The Lincoln Project absolutely crushes another one out of the park.

[Bleacher Creature]

This is just a brutal ad by the few remaining honorable Republicans left today.

[Me.]

1. Out Of The Park!

[klook]

2. Wow, shaming Trump cultists -- good

“Which kind of American are you?”

[GemDigger]

3. They are great ads but I have yet to see one anywhere but here.

Not on the tv stations I watch or youtube.

[misanthrope]

5. They mainly get disseminated on social media

Much like Twitler's random palaver.

[MontanaMama]

60. Right? I don't watch much tv

but I’m being bombarded with Gianforte and Daines ads. They make me sick.

[GemDigger]

63. I am getting their ads everywhere I go. TV, FB, YT, newspapers.

I think I have even seen one here. It's amazing how both of them are yacking about how much they helped with this virus but I guess they learned to lie from the best.

[thesquanderer]

4. I think it's a "preaching to the choir" ad.

It's hard to change people's minds by insulting them.

[Nature Man]

8. what are you supposed to do?

Kiss their ass?

[thesquanderer]

20. Bill Clinton would say "I feel your pain."

Empathy tends to be more helpful than "you're with us or against us."

[lunatica]

24. They ignored Clinton when he said that too

They are a lost cause.

This ad wasn’t made to kiss MAGAT’s asses.

[Nature Man]

34. yeah

uh huh.

Transparent.

[JI7]

39. I feel your pain wasn't meant for white supremacists

it was for those going though tough economic times.

[thesquanderer]

43. I didn't see the protesters as white supremacists. What in the ad implies that they are? n/t

[Recursion]

47. It was actually for an HIV-AIDS activist who died a few months later

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Robert_Rafsky

The media couldn't handle that, and pretended it was about an unemployed steel worker.

[JI7]

65. wow, i knew about the aids activist but didn't know

that's where it first came from. i actually mostly remember the quote more from people impersonating him .

there is so much crap about the Clintons out there but they really are people who always wanted to just make things better for others.

[Recursion]

66. Yup. Funny how that works

It's one of the many reasons I despair.

[catbyte]

10. I didn't interpret it as insulting anyone. What part of it was insulting?

It was just telling it like it is. And it asked a legitimate question at the end. I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree on thie one.

[thesquanderer]

18. If you're trying persuade people on the other side...

...it may be better to make your case without calling them selfish, etc. That is, if you want to reach them, typically you want to acknowledge whatever legitimate concerns they may have, rather than demonize them. (The ad calls them selfish, etc.)

[pazzyanne]

19. After years of experience trying to "persuade people on the other side",

we should have learned that they can not be persuaded. They will only learn when something horrendous impacts them personally.

[yellowdogintexas]

55. This ad is more likely to stir those who sat out 2016 to get out and vote this time.

Or the ones who voted 3rd party, or skipped the top line on the ballot altogether. The Democrats and unaffliiated liberals/progressives who stayed home because they "just couldn't bring themselves to vote for HIllary because she is such a 'horrible person' (have you ever noticed they can never tell you why she is just such a horrible person).

Since 2018 we have newly registered voters (lots of them) in every state, many of whom registered just because they didn't like what was happening. Those voters are going to be even angrier and scared now. There are bigger targets to go after than there were in 2018. We are literally voting for our lives here

These people were not long time supporters of either side- they were not attached to any side. They were new players in the game of presidential voting. Social media is a very important source of information to them.

[pazzyanne]

56. Agree! nt

[Ferrets are Cool]

67. And not even then. They will assign blame onto another party rather than the one responsible. nt

[tavernier]

26. There is no vaccine for stupid

But maybe some will feel the shame.

[DENVERPOPS]

51. I still have my button left over from

the sixties....I think I'll start wearing it again.....

IGNORANCE SHOULD BE PAINFUL........

[JI7]

40. it's not trying to persuade Trump

[thesquanderer]

44. Instead of saying what the ad is not trying to do, can you tell me specifically what you think...

...it IS trying to do? i.e. the ad wants to persuade {this group of people} to support or do {x} -- what group of people, and what is x? And however you define that, do you think the ad is likely to be successful at it?

[Captain Zero]

62. like my brothers in law

Both MBAs managerial class. Both Republicans since they started voting.
The older one in 2016 was oh hell no, I'll vote for Hillary, Trump is bad news. The younger one hung in there with Trump but he really is not mean enough to be a Trumpie. I would hope an ad like this finally reaches the younger one because he knows his brother's and all our objections to Trump.

