Opinion: Polite Applause is Enough, not an Ovation
There is a funny and oft-repeated line from the standup comedy act of Chris Rock— for some (expletive) they supposed to do! Rock’s punchline was a rebuff to one wanting congratulations for accomplishing their fundamental responsibility. Republican representatives Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger are surfing the liberal wave because they chose to participate in the Select Committee on the 1/6 insurrection and open defiance of the former President, Donald Trump. As a result, the Democrats’ congratulations seem unending. Rock finished the bit with the words, “what you want, a cookie?”
Cheney and Kinzinger are a temporary respite to Republicans ignoring the rules of morality, courage, and patriotism. Still, for the rest of us, that is some (expletive) they are supposed to do! Oh, I understand that Ms. Cheney is the face of ever-weakening Republican opposition to Trumpism, but she clandestinely supports its benefits while publicly denouncing the Big Lie. Ms. Cheney has created a mythical disconnect between the Big Lie and the ensuing voter suppression laws that have come as a result. She told Axios’ Jonathan Swan back in May, “I think you have to look at the specifics of each one of those efforts,” said Cheney. Swan challenged Cheney, noting [he] does not “think anyone doubts” that correlation between ridiculous Republican conspiracy theories about the 2020 elections and anti-voting proposals. Cheney expressed her skepticism.
Both Cheney and Kinzinger, under cover of the 1/6 Committee, voted against the latest efforts to restore voting rights to all Americans. In August, the John Lewis Voting Rights Act passed the House of Representatives but was opposed by every Republican, including Cheney and Kinzinger. They both voted to impeach Mr. Trump after the Capitol Insurrection, but they are sorely lacking when it comes to voting rights for all. I would be willing to shake the hands of both Republicans but forego the ovation. The need to hold onto power even at the sacrifice of the nation’s reputation as the world’s most successful democracy takes a back seat to the Republican’s goal of unfettered power.
I was aghast to see Dick Cheney at yesterday’s 1/6 commemoration—the wolf came to inspect the chickens. Mr. Cheney used his expanded office, the press, the President, and Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to consolidate power and push America into an unwinnable war (a known, known). Former Vice President Cheney cajoled, manipulated, and lied America into one the most protracted and costly conflicts, both in blood and money, in United States history.
Dick Cheney and his daughter [Liz Cheney] were the only Republicans capable of mustering the courage to attend. The remaining gallery of deniers, conspiracists, and would-be fascists coward from the truth. I look forward to the day when I can again disdain Liz Cheney’s politics because I disagree with her tax policy, abortion stance, gun position, or climate policies. I know this may be anathema to most liberals, but there is a place for conservatism in American politics. What cannot be tolerated is Trumpism.
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