Liz Cheney's unforgivable sin

The new GOP commandment, like Reagan’s original, is still selectively enforced. Representative Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, for example, has faced no formal rebuke for his crusade to rid the party of Trump’s influence. (Any punishment he receives is likely to come from Illinois Democrats, who could eliminate his House district next year.) But Kinzinger is not a member of the leadership. Considering Cheney’s specific responsibilities as chair of the conference, Republicans do have a legitimate case for removing her. Below the party leader, the whip’s job is to line up votes on the floor, and the chair’s job is to lead the conference’s messaging—to serve essentially as a spokesperson. Just as a caucus would not tolerate a whip who regularly votes with the opposition, neither would it sanction a spokesperson who couldn’t toe the party line. If Cheney’s dissent had come on an isolated policy matter—say, on a trade bill—her fellow Republicans would not go to the trouble of firing her. But Trump and the election lie that he has made his cause are not trivialities in today’s GOP; whether Republicans care to admit it or not, those lies are core to the party’s identity, and it doesn’t make sense to have a representative who so fervently challenges them. Cheney seems to recognize this reality. Although she fought hard to defeat the first attempted defenestration—and succeeded in an impressive show of political strength—she barely contested the outcome this morning. “It is an indication of where the Republican Party is,” she told reporters afterward, “and I think that the party is in a place that we’ve got to bring it back from.” Cheney is plotting for a post-Trump GOP, and she is undoubtedly aware that the last House Republican chair dumped unceremoniously was John Boehner, who 12 years after his ouster reached a much higher perch: speaker. Cheney also has been in and around politics long enough to know the rules, and when they change. Reagan’s 11th commandment has become Trump’s, and Cheney is far freer than she was yesterday to ignore it.
Advertisement

Join the conversation as a VIP Member

Trending on HotAir Videos

Advertisement
Advertisement
Advertisement