Steve Schmidt, former McCain campaign manager, renounced his GOP membership

The Golden Nymph Awards Ceremony at the 58th Monte Carlo Television Festival

I “hibernate” from the news sometimes – I’ll go for a week without even watching a news show or anything, although I’m always reading news stories. I just can’t watch it most of the time – I need some space to decompress and compartmentalize. That being said, when I do watch the news, I’m sort of in love with Nicolle Wallace’s MSNBC show in the afternoon. She comes on at 4 pm EST and she’s amazing. Wallace worked in communications positions for both Bush administrations, and she’s also worked for John McCain’s campaigns at various times.

In the HBO TV-movie Game Change, Wallace was played by Sarah Paulson and McCain campaign manager Steve Schmidt was played by Woody Harrelson. Schmidt and Wallace are very old friends, and Schmidt often appears on Wallace’s show (as well as MSNBC’s Morning Joe), where he rips into the current crop of Republicans on a daily basis. Even though he didn’t vote for Donald Trump, Schmidt still considered himself a Republican. Not anymore though. Schmidt just posted a tweet-thread about why he’s leaving the party:

29 years and nine months ago I registered to vote and became a member of The Republican Party which was founded in 1854 to oppose slavery and stand for the dignity of human life. Today I renounce my membership in the Republican Party. It is fully the party of Trump.

It is corrupt, indecent and immoral. With the exception of a few Governors like Baker, Hogan and Kasich it is filled with feckless cowards who disgrace and dishonor the legacies of the party’s greatest leaders. This child separation policy is connected to the worst abuses of humanity in our history. It is connected by the same evil that separated families during slavery and dislocated tribes and broke up Native American families. It is immoral and must be repudiated.

Our country is in trouble. Our politics are badly broken. The first step to a season of renewal in our land is the absolute and utter repudiation of Trump and his vile enablers in the 2018 election by electing Democratic majorities. I do not say this as an advocate of a progressive agenda. I say it as someone who retains belief in DEMOCRACY and decency.

On Ronald Reagan’s grave are these words. “ I know in my heart that man is good. That what is right will always eventually triumph and there is purpose and worth to each and every life.” He would be ashamed of McConnell and Ryan and all the rest while this corrupt government establishes internment camps for babies. Everyone of these complicit leaders will carry this shame through history. There legacies will be ones of well earned ignominy. They have disgraced their country and brought dishonor to the Party of Lincoln.

have spent much of my life working in GOP politics. I have always believed that both parties were two of the most important institutions to the advancement of human freedom and dignity in the history of the world. Today the GOP has become a danger to our democracy and values. This Independent voter will be aligned with the only party left in America that stands for what is right and decent and remains fidelitous to our Republic, objective truth, the rule of law and our Allies. That party is the Democratic Party.

[From Steve Schmidt’s Twitter]

This felt cathartic to me too, knowing that at least there are a few white-dude conservatives who look at babies in internment camps and children in cages and say “WTF NO.” And before people complain about Schmidt being a Resistance-Come-Lately… he was on television a lot during the 2016 election cycle and ever since, and he’s always despised Donald Trump AND the Deplorables. Schmidt has always been a harsh critic of all of these policies and ideas. He just considered himself a Republican at the same time he was criticizing. No more.

Screencap courtesy of MSNBC.

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87 Responses to “Steve Schmidt, former McCain campaign manager, renounced his GOP membership”

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  1. Becks1 says:

    Good for him. More of these Republicans who know the party is gone need to come out swinging like this, rather than hoping they can pass one more tax bill or whatever.

    I realize that he was in a somewhat privileged place to do this, bc he has been on MSNBC for a while now and has made his disdain for Trump clear, but still the actual tweet is pretty scathing.

    • Megan says:

      It’s time for McCain, Flake and Corker to do the same thing. Leave the party, caucus with the Democrats and make Schumer the majority leader.

    • Lahdidahbaby says:

      Yeah, it really is a powerful act — even possibly a moment of hope in a time of despair. If only it might start a movement away from Trump by conservative people of conscience.

