The enemy of my enemy…
Let’s get one thing clear about Liz Cheney. Politically speaking I don’t have anything in common with her, and neither probably do you. In fact, we probably wouldn’t give her the time of day were it not for one thing: though she began 2017 as a Trump supporter she is no longer a repeater of the old MAGA party line. Nevertheless, she remains a pro-life, anti-LGBTQ+, anti-entitlements Warhawk, just like her father.
She is, in short, an old-fashioned Republican of the George Bush era. But, she was one of a handful of Republicans in Congress who voted to impeach Donald Trump during his second impeachment, and she served brilliantly as one of two Republicans on the House January 6 Committee.
That makes Liz Cheney an ally of the “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” variety. In fact, her condemnations of Trump on behalf of the committee are some of the best, most insightful, most oft-quoted polemics from that time. Her insights into what’s wrong with Donald Trump and why he’s bad for America reminds us all that it’s still possible to be relatively sane and remain a Republican.
She is so adamantly and openly opposed to a Donald Trump return to the White House that she told the Washington Post yesterday that she would do “whatever it takes” to prevent his return, including splitting the party with a run as an independent.
“Several years ago, I would not have contemplated a third-party run,” Cheney said in the Post interview. “[But] I happen to think democracy is at risk at home, obviously, as a result of Donald Trump’s continued grip on the Republican party, and I think democracy is at risk internationally as well.”
Cheney made similar remarks to USA Today. “I certainly hope to play a role in helping to ensure that the country has … a new, fully Conservative party,” she said. “And so whether that means restoring the current Republican party, which looks like a very difficult if not impossible task, or setting up a new party, I do hope to be involved and engaged in that.”
Cheney was speaking as part of a tour promoting her new book “Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning,” which calls on the US to back pro-constitution candidates against what she describes as “Trump enablers” in Congress. So Cheney is contemplating taking her rhetoric on the road in the form of a possible third party candidacy.
Needless to say, a Cheney run would be popular with old school Republicans, many of whom still exist. In fact it’s difficult to say how many there really are, because just like their professional counterparts in Congress many Republicans are afraid to speak out against Trump.
Naturally it’s doubtful that there will be much left of Donald Trump to run against by next summer. He’s apparently failing cognitively — and every other way. But in the bizarro world of Trump and the unprecedented absurdity of Trump supporters, nothing is absolutely certain, and it couldn’t hurt to have Cheney running against him. And, as ever, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, comrades and friends, stay safe.
Robert Harrington is an American expat living in Britain. He is a portrait painter.