Five Republicans are calling on Americans to join their “rallying cry against extremist elements within the GOP.”
In an op-ed published by The Washington Post, Charlie Dent, Mary Peters, Denver Riggleman, Michael Steele and Christine Todd Whitman, warned the Republican Party has “lost its way” and offered an alternative to Americans who feel “politically homeless.”
They opened the piece by mentioning “a grievous error” made by the Republican Party this week as they ousted Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) from her leadership position.
“Cheney rightfully struck back against party leaders and warned about the GOP’s dangerous direction. She is not alone,” they wrote.
The Republicans added, “Alongside dozens of prominent Republicans, ex-Republicans and independents, we are announcing ‘A Call for American Renewal,’ a nationwide rallying cry against extremist elements within the GOP, and highlighting the urgent need for a new, common-sense coalition.”
The alliance includes former governors, members of Congress, Cabinet secretaries, state officials, seasoned political strategists and grass-roots leaders.
“We want to give voice to the millions of Americans who feel politically homeless and mobilize them to help chart a new path forward for our country,” the group wrote.
Claiming the Republican Party has “lost its way,” the Republicans explained it is “perverted by fear, lies and self-interest.”
Vowing they “will not wait forever for the GOP to clean up its act,” the group said, “If we cannot save the Republican Party from itself, we will help save America from extremist elements in the Republican Party.’
What this means to them is creating “a political movement dedicated to our founding principles and divorced from the GOP’s obsessive cult of personality around a deeply flawed (and twice-impeached) man,” referring to former President Donald Trump.
They pointed to Cheney, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.), Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), and Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) as lawmakers they will fight for.
“With Cheney’s dismissal from House leadership, the battle for the soul of the Republican Party — and our country — is not over. It is just beginning, which is why we are forming a ‘resistance of the rational’ against the radicals,” the op-ed goes on.
The Republicans announced they will hold a “nationwide town hall open to all Americans and featuring current and former U.S. leaders who will lay out where we must go from here, how we can ensure a freer America and how all citizens can join the fight.”