      I can’t even watch the news for more than a few minutes lately, news junkie that I always have been, because of my Trump revulsion.

      Maybe this signals a change among Republicans of conscience, we can at least hope so — but for godssake why is it taking so long, when it has ALWAYS been obvious that Trump is a sociopath and a danger to democracy?

    • Pandora says:

      Steve Schmidt is the one who gave us Sarah Palin.
      Fuck him for arguably creating the right wing backslide that has led to this absolute abomination of an administration.
      Could not care less that he is saving an annual membership fee, he is still a spineless A-hole like the rest of them.

      • holly hobby says:

        He did not give us Sarah Palin. Lyin Palin was recommended by McCain’s crony, forgot the name, but it was well documented in Game Change and in Meagan McCain’s book. I think John McCain wanted Lieberman and Megan thought Lieberman would be the choice and she was very wtf when she woke up the next day and found out trailer trash was the #2.

        We need all the allies we can get. I’m not shunning anyone who is against the Trumpublicans. Seriously they should go find another party because the party of Lincoln does not stand for the $hit these crooks are doing.

      • Jessica says:

        Actually, no he is not. I’ve been involved in politics for years, including almost five years as a Congressional staffer. Please research before you speak.

  2. Alarmjaguar says:

    I’m glad to read this. I hope that he is followed by many other decent people who finally see what the modern Republican Party has become. Should they have seen this sooner, perhaps, but I’ll take their support now. We are in desperate times

  3. gingersnaps says:

    This gives me so much hope that there are still people like him. I hope more follow.

    • Esmom says:

      My dad is one of them. He didn’t like Clinton but he saw Trump for exactly who he is. I thought he had been pretty brainwashed by Fox so it was a relief to know he doesn’t but the pro-Trump propaganda.

      The problem is, the deplorables will just say “good riddance” to Schmidt and did in even deeper with Trump, all in their continued efforts to “own the libs.” Nothing matters, truly.

      • Bella says:

        Same, my father is a die-hard republican, but I am hoping to God he sees this for what it is (evil)…haven’t seen him in a long time, so haven’t been able to talk about it…Hopeful, but so scared the Fox news propaganda has taken his whole mind…

      • Melanie says:

        A close friend who is a lifelong Republican voted for Hillary. He had never voted Dem in his life, not even on a local level. The Orange Stain broke him and he is mortified at what has become of his party. A conservative cousin shocked me by voting for Hillary. So there were a few shining lights for me personally.

        Saying that, my relationship with my father has been destroyed. We haven’t spoken since 11/9/2016. I’ve reached out several times to no avail. He is no dummy, very accomplished in his field, actually raised me a Democrat. Patriotic as they come, taught me the evils of the Holocaust and the Nazis, promised we were better than that and would never repeat such evils. Lost his own father in WWII. Yet here we are, and here I am. He voted for that monster and I can only guess he hasn’t changed his mind.

        There is something about white America. They just getting angrier and more fearful as they age. My dad sits in front of FOX News all day, it’s all he watches. And it’s completely brainwashed him. He was not like this when I was young. He didn’t raise me to be hateful or intolerant. This administration and the cult they have created has destroyed so many lives and relationships. My loss is nothing compared to the horror I’ve been watching daily with these babies and children being ripped from their parents arms. I’m an adult and I will survive.

        I hope with all my heart there are more Republicans willing to publicly renounce their party and shame the cult leader in charge.

  4. Tanguerita says:

    Same Steve Schmidt that gave us Sarah Palin? Do these suddenly “woke” white dudes understand that it was their actions that ultimately paved the path for the abomination that is currently occupying the White House?
    Oh well, better later than never, I guess.

  5. Jenns says:

    I have no time for these white dudes now whining and crying over what their beloved Republican party has become. It was always this way. It’s the reason why we had Trump. It’s a party proud of it’s own ignorance. Just look at Sarah Palin – who Schmidt was more than eager to support.

    Nope. No pass from me.

