Chances are you’ve seen clips of Liz Chaney’s speech to the House of Representatives, in which she assailed the former President as a continuing danger to democracy, and her own political party for enabling him:
I didn’t expect the spineless bootlickers of the Republican House caucus to suddenly change their minds, recover their consciences and give Cheney a nineties-movie-style slow clap. They’re too far gone now.
But it turned out that my expectations somehow weren’t low enough:
Maybe they figured that if they so much as look at her, they will turn into pillars of salt.
Or maybe they know what they’re doing is shameful, but they’re too scared to the Trump cult to stand up for themselves.
Is it time for disaffected Republicans to start a new center-right political party? I’m not sure that’s the best idea. Ross Perot could tell you how hard it is to create a viable new political movement. Maybe Cheney and the handful of others worth a damn, like Twitter assassin Adam Kinzinger, can become independents or even remain Republicans but caucus with Democrats, though I’m not sure how well the Dems would like an arch-conservative like Cheney even temporarily associating with them.
Maybe they can stay in the GOP and keep raising hell, though it looks more like a lost cause every day, and might even give the authoritarians - who now clearly make up a majority of the party - some cover. (“We’re not all crazy! We still have Romney and Liz Cheney!”)
But one thing is for certain: there’s no longer any way a Republican can somehow triangulate between the Trump forces and the small-d democratic forces. There is no compromise with Trump. You are all for him or you are his mortal enemy.
Most Republicans have chosen the latter. And I hope it’s tearing them up inside.
Damian wrote:
***You are all for him or you are his mortal enemy.
Most Republicans have chosen the latter. ***
I see a mix-up.
Most Republicans have chosen the FORMER.
Only a very few, like Liz Cheney, have chosen the latter.