[Hotler]

50. But they are selfish. Selfishness is one of the cornerstones of the repug party.

"I have mine, fuck the rest of you" is their motto. Racism is the other cornerstone.

[Aristus]

16. Yes. It's preaching to the choir.

That's how you get them to sing...

[WheelWalker]

21. Damn straight !

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

23. The cultists will never be reached - but not all cons & not all

trump voters are. They are ones like my sibs who privately express alarm and disgust, and who just might be persuaded to sit this election out, if not vote for the Dem. I've been trying to tell them, you dont have to be a Dem or even like them to believe in the checks and balances of a functioning two party system that our founding fathers gave us.

The ad is saying there ARE republicans and conservatives out there who refuse to accept this nonsense and that they dont have to stop being conservatives to vote in favor of ending the trump presidency.

Its a "which side are you on" moment for them.

[patphil]

30. I can't imagine anyone ever believing we could change their minds.

It's a calling out ad. Like Ron White saying, "you can't fix stupid", or Forrest Gump saying, " Stupid is as stupid does".
It identifies what is good and what isn't in this country.

If that is an insult to them, well sometimes the truth has to be told.
The Trumpistas have insulted everything this nation holds dear for over 4 years now. I don't see any need to consider their feelings.

[thesquanderer]

32. that's fine, but then, what exactly is the ad designed to accomplish? n/t

[patphil]

36. I thought it was pretty self explanatory.

Two kinds of people.
Some serve others, some serve self.

[thesquanderer]

41. That's what it *says,* but what is it trying to *accomplish*?

Is it is trying to alter anyone's attitudes or behaviors? If so, whose, and in what respect? If not, what IS it trying to do?

After answering those questions, the next question is, do you think it is likely to be successful at whatever aim you've ascribed to it?

[JI7]

38. it's not trying to change their minds, it's telling everyone else

to vote for one of the sides.

[thesquanderer]

42. And how does one vote for one side or the other?

Do you mean it's about voting for or against Trump? If so, which side in that ad is for him and which side is against him? I don't see that as clear. If you mean something else, what?

ETA: There is the one sentence toward the end "we already know which American Trump is" - but I still find the point there nebulous. I don't think people generally associate the protesters with Trump.

[GusBob]

45. Just whom is insulting whom?

Think about what you wrote. Think again. Think really hard and answer my question

Trump has made a career of insulting people

And lying

This ad truthfully points that out

[thesquanderer]

48. Didn't think hard, but the ad insults protesters and (by extension) those who sympathize with them,

by calling them selfish, etc.

As for the rest of what you wrote, the ad hardly says anything about Trump at all. I don't see where it points out that he "has made a career of insulting people and lying."

[paleotn]

57. They hate you.

And they hate me. If you're a Dem, a liberal, a progressive, they hate you. And you're not changing their minds about that. Not with platitudes, insults or feeling their pain. They simply hate you. The only solution is to mitigate their impact on our elections, knowing they will eventually die off or lose interest in politics. If that means insulting the jackass bastards, then so be it.

[thesquanderer]

59. Assuming you're right about all that, how does the ad help? What does it accomplish? (n/t)

[Raven123]

68. Viewed the ad twice. I think it's meant to make people think

People sacrificing in various degrees in a crisis, versus people who violate even the minimal standards of social distancing, some wielding signs that seem irrelevant to the issue at hand. I don’t think the ad believes it possible to persuade any of those public protestors - if thousands of deaths cannot, a simple ad has no hope. I do think that as the demands for social distancing drag on, it becomes easy to become numb to the tragedy. Let’s face it, the capacity to normalize and minimize tragedy is unlimited.

Unquestionably, the ad goes after Trump for his selfishness. More importantly, I think the ad asks those who are growing weary to step back, remember what is at stake, and think before you act.

[The River]

69. Exactly Right

Rural folks have been marginalized and laughed at for a long time.
I'd be angry too.

[mcar]

6. Stunning!

I wish this would run on Fox 24/7.

[Blue Owl]

7. K&R

[BobTheSubgenius]

9. I love that George Conway is associated with this.

How is the home life of the Conways not a near-constant battleground?

[CaptYossarian]

17. It could be the same as James Carville and Mary Matalin.

The bile is out of their system by the time they get home.

They may also direct insults toward their respective sides, instead of making each conflict personal.