    • whatWHAT? says:

      “It was always this way.”

      and that’s just it. it WAS always this way, but the deplorable faction was hushed up and kept to the back of the room so the party as a whole could maintain some semblance of “we’re not racist!”.

      now, with 45 and his penchant for “speaking his mind”, those types have moved up front where they can be as deplorable as they want to, publicly. and the “mainstream” GOP is all “oh, my heavens, what has become of the Grand Ol’ Party?” I’d like to rip those pearls they’re clutching RIGHT OFF OF THEIR COMPLICIT NECKS.

    • jammypants says:

      You know they’re ashamed of their party when they refer to it as “The Party of Lincoln”

    • Betsy says:

      I will welcome them because we need their number for tamper and gerrymander proof majorities, but I agree with you – this is what the Republican Party has been for my entire life. Rat*ucking, keeping women out of power and in the home (I SAH with my kids, but I PICKED that – I do not believe that women “belong in the home”), slashing consumer power, giving businesses power over all, slashing reproductive rights, doing tricky tricks to keep segregation effectively a thing, voucherizing the public school system to death, being anti science….

      Welcome, Steve. But the party you’re leaving was never holy. I’m just glad it finally got unmasked for you.

    • lucy2 says:

      I agree they’ve always been this way, just more subtle about it.

      But at this point I’ll take what I can get, and if that’s less crazed Republicans throwing their votes to Democrats to end Trump, great.

    • BorderMollie says:

      I feel like most of them are just upset that Trump is doing this so publicly. If it was Marco Rubio, or even some radical centrist dem, doing it in the hushed way this country has been for so long, they’d say nothing. Trump is obnoxious and declassee, the modern equivalent of ‘new money’, but his only stray from the usual republican policy was to be so open about the true nature of republican (and yes too often democratic and liberal) party policy.

  6. Tiffany says:

    This almost makes me not want to remind him for instilling Sarah Palin. Almost.

    We will see where he is at in a few years. Still keeping my distance.

    • Neelyo says:

      Same. And the fact that he’s naming Kasich as one of the good Republicans also gives me pause.

      • Tiffany says:

        I might take him seriously if he starts managing campaigns with a D behind them. For now, this all feels like lip service.

      • jwoolman says:

        Compared to Trump, Kasich is downright angelic. I would feel much safer if he had accepted the offered VP position on the ticket in 2016. Instead, we have Pence lined up to take over when Trump resigns or is taken away in handcuffs or a strait jacket.

        Before everybody gushes too much about Democrats – they have to be watched just as carefully as Republicans. Political power is prone to corruption at all levels. A friend running for office in Ohio as a Democrat was offered “delivery of the vote” in several precincts by the Democrats in charge of each. It was an eye-opener for him. Not so much for me. Trust no one, basically. Set up things so it’s hard to manipulate vote counts and monitor elected officials for any whiff of corruption. Make completely transparent finances a condition for holding office – we need to know where their money comes from in detail. My old Congressman said a colleague was offered a million dollars for a single vote on a particular WMD system. When billions will be generated by a weapons contract, millions in bribes is pocket change. The temptations are huge.

        The Democrats are currently our best hope to repudiate Trumpism, but they are under similar stresses to pursue the money. Individuals have to be judged for themselves, but we need to keep the pressure on to make corruption a rare choice. We need to elect people of good character and then help them stay true to that character, regardless of party affiliation. We have to constantly monitor for corruption.

      • Addie says:

        @jwoolman
        Do you think it would help if people could only run for, say, two terms, as per the President? If elected congresspeople and senators knew they could not become career politicians but only a certain time frame to serve, would they be more likely to get stuck in and do a decent job rather than using the system to stay on and on and on?

  7. Belluga says:

    It’s an horrific state of things isn’t it, when were actually relieved that at least a few of these people draw a line at ‘putting toddlers in concentration camps’.

  8. Who ARE These People? says:

    Straight line from Reagan to Bush I and II to Trump. He has a lot of work to do in his public atonement.

    He just paves the way for deeply conservative Republicans like Kasich to get the nomination. Uh uh.

