Cheney Unchained

 

by Pa Rock

Citizen Journalist

Politicians handle defeat differently.  Donald Trump, who lost the presidency bigly in November of 2020, is still whining nearly two years later that he was somehow "cheated" out of his place at the head of the public trough, and he spends his days begging money from his moronic followers to somehow right that egregious wrong.    And when he isn't on the beg - or the golf course - Trump is fighting to use his status as a "former" President to fend off investigations into his efforts to remain in office, his business dealings, and allegations of abuse against individuals.

Liz Cheney, on the other hand, seems quite content to accept her loss at the polls in last week's GOP primary in Wyoming where a Trump-endorsed candidate soundly defeated her bid for reelection.    Cheney, who knows she lost, has already rolled up her sleeves and, unlike Trump, is moving on.   She has recast her political future and now presents as a crusader for the Constitution - a position that is likely to provide a certain amount of discomfort to Donald Trump and his self-serving team of election-deniers.

Cheney has vowed to work to keep Donald Trump from ever again being elected to the presidency, but she isn't stopping with just him - Liz is also focused on scrubbing the government of Trump's major enablers.  Today she issued forceful attacks on two Republican senators who were both instrumental in trying to subvert the Constitution in order to keep Trump in power, or at least to be seen as Trump bootlickers in furtherance of their own political ambitions.  

The Wyoming congresswoman fixed her sites on Senator Josh Hawley of Missouri and Senator Ted Cruz of Texas, admittedly a pair of easy targets.  Hawley, who threw this fist into the air in support of the insurrection at the US Capitol and later peddled coffee mugs which promoted that cheesy photo op, was the first senator to announce that he would vote against certifying Biden's win over Trump.  (Later seven other senators, including, Cruz, would follow Hawley's lead - along with 130 members of the House - all in direct opposition to their duties as prescribed by the US Constitution.)

Liz Cheney has said, quite simply, in response to the votes against Biden by Hawley and Cruz:

"I think certainly when you look at somebody like Josh Hawley, or somebody like Ted Cruz, both of whom know better, both of whom know exactly what the role of Congress is - in terms of our constitutional obligations with respect to presidential elections - and yet both took steps that fundamentally threatened the constitutional order and structure in the aftermath of the last election.  So, you know, in my view, they both have made themselves unfit for future office."

This lifelong Missouri voter realizes that Liz's condemnation of Josh Hawley won't change votes for or against the showboat senator out in rural Missouri, but they certainly will not benefit him in the more urban areas of the state.  She is a Cheney, and Josh would ignore her at his peril.  (Liz has already done serious damage to Hawley's image with the January 6th committee's release of the video showing him sprinting away from protesters in the Capitol on the day of the insurrection - a clip that made him not only.a laughing stock at the televised hearing, but also across Missouri and the nation -  and for the time-being she remains vice-chair of that group and undoubtedly has access to plenty more juicy bits that could plague not only Hawley, but also any number of other Trump enablers who still inhabit our nation's halls of power.)

Liz Cheney may have lost an important election last week, but it doesn't seem to have slowed her down.  Now, not having to worry about reelection, Liz has the freedom to do as she sees fit and say exactly what she thinks.

Cheney is unchained - and things may really get interesting!