One of the most unusual features of the 2020 Presidential election is the sharp contrast in strategies for mobilizing voters for the respective candidates. On one hand, President Donald Trump is vehemently opposed to building a coalition beyond his primarily older, white, High School educated, rural, evangelical, military, male, political “base.” He prefers to energize his fanatical political followers and disfranchise “Never Trumpers” rather than attract new groups of supporters. This is central to his strategy to restrict the criteria for “valid” mail-in ballots, reduce the efficiency of the US Postal Service in the timely delivery of ballots, create difficulties in voting during the pandemic, and even limit eligible voters such as preventing citizens with past incarceration records from voting if they have any unpaid fines. This resistance to expanding his base of potential voters is unconventional and typically a losing strategy—especially in a close election.
On the other hand, Vice-President Joe Biden has pursued an a completely different political strategy. He has opened the “tent” of the Democratic Party to all that are willing to participate in the common objective of defeating Donald Trump’s re-election. This includes women, minorities, immigrants, LGBT, youth, college education, celebrities, social progressives, and working class groups. In fact, the Biden campaign has reached out to conservative, traditional Republicans including retired military officials, business executives, religious “faith” leaders, retirees, and even politicians.
The success of the Biden political coalition is amplified by the highly visible political initiatives and political action committees (PACs) such as Republican Voters Against Trump at https://rvat.org/ and The Lincoln Project at https://lincolnproject.us. The latter is an American political action committee that was formed in late 2019 by several former, high profile Republican activists and operatives. The goal of The Lincoln Project is to prevent the reelection of Donald Trump in the 2020 Presidential election and defeat “complicit” Republicans running for reelection such as US Senators Martha McSally (R-AZ) and Lindsey Graham (R-SC). Their primary focus is on “swing states” (previously voted for Democrat Barack Obama in 2012 and then ‘swung’ to Republican Donald Trump in 2016) where President Trump prevailed with less than 2% more votes than Hillary Clinton.
The common theme of the collaboration between these politically dissonant groups is the electoral defeat of Donald Trump. This is exemplified by The Lincoln Project’s release of the music video, set to the politically inspired song “Commander in Chief,” by popular singer Demi Lovato. The three-minute video presents a graphic montage that depicts a turbulent America roiled by COVID-19 hospitalizations, unemployed workers, empty schools, food banks, home foreclosures, immigrant children detained at the border, climate change, out-of-control forest fires, mail-in ballots, and peaceful Black Lives Matter protests. In "#CommanderInChief, Lovato exclaims, “Honestly... If I did the things you do, I couldn't sleep…" After watching the The Lincoln Project’s music video of “Commander in Chief,” Lovato declared on Twitter, "This perfectly spotlights where our country is at in 2020. We deserve better as a nation." You can watch this powerful video at The Lincoln Project presents our music video for "Commander in Chief" by Demi Lovato.