The Republican Party is very comfortable becoming an autocratic party. Now, to those of us who worked in the party, it`s a shocking, very sad development. You know, I`ve talked a lot about my responsibility. And this is why I didn`t see it sooner. But that`s where we are. And we have to just face the reality of it.
Stuart Stevens, veteran of the George W. Bush and Mitt Romney presidential campaigns and now with the Lincoln Project, May 13, 2021
This is a party that is for democracy when they win, and they`re not for democracy when they lose, which means you`re not for democracy. And what we have to realize is they`re very serious about this. They`re not going to change. They`re dedicated. They’ve got a lot of resources. And they`re very patient. And we need to realize what it is that is at stake here, what we`re engaged in, and it`s really a defense of the American experiment. And if we don`t engage and fight this, they`ll win. And that`s really the stakes.
Stevens spoke to Brian Williams (The 11th Hour with Brian Williams, May 13, 2021) on the same day that 150 Republicans issued "A Call for American Renewal," which pledged to push the Republican Party "to rededicate itself to founding ideals—or else hasten the creation of an alternative." Earlier in the broadcast Williams asked Stevens about the group's prospects for success. His reply:
Yes, it – listen, I have a lot of friends over there. I love the fact that they don`t support Trump and they believe the Republican Party should be something else. But it seems to me they`re asking a rhetorical question.
The Republican Party is not unhappy with where it is. Republican Party likes where it is. It`s a much smaller party, but it`s very intensely a Trumpist party. And at the Lincoln project, we think this question has been answered. And we believe that really the question is: Do you support democracy or do you support autocracy? It`s not about ideology anymore. I mean, all these ads are made about like, you know, lowering capital gains tax and health care, and it`s all kind of quaint now. It`s not what this is about.
And you have to take a stand. And we’re in the Lincoln project -- we just have one mission, which is to fight for democracy. And to fight [for] democracy, you`re going to have to beat these Republicans who have become autocrats.
Stevens offers a sober, clear-eyed view of his former political party. Republicans failed to hold Donald Trump accountable after the January 6 insurrection. Instead, the GOP leadership embraced autocracy, threatening our democratic institutions. This was a deliberate choice. It is an ongoing commitment. Stevens concludes with remarks that call to mind the analysis presented in How Democracies Die:
I mean history tells us that democracies in modern era die by the ballot box and in the courtroom, and it`s a slow process. And that is what is at stake here. And Republicans understand that. That`s why they’ve rushed to pass these bills. They want to make it harder and harder for Republicans to lose, and we know what they`re going to do if they win. They’ve already said. If they take the House, they’ll impeach at least the Vice President. So we should listen and we should believe them and we should be deadly serious about the business of beating them.