    None of my Trump-voting acquaintances/former friends have come back to me with regrets.

    • Sid says:

      So you are seeing what I am seeing? That these folks will now look “moderate” because Trump is so extreme, thereby allowing conservative Republicans to slide through because their beliefs and actions are not “quite” as egregious? Yeah, I am not impressed either.

  9. Christin says:

    Although I think the party has been this way for far longer than Ronnie’s reign (30+ years), it’s good that he spelled out his views.

    I don’t understand why elected reps seem so scared of a bloviating, self-interested incompetent with zero political experience.

    • Betsy says:

      Many of them have taken money from Russians, either directly or via the NRA.

      And many of them have undoubtedly had their emails hacked and are being blackmailed.

      And some of them are just bad people.

  10. IlsaLund says:

    So many older white (baby boomers) religiously vote Republican. They don’t even think about the consequences of their actions. When some do take the time to think about the candidate’s views, they dismiss them, and still vote for whoever has an R beside their name.

    My kids are constantly talking about how the selfish me generation, the baby boomers, messed things up for younger generations and are still hell bent on destroying things for their own selfish goals.

    • Lyla says:

      I have an aunt who is like this. Doesn’t know anything about politics. Doesn’t read or watch the news. Will vote in every election. And as long as you have an R next to your name, she’ll vote for you. She’s a boomer.

    • Digital Unicorn says:

      Same here in the UK, many of the older white and middle class baby boomers still vote Tory regardless. It was the baby boomer demographic that caused Brexit as they were the highest group that voted to leave. They had the good life but many of them just don’t seem to want their kids or grandkids to have the same opportunities they did. The world is changing and they are fighting against that change out of fear.

    • Esmom says:

      I wish I could say all my kids’ high school classmates felt that way but there was a fair segment of kids who clearly are in lockstep with their conservative parents. One boy in one of my son’s classes would wear a “Hillary for Prison” t-shirt and it drove him buts. He said his government teacher did a good job of staying neutral but he could tell this kid irked him especially when he would hijack the discussion and start MAGA-ing.

    • Rachel says:

      So you’ve met my parents??

      Seriously though, this is my parents, and yes, so many of that generation. Although in 2016, my sister and I implored my mom (the more likely to see reason) to, you know … see reason. I can’t be sure, but I can only hope she did not vote for Trump. I know my dad did.

      You used to be able to go in here and vote a straight ticket. One button push and boom. Vote for every single republican candidate. And it was used with frightening frequency. Thankfully, you can no longer do that and people have to at least take the time to tick off the R’s.

    • minx says:

      Please don’t tar the entire generation. I’m a lifelong Democrat as were my parents. Signed, a Boomer.

      • Melissa says:

        This. Boomer and Democrat my entire life.

      • Betsy says:

        So’s my mother and her parents were, too. But that doesn’t change the fact that, like married white women, boomers vote Repo. I’m a married white woman who stays home with her kids, but I’d sooner not vote than vote for a Repo, but I have to be assumed to wear the badge of shame among some people and that’s okay. I know I don’t. But mathematically that’s the assumption.

      • Who ARE These People? says:

        Same here. Same for my husband and his family. In fact, we’ve had a harder time with “friends” and acquaintances than with our family – and that’s been nice.

        My mother is old and wants Trump gone before she dies.

      • jwoolman says:

        Me, too.

        My mother was quietly canceling my father’s vote (if he ever bothered to vote, which I doubt). His parents were Republican. Also awful people, but I imagine that predated their party affiliation.

        I grew up thinking that “secret ballot” meant never, ever tell anybody who you voted for or else all hell would break out. The first open adult Democrat that I met was my uncle, who married my mother’s sister… I imagine there were others, but everybody was keeping their mouths shut!

    • Lightpurple says:

      Can we please not stereotype an entire generation? The baby boomers in my family have never voted Republican in their lives. Elizabeth Warren is a boomer, so are Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama, Sonia Sotomayor, Kamala Harris, Kirsten Gillibrand and many, many more. Meanwhile, there are the Charlie Kirks and Ben Shapiros who are rabid alt-right with huge young followings.

