It’s getting harder by the day for me to dislike U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney, the conservative Wyoming lawmaker who is distinguishing herself by being one of the few Republicans in Congress who is willing to speak the unvarnished truth about Donald J. Trump.
She calls him — in no particular order — an existential threat to our democracy, a danger to the nation, a pathological liar, someone who has “no business being anywhere near the White House.”
There’s some other stuff, too, but you get my drift.
I once despised Liz Cheney. I didn’t like it when she declared her candidacy for Wyoming’s only House seat; I said at the time that she was a carpetbagger who spent hardly any time in the state her dad, Dick Cheney, represented during his House tour.
She’s also a bit too right wing for my taste.
Then along comes The Donald, who torches the Constitution and all but disavows the sacred oath he took to defend it. Cheney said, “That’s enough.”
She has said time and again that the sacred oath must stand over any fealty to a politician. Cheney also said that her work on the House select committee examining the 1/6 insurrection fills her with pride in the duty she is performing in seeking the truth behind the attack that Trump incited.
Win or lose in her August GOP primary in Wyoming, Cheney said she will remain committed to the task before her. “The sun will come up the next morning,” she said, and she will keep pursuing her effort for the truth behind the attack.
Normally, a politician who vows to do his or her job isn’t worthy of extraordinary praise. The context of this time, though, makes it different. That context compels me to offer the highest praise I can to a politician who is showing exemplary courage.