If members of the GOP thought all the talk of ousting Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership position would cause her to back down, they are finding the opposite is true. Late Wednesday, The Washington Post published an op-ed written by the Republican Conference chair where she takes issue with Donald Trump continuing to repeat “his claims that the 2020 election was a fraud and was stolen.”
Trump is seeking to unravel critical elements of our constitutional structure that make democracy work — confidence in the result of elections and the rule of law. No other American president has ever done this.
The Republican Party is at a turning point, and Republicans must decide whether we are going to choose truth and fidelity to the Constitution. In the immediate wake of the violence of Jan. 6, almost all of us knew the gravity and the cause of what had just happened — we had witnessed it firsthand.
Cheney writes, “While embracing or ignoring Trump’s statements might seem attractive to some for fundraising and political purposes, that approach will do profound long-term damage to our party and our country. “
While Cheney doesn’t mention that her Republicans colleagues are on the brink of removing her from the leadership, it feels like Cheney acknowledges the moment at the end of her piece:
History is watching. Our children are watching. We must be brave enough to defend the basic principles that underpin and protect our freedom and our democratic process. I am committed to doing that, no matter what the short-term political consequences might be.
