Do you feel it? The danger that lurks just around the corner?
Last night, Rep. Liz Cheney gave what could only be called her exit speech in which she reiterated that the Big Lie is just that, and Trump is working overtime to keep it alive. And that he could incite more violence because of it. (The full speech is 6 minutes, and well worth the time. You can watch it on YouTube HERE.)
Why is it an exit speech? Well, this morning, the GOP will vote her out of her leadership role in the party for the sin of telling the truth. The rest of the party is betting on Trump for their electoral fortunes and that means that they have to bow to the reality that he wants — i.e. the belief that the election was stolen from him. We all know that it wasn’t, but only a tiny minority of Republicans are saying it out loud. Cheney is one of them.
Now to be perfectly clear, I disagree with Liz Cheney on almost every issue. She has voted in line with Trump roughly 95% of the time. The conservatism that she’d like to see the government embrace is about the opposite of what I want in my government. But I will applaud her for sticking to her guns (pun intended) and not bowing to the political pressure like every other lily-livered Republican.
Is it possible that her getting kicked out by Republicans will turn off just enough Republican voters to make it virtually impossible for the GOP to win elections in 2022 and 2024? Maybe.
But for me, I only sense danger. The fact that she is so terribly alone in this crusade spells danger to me. Reporters said there was only one other member of her party in the chamber who stayed to listen to her speech. We have hushed whispers of others who say they feel like she does, but that doesn’t amount to a hill of beans if they’re secretive about it.
Which means the masses — the public, the voters, the MAGA faithful — are the clear majority in the Republican party. And where there’s a majority, there’s power. And where there’s power, more will join.
We simply cannot allow the Republicans to win back any part of the federal government in 2022, much less 2024, but if we fall asleep on the job, if we don’t put forth the kind of energy and drive we poured into 2018 or Georgia in January of this year, I fear for our country and our democracy. I really do.
If you want to see what it would look like if the Republicans were in power again, just look at the state legislatures in red states. They’re passing laws based on culture wars, and rejecting science, and punishing children. It’s dystopic.
Please, join me in pledging to take action to make sure we keep electing more Democrats to all levels of government. This current Republican party doesn’t deserve to have any power.
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