Republican strategist Steve Schmidt renounces the Republic party and calls for the election of Democrats

(Now former) Republican strategist Steve Schmidt renounces the Republic party and calls for the election of Democrats:

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.
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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 [my ital].  I say it as someone who retains belief in DEMOCRACY and decency.

Steve Schmidt has done what so few other traditional conservatives have done. He has publicly articulated a clear line, differentiating between transient matters of policy and mainstream American political philosophy, versus the existential, anti-democratic perils of the Trump Party. Even classical conservatives who I generally appreciate, even when I don't fully agree with them, such as Mona Charen and Jay Nordlinger, have not been able to bring themselves to state this obvious truth: the most important thing the electorate can do, the pre-requisite for moving toward health and sanity of the nation, is to banish Trump, his party, and the 98% of his party who are enablers and worse.

Given our current two-party sclerosis, that means electing Democrats. Period. The next project after that can be starting a third, center-right, party grounded in values of the Enlightenment. But first we have to overthrow the Trumpists.