A bipartisan group of former federal officials have teamed up to prevent Republicans who support former President Donald Trump’s “Make America Great Again” agenda from winning in the 2024 election.
The organization is called Mission: Democracy, which will use paid and unpaid media, along with grassroots tactics, to fight against Republicans who vow to champion an America First policy agenda.
Mission: Democracy was founded by Olivia Troye, homeland security advisor to former Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Congressman Denver Riggleman (R-Va.), and former congressional candidate Marcus Flowers, who ran in Georgia against Republican firebrand Marjorie Taylor Green. The group’s executive director is Mathew Littman, former speechwriter for President Joe Biden.
“This is a public education campaign,” Troye said in a press release. “Some vote for MAGA candidates because they think they are ‘shaking things up’ to make our country better. They are actually damaging our nation by electing individuals who cannot get anything done for local districts because they are too busy causing chaos. The greater problem is that this chaos is a smoke screen for promoting extremist policies aimed at removing the rights of those with whom they disagree, enriching themselves, and increasing their power.”
The term “MAGA Republican” was coined by Democrats as a pejorative to smear any conservative candidate or politician aligned with Trump’s agenda, which some GOP strategists say amounts to nothing more than a fear campaign.
Biden reinforced the idea that “MAGA Republicans” pose an existential threat to the nation last summer during a televised speech which was delivered against red backdrop.
In Mission: Democracy’s first ad, entitled “Blackshirts,” abortion — which is considered a Republican vulnerability headed into 2024 campaigning — takes center stage. Against the backdrop of their pro-life stances, the ad labels Green, along with Reps. Matt Gaetz, Lauren Boebert, Jim Jordan, Scott Perry, and Paul Gosar as “fascists.”
Mission: Democracy says it chose the term Blackshirts because of its direct reference to members of Benito Mussolini’s squads. The group says that fascists first came to power through elections, then began their conquest by dismantling the rights of women.
“These extremist politicians play on people’s emotions to win,” Flowers said in the release. “They act like they are regular folks when they are worth far more than the people they claim to represent and would not be caught dead dining with anyone wearing a red hat.”
Riggleman said, “Being new to politics when I entered Congress, I hoped when I joined the Freedom Caucus that discussions encouraging freedom of thought and expansive views on what it means to be American in our diverse nation would be foremost on their agenda. I was wrong.”
He added, “These elected members have a view of America that is narrow and based on a cult of personality rather than policy. Many have no reverence for America’s legacy of beating back autocracy, communism, and fascism. Many have no appreciation or respect for institutions of our government that run contrary to a very narrow worldview. And many spread conspiratorial lies that weaken our democracy and embolden our enemies.”
