Last week, former Republican Rep. Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania said he’d already cast a ballot for Vice President Kamala Harris. A few days earlier, the Democrat also picked up some endorsements from prominent Wisconsin Republicans, including former state Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz. A few days before that, Al Cárdenas, the former chair of the Florida Republican Party, announced his support for Harris.

They have an enormous amount of company. Indeed, as the Democratic ticket focuses heavily on reaching out to independents and disaffected GOP voters, Republicans for Harris has become a surprisingly effective force, backed by former members of Congress, governors, state lawmakers, cabinet secretaries, White House staffers, and even a former Republican vice president who probably never dreamed he’d be backing a Democratic presidential candidate.

The developments have not gone unnoticed. On the contrary, Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham of South Carolina appeared on “Meet the Press” over the weekend and asked a rather pointed question. NBC News reported:

It was probably a rhetorical question, though it’s a relatively easy one to answer.

In fact, former House Republican Conference Chair Liz Cheney has held some public events with Harris, including one in Wisconsin in which Charlie Sykes — an MSNBC Daily columnist and conservative media host who’s also broken with his party and backed Harris — reminded the former Wyoming congresswoman about Graham’s on-air comments, and asked for her reaction.

“Well, don’t listen to Lindsey Graham,” Cheney responded. “It’s good life advice, actually.”

It was a funny line, and it generated some applause from the audience, but that’s not all Cheney has had to say on the matter. In fact, at the same event, Cheney also said, “If you wouldn’t … hire somebody to babysit your kids, you shouldn’t make that guy president of the United States.” She went on to argue, “In this election, we need to elect the person who is the responsible adult.”

Hours earlier, at a separate Harris event in Pennsylvania, the former House GOP leader encouraged voters to consider the significance of electing a president who’s “totally erratic,” “completely unstable,” and who “idolizes tyrants.”

If Graham genuinely wants to know “what the hell” anti-Trump Republicans are doing, there’s no great mystery here: They’re putting patriotism above party. They’re coming to terms with the fact that their party has nominated an erratic criminal, who’s been credibly accused of mental instability, and who’s running on an authoritarian platform. They believe it’s in the nation’s interest to defeat him and instead go with a qualified, mainstream vice president.

For more along these lines, I’d also refer the South Carolinian to Cheney’s recent remarks delivered at the birthplace of the Republican Party.

Nearly three weeks later, the speech holds up quite well, whether Lindsey Graham wants to listen or not.

Steve Benen

Steve Benen is a producer for “The Rachel Maddow Show,” the editor of MaddowBlog and an BLN political contributor. He’s also the bestselling author of “Ministry of Truth: Democracy, Reality, and the Republicans’ War on the Recent Past.”