From the Majority Leader Press Shop:
Wanted to make sure you saw this rather Shakespearean op-ed from Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson in The Washington Post. Gerson takes aim at the House GOP’s attempts to draw Rep. Liz Cheney (WY-AL) as a scheming figure for the crime of…admitting Joe Biden won the election.
With Republican lawmakers actively searching for a woman “who won’t cause waves” or “cheer for the wrong team” as they openly share their goal to replace Cheney as House GOP conference chairwoman, it’s clear that the most desirable trait in her potential successor is the ability to lie to American voters. Unfortunately, with votes to impeach President Trump after the January 6th insurrection and a refusal to adhere to the Big Lie, Cheney might not meet the criteria. Even House GOP members have commented on it, with Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16) telling the Hill: “If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit.”
We recommend you read Gerson’s entire op-ed – but for those on a tight schedule here are some of the Sparknotes:
“Nothing about this is normal. The GOP is increasingly defined not by its shared beliefs, but by its shared delusions. To be a loyal Republican, one must be either a sucker or a liar. And because this defining falsehood is so obviously and laughably false, we can safely assume that most Republican leaders who embrace it fall into the second category. Knowingly repeating a lie — an act of immorality — is now the evidence of Republican fidelity.”
“It’s important to keep perspective about the stakes of any given lie….But the lie of a stolen election is the foundational falsehood of a political worldview. Believing it requires Trump’s followers to affirm the existence of a nationwide plot against him and his supporters — a plot led by ruthless Democrats and traitorous Republicans, and ignored or endorsed by useless courts and a complicit media. The claim’s plausibility is not the point.”
“No, it is the elected Republicans who are lying with open eyes, out of fear or cynicism, who have the most to atone for. With the health of U.S. democracy at stake, their excuses are disgraceful.”
Wanted to make sure you saw this rather Shakespearean op-ed from Bush speechwriter Michael Gerson in The Washington Post. Gerson takes aim at the House GOP’s attempts to draw Rep. Liz Cheney (WY-AL) as a scheming figure for the crime of…admitting Joe Biden won the election.
With Republican lawmakers actively searching for a woman “who won’t cause waves” or “cheer for the wrong team” as they openly share their goal to replace Cheney as House GOP conference chairwoman, it’s clear that the most desirable trait in her potential successor is the ability to lie to American voters. Unfortunately, with votes to impeach President Trump after the January 6th insurrection and a refusal to adhere to the Big Lie, Cheney might not meet the criteria. Even House GOP members have commented on it, with Rep. Anthony Gonzalez (OH-16) telling the Hill: “If a prerequisite for leading our conference is continuing to lie to our voters, then Liz is not the best fit.”
We recommend you read Gerson’s entire op-ed – but for those on a tight schedule here are some of the Sparknotes:
“Nothing about this is normal. The GOP is increasingly defined not by its shared beliefs, but by its shared delusions. To be a loyal Republican, one must be either a sucker or a liar. And because this defining falsehood is so obviously and laughably false, we can safely assume that most Republican leaders who embrace it fall into the second category. Knowingly repeating a lie — an act of immorality — is now the evidence of Republican fidelity.”
“It’s important to keep perspective about the stakes of any given lie….But the lie of a stolen election is the foundational falsehood of a political worldview. Believing it requires Trump’s followers to affirm the existence of a nationwide plot against him and his supporters — a plot led by ruthless Democrats and traitorous Republicans, and ignored or endorsed by useless courts and a complicit media. The claim’s plausibility is not the point.”
“No, it is the elected Republicans who are lying with open eyes, out of fear or cynicism, who have the most to atone for. With the health of U.S. democracy at stake, their excuses are disgraceful.”