The Lincoln Project

Wow, where to start. I just had to watch this mini-series based on the current events surrounding the "Lincoln Project".

This sad, made up saga portrays the leaders of the Lincoln Project as Republican "never Trumpers". If you dig just a little bit you might just find that to be a fallacy. Many of people in this group are part of the "radical left" and seem to specialize in intimidation. (Doesn't sound very heroic to yours truly).

The bipartisan third party political enterprise "No Labels" filed a complaint with the DoJ in January of 2024. No Labels alleges that a group of activists (Lincoln Project), opportunists and party officials has illegally intimidated and harassed No Labels representatives, donors and potential candidates.

No Labels' opponents have been using intimidation, harassment and fear for the past year to prevent the group from accessing the ballot in 2024.

No Labels also alleges the harassment has been coming mostly from the far left.

Stay tuned! I reserve the right to change my review to 1 star, if the allegation is proven to be true.

I found this accidentally when searching for something to watch. I thought it was a terrific reminder of how Trump is destroying America, and the Republican Party. We see the Pre-Trump Republicans who were so very much opposed to Trump, but changed their tune as Trump preached his hate messages and received applause. They watched the violence explode, but were afraid to oppose him, so they suddenly caved in and became sheep following behind him. In Episode 1 we see Trump saying John McCain wasn't a war hero, and that Putin is a great leader because he holds on to power!

That's a reminder of what Trump really wants.... POWER! He says he loves Kim Jong-un, another man in power. He uses tactics like those used by Adolf Hitler, while trying to sell his propaganda of hate. Hitler, another man who held on to power. Trump goes as far as Hitler in asking people, not to pledge allegiance to our country, but to him as an individual! A good reminder of what Trump has done, and continues to do, to our country. Thank you, Lincoln Project!

As Episode 1 of "The Lincoln Project" (2022 release; 5 episodes of about 58 min each) opens, we are in "Tallahassee, Florida" at the home of Rick Wilson, one of the co-founders of The Lincoln Project, a group of mostly Republicans who have banded together to oppose the re-election of Trump in 2020. We then go to the "Project Launch, New York, December 2019", as we get to know the other co-founders, including George Conway, husband of Trump spokesperson and trusted advisor Kellyanne Conway... At this point we are 10 min into the mini-series' opening episode...

Couple of comments: this mini-series is co-directed by Fisher Stevens ("The Cove") and Karim Amer. They were given almost unfettered access to the Lincoln Project's main operatives. At first we visit some familiar territory (how much of the GOP staunchly opposed Trump in 2015, only to then cave, one by one, to become a Trump lackey). The meat of the documentary is to see how the Lincoln Project trolls Trump, with great effect through smart yet biting advertising, rolling in the contributions along the way. And also this: even though the group is united by its sole goal of defeating Trump, there is a lot of internal bickering and positioning (if not worse). One of the best bits is when they watch the first presidential debate (on September 29, 2020), when Trump famously goes off the rails like never before, and the Lincoln Project immediately pounces. The mini-series takes an unexpected (for my, anyway) turn in the last 1 1/2 episodes (I won't spoil why) and all of the sudden it feels we are almost watching a different series. But when all is said and done, Trump did lose the 2020 election, which was the goal of the Lincoln Project all along. But as one talking head pointedly observes in the documentary: "Trump lost, but Trumpism didn't" and look where that has led us now two years later. It's just depressing. A to the mini-series itself, I quite enjoyed it but I fear that the appeal of this mini-series will be limited as it is very much an "insider politics" documentary with little "action" but lots and lots of talk.

All 5 episodes of "The Lincoln Project" started streaming last night on Showtime. I binge-watched the initial 3 episodes last night, and will watch the last 2 later today. If you are super into politics, I'd readily suggest you check this out, and draw your own conclusion.