[LudwigPastorius]

11. You can't shame the shameless.

Your typical Trump cultist doesn't have an ounce of self awareness or empathy.

Indeed, they revel in the fact that their leader is a solipsistic asshole of gargantuan proportions, and they aspire to be the same.

[Cha]

12. Good name for them.. the Lincoln Project..

TY, BC

[warmfeet]

13. K & R

This is it you know. Our last chance. VOTE OR DIE! That is the choice.

[iluvtennis]

14. Brilliant - good work George Conway et al. nt

[Peacetrain]

15. Wow... that just blows me away..

I have hopes that it will get through to some.. at least plant the seed..

[bluecollar2]

22. Leapords can't change their spots...

Gonna take more than a few ads to undo decades of assholnish...

We're in this boat because republicans embraced Reagan and gingrich...

They gave birth to the tea party and the tea party took over.

[lunatica]

25. It isn't aimed at MAGATs to change their thinking

It’s aimed at the rest of us to get rid of their cult leader.

[bluecollar2]

37. We're already working on that

They're wasting their time.

[lunatica]

64. Not everybody is as informed as DUers.

We’re a minority.

[Reader Rabbit]

27. The positive images focus on women and people of color.

I wonder if that was intentional? I also wonder if it will make the cultists simply ignore this message.

[smirkymonkey]

28. K&R

[onecaliberal]

29. When do these ads air on network tv?

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

49. Yeah, get Bloomberg on it - I thought he had lotsa $$$ to spend on exactly this kind of stuff ? nt

[Demovictory9]

31. k&r

[calimary]

33. OUCHEZ-VOUS.

Oh MY that stings.

But the question it poses is one that MUST be asked.

I hope we'll start hearing and reading lots more messaging like that.

Here's one of my new fave-raves:

Boston Globe (Opinion):
Say it loud, say it clear: Donald Trump needs to resign over his handling of the coronavirus
By Michael A. Cohen Globe Columnist,Updated April 25, 2020, 5:00 a.m.

The United States has just over 4 percent of the world’s population, but had about one-third of all global coronavirus cases and one-quarter of the fatalities, as of Friday.
This is a catastrophic failure that can be laid largely at the feet of President Trump. Editorial boards and politicians — both Democratic and Republican — should be calling on him to resign immediately.

It’s not just the catalog of screw-ups that led us to this point — the playing down of the threat, the lack of testing, the spread of misinformation and lies, and the government-wide inattention to the issue. It’s that Trump represents an ongoing danger to the health and well-being of the American people.

Consider, for example, the strange case of hydroxychloroquine, the anti-malarial drug that Trump began publicly touting several weeks ago as a potential treatment for the coronavirus. “What do you have to lose?” the president asked, about a drug that had not been approved by the FDA for that purpose. It turns out the answer is “your life.”

(snip)

https://www.bostonglobe.com/2020/04/25/opinion/say-it-loud-say-it-clear-donald-trump-needs-resign-over-his-handling-coronavirus/?event=event12

[splunge63]

46. Boom!

Grand slam. That spot should be on a loop in the battleground states. Put it on Fox too, if only for $hits and giggles.

[Kashkakat v.2.0]

52. Its not directed to cultists!!! its for the 10-20% Repubs who do NOT approve & also to the

conservative leaning independents who voted for him last time.

If even those are peeled away and persuaded to either vote Dem, or not cast any vote.... then that is a real accomplishment that will have an impact.

Its classic divide and conquer - yall should recognize that, since theyve been doing it to us for a long time.

I would love to know the research and thinking that went into creating these ads cos they are brilliant. As the song goes, "which side are you on."

I think too they could reach some of the lazy prima donna Dems who dont go out and vote and who sat out 2016 - you know the type, the ones that are waiting for the perfect Dem candidate who can INSPIRE THEM to get off their lazy arse and go vote. Those people are part of the problem too IMHO.

[radical noodle]

61. Bravo!

Good to see that some here actually get the message it's clearly intended to send.

[roamer65]

53. Does anyone know who that black bearded kid is?

He’s from MI.

[WhiteTara]

54. Honestly there is nothing honorable about George Conway

He is an ensconced member of the Federalist Society and works with the Kochs to strip the assets of the country for themselves. He just hates trump. He's just selfish from a different end. They do know how to put together political ads, they have been doing negative ads against Democrats for decades and now they're just turning their finely tuned work against trump who they have declared NOT one of their own.

[clutterbox1830]

58. The Lincoln project are running way better ads than Biden campaign imo.