Liz Cheney loses Wyoming Republican primary to
Trump-endorsed rival
The vice-chair of the House January 6 panel faced
retribution from state voters for going against the former president
@smithinamerica
Wed 17 Aug
2022 04.46 BST
Liz Cheney
has paid the price for her staunch opposition to Donald Trump’s assault on
American democracy by losing her seat in Congress to a challenger backed by the
former president.
The
vice-chair of the January 6 committee was beaten by a conservative lawyer,
Harriet Hageman – who has echoed Trump’s false claims of widespread voter fraud
– in a Republican primary election to decide Wyoming’s lone member in the House
of Representatives.
Conceding
defeat in a speech in Jackson, she said: “Two years ago, I won this primary
with 73% of the vote. I could easily have done the same again. The path was
clear, but it would have required that I go along with President Trump’s lie
about the 2020 election.
“It would
have required that I enabled his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic
system and attack the foundations of our republic. That was a path I could not
and would not take.”
Cheney
continued: “No House seat, no office in this land is more important than the
principles that we are all sworn to protect. And I well understood the
potential political consequences of abiding by my duty.
“Our
republic relies upon the goodwill of all candidates for office to accept
honorably the outcome of elections. And tonight, Harriet Hageman has received
the most votes in this primary. She won. I called her to concede the race. This
primary election is over. But now the real work begins.”
Widely
predicted by opinion polls, the result continues a winning streak for
Trump-endorsed candidates and deals a blow to the last vestiges of the
Republican party establishment.
It would
have been unthinkable just a few years ago in Wyoming, a deeply conservative
state where the Cheney family has been seen as political royalty.
The
three-term congresswoman’s father, Dick Cheney, represented the state in the US
House for a decade before becoming defense secretary under George HW Bush from
1989 to 1993 and vice-president under George W Bush from 2001 to 2009.
Supporting
his daughter this month, Dick Cheney called Trump the greatest “threat to our
republic” in American history.
He also
said he was proud of his daughter “for standing up to the truth, doing what’s
right, honoring her oath to the constitution when so many in our party are too
scared to do so”.
But Liz
Cheney’s crusade against Trump during the televised January 6 hearings angered
local Republicans, who accused her of putting her national ambitions ahead of
Wyoming constituents.
She was
praised by Democrats and independents for taking a principled stand despite the
likelihood it would prove an act of political self-sacrifice.
In Jackson,
Cheney, wearing a beige jacket, stood on a podium in an open field surrounded
by a red vintage Chevrolet truck, four US national flags and a dozen hay bales,
against the dramatic backdrop of the Teton mountain range. She was watched by
family members including her parents Dick and Lynne.
As the sun
set on her – literally and figuratively – Cheney issued a rallying cry for the
defense of democracy and, in remarks that lasted around 15 min, made clear that
she does not accept that her political career is over.
Cheney
referenced her work on the January 6 committee and condemned fellow Republicans
for pushing conspiracy theories. She also warned that supporters of Trump’s
“big lie” about voter fraud are currently running for state offices.
“Our nation
is barreling once again towards crisis, lawlessness and violence,” she said.
“No American should support election deniers for any position of genuine
responsibility.”
Cheney
criticized the rightwing backlash against the FBI search of Trump’s Mar-A-Lago
estate that has led to threats of violence against federal law enforcement.
“Our great
nation must not be ruled by a mob provoked over social media,” she said.
Cheney has
faced death threats and been forced to abandon traditional campaign stops and
public rallies in favor of small-scale private events.
To
applause, she reiterated her pledge that she “will do whatever it takes to
ensure Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office. And I mean it”.
She left
the stage to the sound of Tom Petty’s song I Won’t Back Down.
Trump wrote
on his social media platform: “Liz Cheney should be ashamed of herself, the way
she acted, and her spiteful, sanctimonious words and actions towards others.
Now she can finally disappear into the depths of political oblivion where, I am
sure, she will be much happier than she is right now. Thank you WYOMING!”
Earlier, a
country band played as Cheney supporters mingled under a white marquee,
drinking wine and eating from a buffet of fresh fruit and cheese and crackers,
and a food truck serving barbecue sliders, pulled pork and beef brisket.
The mood
was upbeat and defiant despite the imminent defeat, with guests praising Cheney
for putting country above party and some advocating a presidential run in 2024.
Kenneth
Adelman, a former US ambassador to the United Nations, said: “Whatever happens,
she’s a winner. What she did was courageous. She showed that she was willing to
put her politics on the line.”
But
nationally, leading Republicans were eager to celebrate Cheney’s defeat.
Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr, tweeted: “Bye bye @Liz_Cheney. On the bright side
at least you won’t have to pretend to be from Wyoming anymore.”
In a
statement released before the race was called, Elise Stefanik of New York, who
replaced Cheney as the number three House Republican, said: “Congratulations to
Harriet Hageman on her massive Republican primary victory in Wyoming over Nancy
Pelosi’s puppet Liz Cheney.
“… Harriet
is a true America First patriot who will restore the people of Wyoming’s voice,
which Liz Cheney had long forgotten”.
Ronna
McDaniel, chair of the Republican National Committee, followed suit, saying
Hageman would “make Wyoming proud”.
Critics of
the ex-president declared Cheney the moral victor. The Lincoln Project, an
anti-Trump group formed by disaffected conservatives, said: “Tonight, the
nation marks the end of the Republican party.
“What
remains shares the name and branding of the traditional GOP, but is in fact an
authoritarian nationalist cult dedicated only to Donald Trump.”
David
Axelrod, former top strategist for Barack Obama, tweeted: “Through the lens of
history, Liz Cheney will be remembered as a hero; Harriet Hageman, the answer
to a trivia question.”
Sem comentários:
Enviar um comentário