A group of more than 100 influential Republicans plans to release a call for reforms within the GOP alongside a threat to form a new party if change isn’t forthcoming, according to a person familiar with the effort.
The statement, set to be released Thursday, involves a “Call for American Renewal,” a credo that declares to “either reimagine a party dedicated to our founding ideals or else hasten the creation of such an alternative.” The push also will include a set of 13 yet-to-be-revealed principles that the signatories want to see the GOP embrace.
This is not the first group to form as the pro-Trump and traditional conservative factions of the Republican party remain at loggerheads. The new effort comes as a vote looms that is expected to oust Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., from the House Republican No. 3 leadership spot for her refusal to stay silent about former President Donald Trump’s repeated election lies and his role in the Jan. 6 riot.
The move was first reported by Reuters, which cites some of the people involved: Christine Todd Whitman, Tom Ridge, former Transportation Secretary Mary Peters and former GOP Reps. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Reid Ribble of Wisconsin and Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma. Evan McMullin, a former CIA agent who ran as an independent during the 2016 presidential election, is also involved.
A push to try to channel anti-Trump sentiment with the “Never Trump” movement in the spring of 2016 was largely unsuccessful at the time, and none of the names backing this latest effort are currently serving as elected Republicans. However, it does come as Trump’s pull within his own party appears to have lessened. A recent NBC News poll found that 44 percent of Republicans said they support Trump more than the GOP, versus 50 percent who said they support the GOP more than the former president.
One of the organizers is Miles Taylor, a former Trump official who wrote the then-anonymous op-ed blasting the former Trump administration.
“We’re going give the GOP one last chance to get its act together and moderate, but we’re not going to hold our breath,” Taylor told NBC News. “We’re ready to get out there and fight against the radical elements in the party to try to excise those elements from within the GOP and our national politics, and to try to invest in the deeper pro-democracy bench.”
Taylor suggested this nascent movement will work to back candidates who support their principles, whether they be moderates or independents.
“Enough is enough, and the GOP has had enough time to decide whether it’s going to separate itself from a man who is a chronic loser,” he said, referring to Trump, predicting a “raging civil war” if the rest of the party doesn’t get on board.
Source: | This article originally belongs to Nbcnews.com
