Congresswoman Liz Cheney (R-WY) has had an eventful year.
She was one of 10 House Republicans who voted to impeach former President Donald Trump after his election lies prompted a mob of pro-Trump extremists to storm the United States Capitol in a deadly failed insurrection. Cheney issued a scathing statement blaming Trump for the riots at the time.
This prompted a wave of interparty opposition against her, but ultimately House Republicans voted to keep Cheney in her leadership position as GOP Conference Chair.
But after Cheney repeatedly refused to endorse Trump's lie that the 2020 election was "stolen" by Democrats engaging in widespread fraud, the party wasn't forgiving. House Republicans revoked her leadership position earlier this month and voted to replace her with pro-Trump Congresswoman Elise Stefanik (R-NY), who was willing to amplify Trump's conspiracy theories.
In a swan song of a House floor speech, Cheney vowed to lead the small faction of anti-Trump Republicans and wrestle the party from his influence.
While some praised Cheney for being one of the "good" Republicans, her allegiance to the party's goals have been steadfast. She voted in line with Trump's goals at least 92 percent of the time while he was President.
A new interview from Jonathan Swan of Axios is reminding Americans where Cheney's loyalties remain.
Axios On HBO: Rep Liz Cheney (R-WY) on Restrictive Voter Laws (Clip) | HBOwww.youtube.com
Using Trump's baseless aspersions against the integrity of U.S. elections as cover, Republican legislatures across dozens of states have introduced a wave of voter suppression laws designed to keep likely-Democratic voters from the ballot box.
In the interview with Swan, Cheney minimized the connections between Trump's election fantasies and the voter suppression laws sprouting up across the nation.
She then defended the laws designed to make voting more difficult:
"Everybody should want a situation and system where people who ought to be able to vote and have the right to vote can vote, and people who don't, shouldn't."
Cheney's response left a lot to be desired.
Your periodic reminder that despite being a temporary ally in the defense of democracy against the Trumpist Big Lie, Liz Cheney is still a Republican. And still a Cheney. Sleep with one eye open, America.https://twitter.com/axios/status/1396600327009341443\u00a0\u2026— Joy-Ann (Democracy Fan) Reid \ud83d\ude37 (@Joy-Ann (Democracy Fan) Reid \ud83d\ude37) 1621887575
She's an enemy of democracy too. She's just not quite as crude as some of the other enemies of democracy in the Enemies of Democracy Party.https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— David Rothkopf (@David Rothkopf) 1621817478
Mainstream journalists initiated the kick into hyperdrive to salute Liz Cheney with Cronkite-voiced news reads like \u201cshe stands accused of daring to tell the truth\u201d because they\u2019re desperate to create the artificial story that there are some good Republicans. There simply are nothttps://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC (@Matt Negrin, HOST OF HARDBALL AT 7PM ON MSNBC) 1621855283
Liz Cheney\u2019s problem with the Republican Party\u2019s voter suppression campaign is that she thinks she, not Donald Trump, should be the one who benefits politically from ithttps://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— Jay Willis (@Jay Willis) 1621870745
This was why it was critical to understand the nuanced position: That what happened to her was a sign that the GOP is becoming fascist, but was hardly a sign that she was any kind of hero of democracy.https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— Amanda Marcotte (@Amanda Marcotte) 1621875832
I told you she wasn't a hero. The entire party is a cancer.https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— John Pavlovitz (@John Pavlovitz) 1621829928
Voter suppression is a key tenet of the Republican party platform—and Liz Cheney is certainly a Republican.
This is an excellent interview by @jonathanvswan, demonstrating that even so-called \u201creasonable\u201d Republicans in Congress are committed to the project of voter suppression. It is understood throughout the GOP as the only way to win national elections.https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— Mondaire Jones (@Mondaire Jones) 1621811604
I\u2019m super tired of being right on these things. The GOP knows they can only win by restricting who gets to vote.https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— Fred Wellman (@Fred Wellman) 1621810991
Important reminder that Liz Cheney is not a hero, a patriot, or brave. She is still a dyed-in-the-wool conservative who believes in restricting voting access.https://twitter.com/marceelias/status/1396597499490717699\u00a0\u2026— Luke Martin (@Luke Martin) 1621889145
Voter suppression laws have already passed in Georgia, Florida, and other states.
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