Crossing the Line: Why "Republicans for Harris" is a Great Pro-Democracy Move
Bridge-Building and Unity for the Win; Country over Party
In May 2021, just a few months after then-president Donald Trump incited his supporters to assault the Capitol, sending Republicans as well as Democrats running for their lives, I interviewed Tom Coleman, a former eight term Republican Member of Congress in Missouri. At the time of our interview, he had left the GOP and had become an independent. I wanted to know how he saw the future of our bipartisan system given the dramatic changes in his former party.
This was his answer: "I think there is perhaps a need for a new party...And I think a lot of people should feel ill at ease with the current extremist Republican party. I'm hoping that some of those people will perhaps come into a new party or join the Democrats, because the Republicans are really becoming the authoritarian party of America."
More than three years later, as the most consequential election of our lives approaches, enter Republicans for Harris, launched with the endorsement of Vice-President Kamala Harris and run as a "campaign within a campaign." The aim, according to Democratic donor and political analyst Mark Bergman, is to reach the ”potentially persuadable conservative voter” —a constituency that in normal times was not a top Democrat target.
But these are not normal times. The GOP's candidate is a convicted felon who continuously praises dictators, treats highly classified government documents as his personal property, labels the political opposition "vermin," and promises us a government focused on “revenge” and “retribution” which will waste public funds investigating and persecuting his critics.
It all adds up to an election that is different because it is not about policy differences. It is a referendum on what kind of political system we will live with. Trump, the GOP, and their allies at Project 2025 have made their preferences clear: they want to convert America from a democracy to an autocracy. That’s why it’s time to cross the line and embrace a “country over party,” “rule of law over criminality” ethos.
The MAGA base may stick with Trump no matter what he says or does: the history of personality cults suggests that the bonds demagogues forge with their followers can be hard to break. Yet many other Republicans are no fans of Trump, as the hundreds of thousands who voted for Nikki Haley in the primaries attest. Some of them may be willing to act in the interests of our national security and our freedoms and do what was previously unthinkable—vote the Democratic ticket—if approached by trusted Republicans committed to this path.
Republicans for Harris is a great pro-democracy move because it builds on a proven democracy-promoting strategy: bridge-building, or the creation of spaces and occasions that bring people of opposing political beliefs into contact so they may exchange views and find common goals to pursue. Classic bridge-building initiatives do not aim to convert one group to the beliefs of the other: they aim to "depolarize," leading both groups to greater dialogue and understanding.
In this spirit, Republicans for Harris is not asking Republicans to become Democrats; it is asking them to vote Democrat while retaining their beliefs. It is organizing Republicans to listen to trusted former GOP voices and to Democrats on why this course of action is the best option for America at this time.
In fact, in situations such as our current one in the United States, where one group holds extremist views and has come to believe in violence as a way to resolve political differences, depolarization as mutual understanding is not enough. For this election, understanding must pass to action to save the democratic system that makes the idea of party choice possible.
This is a moment of reckoning for the GOP, one that demands flexibility from Republicans. Unlike voters who live in multi-party systems, they have only the Democrats as an alternative. (the leading third-party candidate, conspiracy theorist Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., who left a dead bear in Central Park as a joke, is not exactly a paragon of integrity).
That is why Olivia Troye, a former Trump national security official who is a member of Republicans for Harris, is reaching out to voters from her former party. “Your vote is private. I know people are scared about their family or neighbors judging them. But at the end of the day, vote your conscience, vote your integrity, and vote for a better future,” she said recently on CNN.
Republicans for Harris enacts the idea of unity and solidarity in the face of an authoritarian threat. Here Democrats have their own work to do. Studies on cults and extremist movements emphasize the importance of not judging or shaming people who may be ready to begin the process of disengagement, but rather showing them understanding.
It is frightening for people when they start to suspect that they have upheld a false belief system. It can be difficult to cast aside authority figures who promise to “fix” everything for you and have demanded your submission to them and your undying loyalty. Trump created an alternate universe of self-serving fictions. Now those who exit MAGA have to grapple with the loss of those fictions and the realization that their idol was using them. If we condemn them and cast them off, they will double down and be lost to us for a long time.
Our democracy is imperiled now, and one thing you can do is have those conversations you might have been putting off with Republicans (MAGA and non-MAGA) of your acquaintance. Be sure to tread lightly and take their concerns seriously, no matter how offensive some of their beliefs may be to you personally. Remember that some of them likely responded positively to Trump’s messages because they already espoused authoritarian views on religion, race relations, gender, and education.
Republicans may also hesitate to cross the line or admit to you they have made a mistake because it can be dangerous to disassociate yourself with the GOP, and even more dangerous to declare you are voting for the Harris-Walz ticket. This is why Bergman reminds us to “recognize the efforts of those Republicans who are publicly associating themselves with [Harris]…and the courage it takes to do so. They know all too well (perhaps better than the rest of us) that, should Trump win, they could be targeted for standing up to Trump.”
In fact, Republicans smeared as "RINOS" for opposing Trump could become "traitors" for voting Democrat and prosecuted as such in a second Trump administration. It’s happened around the world in authoritarian situations, and it can happen here as well.
"Republicans for Harris" may be an electoral season creation, but it stands for the conviction that in a deeply divided country we can remain optimistic that people can come together and do what is right for the nation. In 2021, Congressman Coleman, who is now part of Republicans for Harris, saw such collaborations and conversations as the way forward. "I think everyone can find an organization to work with...I mean, we all have relatives who may have bought into the Trump phenomenon. It's wrecked a lot of relationships and restoring those relationships in some cases might be good too."
Crossing the line can help save our freedoms in 2024 and strengthen our civil society for years after that. That’s why Republicans for Harris is a great pro-democracy move.
Thank you for your comments about Republicans for Harris. I have been wondering what some of my relatives might be thinking as trump continues to deteriorate and Project 2025 (antithetical to the actual teachings of Jesus) is brought out into the open. Many are Evangelical but they believe in the New Testament and following what Jesus Christ instructed. Andra Watkins has pointed out that Christian Nationalist’s believe in the Old Testament God. It might seem like semantics to non believers but a Christian is about following the instructions of Jesus Christ - and I know they believe this because I am in their Bible Study group.
As an international subscriber, the intense sense of belonging to a political party (GOP) regardless of how it changes internally is remarkable. I don't belong to a political party in my own country, and I vote differently in local/municipal elections than I do nationally, because the issues are different. 'Republicans for Harris' is going to quietly get bigger and bigger, and then WHAM it will hit a critical mass of people who have spoken out. The contrast between Harris/Trump is stark, and instead of using labels, lets me use everyday words - future/past, self-less/selfish, rule of law/break the law, supports women/denigrates women, inclusive/me first, positive energy/doomsday energy, sacred respect for your constitution/terminate the constitution for self-interest. But the contrast between Walz and Trump is amazing - dad-like/absence of any fatherly attributes, compassionate/belittles people, and accepting/insulting.