OPINION: This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
There may be no one as divorced from reality in Washington, D.C., as Republican Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, who will find herself out of a job in January.
She got obliterated in a loss on Tuesday to Harriet Hageman in the Wyoming Republican primary and judging by her concession speech, she believes she can do something to stop former President Donald Trump in 2024.
Cheney talked about how she won her last election by a 73-point margin and how “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 enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our democratic system and attack the foundations of our republic,” she said.
“That was a path I could not and would not take,” she said.
What a hero. But she believes she is even more heroic than that as she compared herself to Abraham Lincoln.
“The great and original champion of our party, Abraham Lincoln, was defeated in elections for the Senate and the House before he won the most important election of all,” she said to her supporters in Jackson, Wyoming. “Lincoln ultimately prevailed, he saved our union, and he defined our obligation as Americans for all of history.”
“Speaking at Gettysburg of the great task remaining before us, Lincoln said, ‘We here highly resolve that these dead shall not have died in vain, that this nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom, and that government of the people, by the people, and for the people, shall not perish from this earth.’ As we meet here tonight, that remains our greatest and most important task,” she said.
But she was not done. She gave some insight into her future plans and to no one’s surprise they involve her obsession with Trump.
“Freedom must not, cannot, and will not die here,” she said. “We must be very clear-eyed about the threat we face, and about what is required to defeat it. I have said since January 6th, that I will do whatever it takes to ensure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office, and I mean it.”
She gave even more insight when she spoke to NBC News on Wednesday. She was asked point blank if she intended to campaign for president.
“That’s a decision I’m going to make in the coming months,” she said. “It is something I’m thinking about and I’ll make a decision in the coming months.”
The reaction to Cheney’s defeat was swift, and led by former President Trump.
“Congratulations to Harriet Hageman on her great and very decisive WIN in Wyoming. This is a wonderful result for America, and a complete rebuke of the Unselect Committee of political Hacks and Thugs. 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!” he said on Truth Social.
“Few people in Washington have been as wrong and damaging on foreign policy as Liz Cheney. Congratulations to @HagemanforWY on her victory tonight. I look forward to working with an advocate for liberty as the next Congresswoman from Wyoming. Bye Liz,” Sen. Rand Paul said.
Few people in Washington have been as wrong and damaging on foreign policy as Liz Cheney. Congratulations to @HagemanforWY on her victory tonight. I look forward to working with an advocate for liberty as the next Congresswoman from Wyoming. Bye Liz.
— Rand Paul (@RandPaul) August 17, 2022
“Liz Cheney didn’t lose because she took on Trump. She lost because she took on her own constituents. She refused to represent them. She came to believe she was better than them. She alone possessed and upheld the truth. Today the voters put an end to this delusional bullsh*t,” conservative author and filmmaker Dinesh D’Souza said.
Liz Cheney didn’t lose because she took on Trump. She lost because she took on her own constituents. She refused to represent them. She came to believe she was better than them. She alone possessed and upheld the truth. Today the voters put an end to this delusional bullsh*t
— Dinesh D'Souza (@DineshDSouza) August 17, 2022
“Liz Cheney lost by 30 points but makes a speech about how impressive it was she conceded,” Jenna Ellis said.
Liz Cheney lost by 30 points but makes a speech about how impressive it was she conceded. 🤣🤣🤣
— Jenna Ellis 🍊🦅 (@JennaEllisEsq) August 17, 2022
A clear message is being sent about what the Republican Party needs to be.
It’s not anything like liar Liz Cheney, who is nothing like Abraham Lincoln.
— Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene🇺🇸 (@RepMTG) August 17, 2022
“A clear message is being sent about what the Republican Party needs to be. It’s not anything like liar Liz Cheney, who is nothing like Abraham Lincoln,” Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene said.
