Liz Cheney and Her Supporters Learn Zero Lessons From Her Embarrassing Defeat – Opinion

On Tuesday evening, most of the population was asleep. It was obvious that Rep. Liz Cheney not only lost her Republican primary; she had also been completely obliterated. It was clearer the next day, with nearly 40 points showing that Cheney had lost her Republican primary.

Now that the primary election was over, it was time to handle the reaction. Cheney, and those who support her are apathetic to the fact that they haven’t learned any lessons from this crushing defeat. In fact, they are only doubling down on what so clearly didn’t work.

Here’s a helpful meme to illustrate things.

pic.twitter.com/CDrHVUVFcU

— DrChimp (@Doc_Chimpanzee) August 17, 2022

Cheney could easily have taken the electoral rebuke and done some reflection to realize that it was not about being critical of Donald Trump. She instead rushed to go to any leftwing morning program that was available, showing her self-awareness like a turnedip.

“It’s something that I think about. I’ll make my decision over the coming months.”

– @Liz_CheneyTo @SavannahGuthrieOn whether she might be considering a run for president in 2024. pic.twitter.com/z7qGh1eFlE

— Vaughn Hillyard (@VaughnHillyard) August 17, 2022

Would that be the same “cult of personality” that renominated Gov. Brian Kemp by a landslide in Georgia despite Trump’s heavy opposition? Or that overwhelmingly voted for Dan Crenshaw in Texas’s primary despite Trump supporters believing he’s akin to John McCain? By golly, it’s almost as if the chief issue in Cheney’s loss wasn’t that she didn’t like the orange man. Plenty of GOP politicians who have never said the 2020 election is stolen and aren’t big on Trump won their primaries.

And that’s really what this comes down to. Cheney and her supporters need her to be the victim of a grossly unfair cult of personality that will cast anyone aside who doesn’t absolutely adore Donald Trump. That’s a caraicature of the GOP that plays well on CNN and CBS News, but it’s absolutely not the reality on the ground.

Cheney is not an innocent bystander who just took a stand, though that’s exactly what she wants to present herself as. Cheney opted to join hands with Democrats in order to promote an evidence-free narrative through the January 6th committee. Remember the “seven-step plan” to overturn the 2020 election she assured us she would prove? We are about a dozen hearings in and she’s yet to even provide evidence of step one.

That wasn’t lost on the voters of Wyoming voters over the last several months. They saw a woman who didn’t care about them or their concerns. They saw a woman who couldn’t be bothered to do anything but bolster Democrat prospects during a key mid-term election in order to feed into a petty grievance.

Then there’s the fact that Cheney’s vision of the world is simply not popular anymore. Republicans have had enough of the defense industry simps that won’t admit to being wrong regarding any foreign incursions. Is there anything more damaging to our country than the Iraq War? What was worse for the nation? January 6, or the Iraq War. It’s not even close when you start counting the bodies, yet Cheney has never once shown an ounce of attrition. She continues to be adamantly against those who are willing to demand accountability.

.@RandPaulcurrently preventing passage of #NDAABlaming America and delaying dangerous duty pay for hundreds of thousands of military personnel and their families. Inexcusable.

Rand and me share one thing, however. We’re both 5’2” tall. https://t.co/l0XebRLW3Q

— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) December 10, 2020

What happened in Wyoming’s GOP primary is not complicated. Cheney didn’t realize she had constituents to answer for and was instead living in the DC bubble of illusions. Cheney refused to compromise on her most hateful political positions. In the end, that is why she’ll be out of the House next January.

But again, she won’t learn that lesson, nor will the multitude of “principles first” conservatives on the right who wouldn’t actually know what a principle is if it slapped them in the face. Voters still matter, and you can’t just keep spitting in their face, to the point of actively helping Nancy Pelosi achieve her goals, and expect there to be no consequences. Cheney lost because she opposes Trump. Because she sought to cause harm to the very people she was elected, Cheney lost. That she won’t at least own that only makes her a more pathetic figure.