      • Betsy says:

        That’s not stereotyping – it’s statistics!

      • Pilar says:

        How are Harris and gillibrand baby boomers? They are literally the same age as the man who coined the term gen x Douglas Copeland.I would have thought they were gen x?

  11. kaye says:

    yeah, good for him, but he still doesn’t get a cookie for this–he is why we had george w bush and have Alito on the bench.

    however, if it helps others to take stock and move away from the party of nativist slobs–fingers crossed (but not holding my breath, see also: flake and mccain and corker not doing anything substantive despite their disavowal of the orange il duce.)

  12. Lala says:

    I have been tracking Steve and Nicholle since the McCain/Palin travesty…because me and mines are political JUNKIES and when Palin was picked…we were BOTH like….”WTF”??? One of the highlights of my life since Tramp got into office is seeing Steve Schmidt on television…because he has ZERO —– to give…and he gives them each and every time that he can!!! The Democratic Party NEEDS some more good monsters on our side….HE TRULY FITS THAT BILL!

    Now regarding what happened with Palin…and the horrible birth of the Tea Party…I wanted to put that blame on Schmidt…but even HE did not know that the blowback from that would be the birth of the Tea Party!!! So I now place the blame on the people who deserve it…

    The folks who NEVA EVA vote during mid-term elections! It was THAT inaction that got the Tea Party/Freedom Caucus in…and let the inmates run the asylum!

    • Honeybadger says:

      I had little respect for him after the Palin fiasco. He has redeemed himself admirably since the rise of the Pimp of Evil.

    • IlsaLund says:

      Just praying folks get off their asses and go vote in these mid term elections. People who only vote every 4 years are dooming this country to moronic evil dictators.

    • Esmom says:

      The Tea Partiers still have a strong hold in my town in local govt. Some of them try to distance themselves from Trump (and Palin before him) by saying they’re “focused only on local issues.” As if you can separate them anymore. Makes my blood boil. It was their stealth infiltration of local governments — they absolutely took advantage of voter apathy — that enabled the rise of Trump. Thankfully recent wins by more progressive candidates are slowly eroding their base here.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Steve and Nicole Wallace have been making really strong points on her show. His history isn’t perfect, but he has been saying the absolute right things that need to be said NOW.

  13. PlayItAgain says:

    Steve has always been an articulate opponent of Trump’s insane words and actions. I’ve been grateful to him for so eloquently expressing why every true American should oppose this hideous and anti-American administration. He doesn’t mince words and calls the feckless GOP cowards in Congress out for their inaction. Bravo, Steve. He knows what our Republic is supposed to stand for and rails against Trump and his lackeys. I wish more GOP leaders would do the same.

  14. Honeybadger says:

    Welcome to the club, Steve!

  15. lightpurple says:

    He names Baker who is up for re-election. I do think Charlie is safe for another term, although I won’t be voting for him, and he did himself a huge favor by withdrawing MA National Guard from the border but I wouldn’t be surprised if he leaves the party within the next year. Not now, he wants the party money for the re-election campaign and he doesn’t want a challenger on the right. But if he had any real courage, he would speak up much louder and would withdraw from the party now.

  16. Susie says:

    I feel you Kaiser. I used to be a hardcore news junkie esp politics. then the election happened. As a black woman to know that this country hated me and ppl like me so much they voted for Trump broke me a little. Add that to the fact that the news stations follow his every move and helped normalize him, I just couldn’t follow the news anymore.
    These internment camp, which are almost worse the the Japanese ones since they were separated from their families, are immoral and horrific. America has literally turned into Nazi germany. I just think that what we aren’t being shown is worse than what we are and I want to cry. As a nurse I know that with stretched resources you get shitty care. I can only imagine the children being left in dirty diapers or the crappy food being served or the lack of touch.
    I’ve started reading anything in can get my hands on cuz when they want to minimize their actions 20 yrs from no I want to be able to say no you guys were heartless monsters.
    Anyone who voted Trump owns this. I hope their guilt follows them. The fact that white “Christian” women voted for this. I will remember this and I will never let the ppl around me forget.

