Liz Cheney way down in poll, GOP primary is August 16th {With 96% of the votes reported, she lost 66% to 29%}

Politics & Elections
61

See, I think the “courage” narrative is an absolutely false construction. Here’s how I suspect it actually played out.

Cheney joined the Jan 6 committee expecting that the riot would spell the rapid downfall of the MAGA cult, or at least an end to Trump’s total domination of the party. If she’d been right, she would have come out of it as the principled, conservative crusader who reforged the GOP into something resembling its old spirit.

It was quickly apparent that it wasn’t actually going to work that way and that Trump’s grip was as strong as ever. But Cheney’s fate was sealed the very moment she took her role on the committee seriously. She had two choices at that point:

  1. Fade into obscurity and definitely get primaried.
  2. Lean 100% into her role as an anti-Trump conservative and spend the next 13 months making headlines and becoming the single most recognizable name on the committee.

She chose #2, and now she’s going to parlay that into many more months of fundraising and influence.

Some people see a courageous stand for ideals. I just see someone who went all-in way too early and is - very successfully - making the best out of it.

62

Cheney was cooked the moment she voted for Trump’s impeachment, which long predated the Jan 6 committee.

63

The only chance Cheney ever had was if multiple Republican candidates split the vote in the primary, allowing her to eke out a plurality win (Wyoming allows the highest vote getter in a primary to advance without a runoff). But Republicans were well aware of this, and the establishment rallied around Hageman early.

64

Well, I hope her SNL-looking replacement stays quiet for a while. I don’t want to see that face popping up all the time. And speaking of faces- are her eyes out of alignment?

65

True, you’re absolutely right. Her being on the committee was the result of the vote in the first place.