By John Kanelis / johnkanelis_92@hotmail.com
Has it really come down to this?
The Republican congressional caucus might be on the verge of purging its leadership of a true-blue conservative lawmaker with impeccable party credentials.
Why? Because she voted to impeach a president who incited a deadly riot on Jan. 6 and because she stands on certain principles that all patriotic Americans ought to follow: that no one is above the law.
Rep. Liz Cheney, the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney and No. 3 in the GOP caucus leadership pecking order, might be voted out of her post because she believes that Donald Trump’s fomenting of the Big Lie about the 2020 election presents a danger to our democratic system of government.
And for that the GOP might send her to the back bench?
That is unbelievable, except that is what has become of a once-great political party.
The GOP has become a cult of personality beholden to someone who had no business being elected president of the United States in the first place. When he was elected in 2016, Donald Trump began the systematic dismantling of every political norm he could grab.
Along the way, he formed the astonishing cult of believers who adhere only to the whims and machinations of one man at the expense of good governance.
That individual has refused to this day to accept the fact that he lost an election and has taken the cult following to dangerous levels of blind fealty. It is a sight to behold.
I am not a fan of Rep. Cheney. Except for this notion: She is standing for a principle that I used to think transcended the partisan political divide. The principle is the rule of law.
Donald Trump incited an insurrection. The House of Reps impeached a second time for it. Cheney was one of 10 Republican House members to join their Democratic colleagues in holding Trump accountable for his incitement.
For that she is being punished? Because she stands for the belief that our Constitution and our democratic system of government — which she swore to protect — are more important than the political standing of one man?
Scary, man!