    • Betsy says:

      I keep encouraging Trumpsters online to keep a journal and to share it with their grandkids one day (assuming their grandkids will speak to them, lol). I want the shame to burn their waxen, pale faces.
      – married white Christian woman who voted for Hillary

    • Trashaddict says:

      Susie: thank you so much for being a nurse. I’m not a Trump voter. Do not hate you and people like you. Glad you are here on Celibitchy. Needs to be said in these sad times.

    • Melanie says:

      Susie, your post makes me so sad. I really hear your pain. I can’t even imagine what it feels like to be a POC in this country right now. I’m a white woman who didn’t vote for this monster and I was absolutely shocked when the numbers came in. That women could betray one another like that. Even if they didn’t LOVE Hillary, that they couldn’t see the bigger picture. Call me naive, but I was blown away.

      The one thing this election did for me was open my eyes to the blatant racism in our country. I knew it was there, but couldn’t imagine it being this heinous. I’ve sought out blogs and websites written by POC to gain new perspective. I’ve learned more about Black American history in the past year than I ever learned in high school or college. I just keep buying more books. Please know there are a lot of us in your corner. We have so much more work to do prove ourselves and I promise to be the best advocate I can be.

  17. Susie says:

    Also not to be morbid but if I was a pedophile I would be jumping for joy right now. These ppl are only getting a weeks worth of “training” and I bet the background checks are slapdash if they are even being done at all. Many of these children will have traumas that will follow them for life. Ppl who were in the Japanese internment camps have higher rates of cardiovascular issues amongst other things. And again even then they kept the families together. As a woc I always understood America wasn’t perfect esp to ppl like me both inside and outside it’s borders. But i never thought the Nazis in power would be so blatant in inacting these type of Nazi policies. Remember Hitler didn’t start out with the plan to kill Jews they were just supposed to wait out in camps. I never thought I would even think to make that comparison in 2018. Processing 100 kids a day means that resources are going to be pretty much non existent. And if if this is as bad as it gets how are they going to reunite the families. Do you really think they are keeping good records? Parents are already being deported while their children are in these camps.
    I was numb before but now I’m pissed and it’s like there is a fire in my veins.
    If anybody knows of anyway that I contribute and help pls let me know. I’ve donated some money but I live in a northern state so I can’t get down there. But I do want to help in anyway I can

    • Lala says:

      You’re not being morbid…any pedo that can is RACING to grab one of those jobs…because they have spent their adult years stalking areas where they can have access to VULNERABLE children (and these are the most vulnerable) and those jobs at those holding pens, which they know will have almost NO oversight and very little reference backgrounds…and because, THAT’S how this administration operates along with the private prisoner system that’s running these facilities….are the PERFECT hunting ground…That’s what pedos do….and they are HORRIFYINGLY successful at this. If you read the horror stories of workers who work in private prisons for juveniles…and what they get away with….

      My G-d…………

    • Angela82 says:

      I hate to say it but 2018 feels like the year of the pedophile. They seem to be getting away with their crimes to an insane degree so long as they are white and straight. They even run for office (see the sick f*ck who wants to legalize incest in VA). Not they have these camps where people like Trump could care less what happens to these kids so I am sure there is ample opportunity to attract sickos to the job. I am enraged.

    • Trashaddict says:

      This whole thing makes me want to throw up. The blithe way in which the damage is done.

  18. Jayna says:

    I really like Schmidt. He praised HBO’s Game Change. He didn’t whine. He took responsibility as one of the team who picked her and realized the huge mistake he made and it became clear how frightening it would be if she became president back when she was popular. He
    admitted his part in bringing her to national attention and regret. He said Palin had become a vengeful personality and hoped she had no future in the Republican Party. Thank God that she doesn’t. But we got Trump. At least Republicans like Schmidt, Wallace, and Governor Kasich vocally and loudly stand up against Trump.

