It’s always nice to be in a win/win situation and there’s really no way that you can’t categorize Liz Cheney’s position as exactly that. Tomorrow morning the House GOPers hold a vote to decide if she is to remain in her position as Conference Chair or if she is to be expelled and Elise Stefanik takes her place. Most people are opining that the latter will take place and Stefanik will be elevated to GOP leadership and Cheney demoted. And that may in fact be the case.
But even if it does go down that way, it is still to Liz Cheney’s advantage. She originally ran afoul of Kevin McCarthy when she was not only condemning Trump for his continued Big Lie but also was insistent on a 9/11-style investigation of the Capitol riot. McCarthy doesn’t want that because it will call into question both the phone call he received from Trump that day and the machinations of his political director, Brian Jack, who used to be Trump’s political director before he went to work for McCarthy.
Against this background, Cheney stated her case passionately. New York Times:
Ms. Cheney, who is facing a vote Wednesday morning that is almost certain to succeed in ousting her from House Republicans’ No. 3 post, declared on Tuesday night that the nation was facing a “never seen before” threat in a former president who provoked the Jan. 6 attack and who “has resumed his aggressive effort to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him.”
“Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar,” Ms. Cheney said. “I will not participate in that. I will not sit back and watch in silence, while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy.”
The Wyoming Republican’s remarkable broadside illustrated how she has unrepentantly received the effort to dethrone her, and offered herself as a cautionary tale in what she is portraying as a battle for the soul of the G.O.P. She has cast her almost certain expulsion from the leadership ranks as a “turning point” for her party and told allies that the leadership post is simply not worth having if it requires her to lie.
In her speech Tuesday night, Ms. Cheney, a former State Department official, invoked the parallels between what unfolded at the Capitol on Jan. 6 and her work in authoritarian countries to explain why she was so determined to publicly condemn the attempted insurrection.
“Those who refuse to accept the rulings of our courts are at war with the Constitution,” Ms. Cheney said. “Our duty is clear. Every one of us who has sworn the oath must act to prevent the unraveling of our democracy. This is not about policy. This is not about partisanship. This is about our duty as Americans.”
Either way that the vote goes tomorrow, this is a good thing for the GOP and for America. It won’t seem that way to the GOP, but that’s par for the course with this 2021 iteration. The Bulwark:
Never before has there been a prominent Republican in leadership willing to challenge the party about the cost of Trump’s lies.
Some sitting Republicans occasionally mumbled to reporters—mostly on background—about their displeasure with Trump. This entailed very little political risk. Others opposed Trump as their stars were waning and then disappeared once he took over the party. And then there is an entire class which opposed Trump at first, only to slink away into lucrative retirements rather than staying to fight to the last man.
Cheney provides what Trump-resistant Republicans never had before: A galvanizing figure who is a legit rock-ribbed Republican with a live political career. She does not represent a majority in the party. But neither does she speak only for herself: Her views represent a significant bloc of voters that the GOP must have in order to win future elections.
Keep in mind that until recently, while Cheney may have had her disagreements with Trump, she was firmly on the team. Just like her fellow Country First Republican Adam Kinzinger, who voted for Trump in the 2020 election. Neither of them were NeverTrump Republicans, but on January 6, any tenuous bond between Trump and Republicans who value our democracy and institutions more than party broke. Permanently.
So, bring on the conflict. If the party is ever going to take a more positive direction, a change will need to be forced upon it by its voters. And that’s not even a theoretical possibility unless there’s a figure like Cheney for them to rally around.
Cheney will still be in office even if she loses her leadership post tomorrow. She can still work for a bipartisan Capitol riot commission. There is no reason to think she will lose her election in 2022 — although it is admittedly a bit early to call that shot.
I think she’s going to come out of this smelling like the proverbial rose. I think the one who is going to crash and burn is Kevin McCarthy and it’s high time. And I think that Elise Stefanik is really going to look bad.
There is a Cheney wing to the party. Darth Cheney is still a force, shrub also is still a significant player and an anti trumper. the trumpsters better watch out or the old money guard will step back and let the republicans take a few loses in order to kill off trumpism.
There is, and for years they have been in the doghouse. In fact many of them have left office because of Trump, and many of them have quit the party. And for them, this is the last straw.
All but one of the Rs left the chamber while she spoke.
They can’t handle the truth.
My takeL She is an awful person — a far right republican extremist. She is the daughter of one of the most violent and dangerous political extremist in US history. She threw her own sister under the bus for political gain. She is NOT a hero. She is NOT a good person. She is not doing anything good.
I couldn’t care less what happens to her. Maybe the party will eventually split, which would be a good thing for the U.S. and the world. They all smell like the most foul dump you have ever taken.
YMMV
I care what happens to her for this one reason: she’s the next big threat from the right wing.
Exactly. But right now, pass the popcorn.
Want butter on it, Priscainus? 🙂
Here’s a great chance to add a little nuance to our world view.
“She is NOT a good person.” Totally agree — “She is an awful person.” Absolutely.
“She is not doing anything good.” Yes she is, and right now she is uniquely positioned to do it. There is a reasonable expectation that she may be the catalyst to begin the reaction that begins the takedown of the Trumpublican Party by sparking the creation of a new party. Of course that’s only with the generous help of the Trombies themselves, who have gone way, way, way over the line for redeemability, and are gleefully heading for self-destruction. They just need a little help, wherever it comes from.
And she’s still an awful person. But indispensable. Because it’s the Republicans’ mess. They created it and they have to step up to the plate.
So let’s try to appreciate the reality. She is still the same Liz Cheney, but fate has given her a crucial role, and she’s playing it.
do you really want to dance with the daughter of cthulhu? Pretty sure she’s got the career behind her as well,though I can’t say I’ve agreed with her lil now.
How DARE you! How dare you blaspheme the mighty Cthulhu by comparing His Majestic being to a mere piker like Dick Cheney?!?!
Have care, waltzing one, lest you be taken by a cabal of Deep Ones for your blasphemy!
(You know I’m just poking some fun at you, right?)
I have a strong sense of snark,so,yes. Truthfully,after hitting post I felt that I had indeed maligned Cthulu. Like the sad irony of the GOP abusing the sentient,magnificent elephant as their mascot.And DEMs choose an Ass yet we’re not the ones behaving as such.
Shrub is that embarrassing relative you wheel out for Thanksgiving and Christmas just to show everyone what a big, happy family everyone is. The last sentence is all but inevitable now.
Liz Cheney is nobody’s hero. Hey, I heard that back there…and no, being saner than Cult 45 doesn’t make her better in any way. Of all Republican leaders still in office, she’s the only one playing the long game…and where that will lead to is somewhere none of us want to be.
Too many people have been hung up on a Trump comeback or one of his sycophants taking his place. And yet a true danger emerges in Liz Cheney and no one even blinks because, hey, she speaks in whole sentences and use non-demogogue political language when she does it. We want to build on our victories, we need to be much more aware than THAT.
Agreed. She is playing a crucial role in a necessary process. She is playing the long game. She has courage. She is backed by every anti-Trump Republican and former Republican. And in this fight at least she is backed by every American who is not insane. Fate has given her that role and she has risen to meet it. But she is still the same Liz Cheney and what’s happening is way bigger than she is.
A lot of this is almost a repeat of the Joe McCarthy story. Just remember, it was the Republicans, and in particular some right-wing Republicans, who took out Tailgunner Joe. They were cleaning up their own mess after it had gotten too much even for them.
Good analogy…in the end, nothing gets in the way of business for this crowd.