Dem
49
GOP
51
We are a little surprised by the timing, thinking that if it did happen, it could come closer to the election. Nonetheless, former representative Liz Cheney, daughter of Dick, told an audience at Duke that she will be voting for Kamala Harris in November. Here is the key portion of her remarks:
Donald Trump, no matter what your policy views are—no matter if you are a conservative Republican or not—Donald Trump cannot be trusted with power. The power of the presidency is the most awesome power of any office anywhere in the world, and the character of the people we elect really matters. And, so what I say is, I understand the desire to think that you're casting a vote for conservative policies, but—first of all, he is not a conservative, and he's dangerous, and this is not a policy election, and we can talk about getting this country back on track once we get through this election cycle—but Donald Trump, if he is reelected, will be far more dangerous than we have ever seen before.
He has told us he believes you can terminate the Constitution. He's gone to war with the rule of law. He repeatedly suggests that the people who assaulted and attacked the Capitol should be celebrated. He has said he will ignore the rulings of the courts. He won't leave office. He is a risk that we simply can't take, and he has to be defeated.
I say that, not as a liberal Democrat. Not as someone who agrees with policies on the left most of the time, but he is simply a risk that, as a nation, we must never take again.
Because we are here in North Carolina, I think it is crucially important for people to recognize not only is what I've just said about the danger that Trump poses, something that should prevent people from voting for him, but I don't believe that we have the luxury of writing in candidates' names, particularly in swing states. And, as a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.
And let me say that I think it is crucially important—and I would say especially to my fellow conservatives—that we think about the stakes and we think about the extent to which we have a duty, a duty, to put our country and our Constitution above partisanship. We all have that duty and responsibility.
And Cheney is not just bestowing her endorsement; she's apparently going to hit the campaign trail. She's going into the lion's den—Trumpy towns and counties where she's most likely to be able to speak their language.
Surely, someone—either with the Harris campaign, or the DNC, or the Lincoln Project—is going to put together a commercial with Cheney, Adam Kinzinger, a McCain or two, etc. If so, they will probably make an argument like the one Cheney made in her speech: Trump is too dangerous to be trusted with power. Truth be told, we think a different argument is probably more likely to be effective: Trump is like a drug, and the GOP won't break the habit until it hits rock bottom, which means a big-time defeat. In other words: "You're not voting for the party of Harris, you're voting to resurrect the party of Reagan."
Meanwhile, it's abundantly clear where the Cheney family stands. But how about the Bush family? Yes, George W. is enjoying a quiet retirement. But he's still the most prominent Republican in the country, outside of Donald Trump. Emerging from the shadows to make one last stand for democracy could be a nice final chapter to his career. On the other hand, if he sits and paints while Rome burns, that means a very different sort of final chapter. (Z)