    I like Schmidt and Nicole Wallace.

  19. Bella bella says:

    It’s a great comment. Since his statement will be much quoted, I hope he has a friend who will correct his spelling:

    “THEIR legacies will be ones of well earned ignominy.”

  20. thaisajs says:

    I live in DC and I have conversations all the time with friends who are Republicans, or who thought they were Republicans but in this Trump era, they don’t know what they are anymore because they’re so horrified by what’s going on. It’s different here, because getting or keeping a job can depend on your party affiliation and people don’t want to blow up their careers cause they have mortgages to pay etc. But seems to me that the GOP tent is getting smaller every day thanks to this horrible person and his loyalists.

  21. Lila says:

    I’ve been waiting for some top old fashion republicans to jump ship.

  22. Isabelle says:

    At my work this week one of guests was asking questions about a popular local speaker/minister, she quietly asked if he was a conservative. She was older, so assumed maybe it was what she wanted to hear. She then says, “I hope not because recently I’ve grown more and more liberal”. Trump definitely has his supporters but think some conservatives will quietly stop voting or become “moderate”. Current Republican party now is jsut mean and nasty. That will play OK for a few years (post Obama) or so but eventually even their own party will tire of it.

    • jammypants says:

      My very conservative sister is now a progressive because of this administration. I should thank them for converting her, if I wasn’t so horrified at how EVIL they are.

    • Tiffany :) says:

      Isabelle and jammypants, you give me hope!

  23. Starryfish says:

    This is trash. The GOP of Lincoln hasn’t had anything to do with the modern Republican Party for well over a hundred years. They have supported bigoted policies since well before he first registered as a Republican, and he deserves no credit for finally drawing the line at creating concentration camps for kids. We really need to stop giving people so much credit for doing so very little.

    • Isabelle says:

      Think his point was look how a once great party has declined from passing the first Civil Rights acts in 1866 into a spiral of hate and Trump.

      • Starryfish says:

        But it’s literally not the same party, they merely kept the name. The parties flipped after reconstruction, precisely because conservatives didn’t want civil rights for non-white people. The conservative wing of american politics has always believed the same thing, there was no “fall from grace.”

      • Isabelle says:

        Democrats aren’t the same party either. Remember they also opposed BOTH Civil & Voting rights acts initially but begrudgingly went along with LBJ after he dragged them into backing him. Parties change after big events, Democrats changed drastically after the Vietnam debacle and yes Johnson steering them in a different direction

  24. Anastasia says:

    He’s JUST NOW realizing this???? What does he want, a cookie?

    • jwoolman says:

      I will gladly give him a cookie. I just need to know what kind he likes.

      Really, we need all the Republicans or conservatives we can get to oppose Trump. And he’s been opposing for quite a while.

      People can disagree about how to deal with big issues but still not be evil.

  25. Joycee says:

    Love him!

  26. Sharon Lea says:

    This is pretty big of Steve to come out to publicly announce. He, Nicole Wallace, Rick Wilson and Jennifer Rueben are my favorite Republicans who speak the truth about Trump.

  27. Neelyo says:

    I can’t stand Nicole Wallace. All during the Obama tenure she’d show up on MSNBC spouting the Republican party line to matter how repugnant. Now she’s trying to pass herself off as god knows what, but I remember all the bile she spilled with a smile on the Rachel Maddow Show.

    I can’t be heartened by Schmidt’s turnaround because this is how far it took him to realize what the party had become. Everything else up until now was okay for him as a Republican. That’s all i need to know.

  28. minx says:

    I welcome him to the party.

  29. ash says:

    yoooooo when he said this child separation policy is connected to the worst abuses of humanity in our history. It is connected by the same evil that separated families during slavery and dislocated tribes and broke up Native American families.

    …i was like MANNNNNNNNN finally someone white and repub said this….FINALLY

    like the breakup of POC families have been the orginal sin of America of the Eurocentric world….

    how do we as a nation know this and continue to let it go… as a black woman i would never want anyone today to experience what my people went thru esp the breakup of families…absolutely evil.