumni for Biden letter – even in the face of the almost total support of the president of elected officials at the national level and his dedicated base.
“If the party suffers a major overwhelming defeat in November, I think you will see people move to the center and realize that the Trump experiment did not work,” Sistak said.
In a sign of the party’s transformation since 2012, Romney is now being ridiculed as “Republican only in name” by Trump. In GOP primaries, contributions from the past to Romney himself are seen as obligations.
The signatories acknowledge that MAGA attacks will come, but Spangler rejected the idea that the initiative is led by elite contacts.
“These are regular, real voters,” Spangler said. “Despite maybe putting a scarlet ‘R’ for ‘RINO’ on your chest, to make a statement like this shows how dedicated they are and how they really do not care about that kind of label.”
Brittany Ladd, Ann Romney’s former director in 2012, signed the letter, saying the group is made up of Republicans who believe Romney and the late Senator John McCain better represent their party.
“It may be a quiet minority, but we are very passionate and feel very strongly about where we want this country,” Ladd said. “And it’s not easy, especially in this environment, to come out and support a member of the opposite party.”
