WASHINGTON (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th May, 2021) A manifesto signed by 150 prominent US Republicans and published on Thursday launched a reform movement targeting Donald Trump's continued influence in the party.
The document published by Utah newspaper Deseret news does not mention Trump by name, but targets many of the former president's behaviors while calling on Republicans to focus on traditional conservative principles such as free markets and free speech.
"We oppose the employment of fear-mongering, conspiracism, and falsehoods and instead support evidence-based policymaking and honest discourse," the manifesto said in one of several apparent references to Trump's behavior. "We demand that public officials and aspiring leaders � regardless of party � act with integrity and honor, the absence of which is a harbinger for abuses of power."
Trump critics Evan McMullin and Miles Taylor created the manifesto signed by 150 prominent conservatives.
The document it also restates core principles of mainstream conservatives such as a call for "open, market-based economies as consistent with our natural liberty," and respect for the Constitution's guarantee of free speech and freedom of the press.
Signers of the manifesto titled, "A call for American renewal," include former state governors William Weld, Mark Sanford and Christine Todd Whitman, more than two dozen former members of the House of Representatives and former Senator David Durenberger.
Other Names include former Trump administration officials such as Anthony Scaramucci, and high-profile officials who served other Republican presidents such as the George W. Bush administration's Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff.
Notably, the list of signatures was devoid of any sitting Republican Congresspeople, including Utah representative and outspoken Trump critic Mitt Romney.
The letter was published after Liz Cheney was ousted from Republican House leadership over her refusal to support Trump's claims of election fraud.
