Donald Trump changed the Republican Party forever.
But now, the power-hungry establishment is trying to take it back.
And a familiar face is leading the charge – Rep. Liz Cheney.
It seems that Cheney takes strongly after her dad, former Vice President Dick Cheney. The elder Cheney was responsible for the biggest expansion in government power in US history, in the wake of 9/11. He was also responsible for the failed Iraq War, which cost the lives of thousands of young Americans, emboldened Iran, and helped create ISIS.
Many in the conservative movement have been advocating for the Cheney family to leave the public stage. After all, their views have become very out of step with conservative voters, and much more in line with big-government Democrats. But the GOP establishment continues to cling to the Cheney legacy.
Now, all these years later, Dick Cheney’s daughter Liz is a congresswoman from Wyoming, the 3rd ranking member of the House Republican caucus, and the Never Trumper in chief.
Cheney’s recent moves, including her vote to impeach former President Trump, suggest that she’s angling to rise up the ladder in D.C. and eventually become Speaker of the House.
Politico reports that Cheney “has emerged as one of the Republican Party’s fastest-rising leaders” and quotes one of her fellow establishment collaborators as saying, “You could see a speaker’s gavel in her hand, and I don’t think it’s that many years off frankly.”
Many conservatives have imagined what America would look like under a Speaker Liz Cheney, and they aren’t happy.
NSA agents would almost certainly tap into every phone call that people make, and US soldiers would be sent to fight in wars that make Americans less safe, not more safe. Additionally, conservatives and libertarians across the country could be rounded up and charged with “domestic terrorism.”
That might be an establishment fever dream, but the very thought of it sends chills down the spine of liberty-loving conservatives.
Normally, a vote to impeach a Republican president would preclude Cheney from leading the Republican Party, but big-government Republican congressmen like Adam Kinzinger have leapt to her defense. One establishment Republican in Congress even said “she kind of reminds you of Margaret Thatcher,” which ignores the fact that Margaret Thatcher was a great leader who loved freedom.
Cheney, however, is facing pushback from more conservative members of the House. And their numbers are growing.
Congressman Matt Gaetz has announced that he will be traveling to Wyoming to campaign against her. Freedom Caucus members like Andy Biggs are campaigning to remove her from leadership. And there’s been substantial anger at her for months after she tried to defeat Thomas Massie, the most conservative member of the House, last summer.
As Congressman Gaetz said, “The Republican Party establishment is trying to wrangle the conservative movement back under their control and they want the GOP to look and sound like Liz Cheney. I have a competing vision for Republicanism and I intend to showcase it by going after the ‘America Last’ politicians in both parties.”
As a result of all this, Cheney’s re-election prospects have become very shaky. In fact, one 2022 primary opponent, State Sen. Anthony Bouchard, has already announced his campaign to defeat Cheney.
It remains to be seen which wing of the GOP will win out in the end: the establishment wing, with their Wall Street and Raytheon donors, or the Constitutional conservative grassroots wing.
One thing is for certain – this showdown will have a big impact on the future of America.