Every day, there are reports of divisions in the Democratic Party. We hear about progressives who are disappointed in the lack of movement on issues they hold dear. And then we hear about the two Democratic conservatives who are putting on the brakes—Kyrsten Sinema (Arizona) and Joe Manchin (West Virginia). But Republicans have their own problems.
The common wisdom is that no Republican dares express an idea or opinion without getting Donald Trump’s approval first. The party has been recreated in his image and likeness. And those who do not toe the Trump Party line suffer. An example is Rep. Anthony Gonzalez of Ohio. He had been a rising star, but recently announced that he would not run for re-election, because he had voted his conscience in the second Trump impeachment vote.
All ten Republicans who voted that way have been threatened. The most visible has been Liz Cheney, of Wyoming. She lost her position as third in House leadership, but she refuses to roll over. No one can question her conservative bona fides. The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney has espoused all the traditional conservative and Republican values, but she stepped on Donald Trump’s toes, and her future seemed sealed. But she has continued to stand up for traditional Republican values.
And now, she is not alone. George W. Bush has retired to painting. He didn’t respond to Barack Obama’s criticism. He ignored Donald Trump’s many complaints and condemnations. He let it roll off his back. But now, Bush is becoming involved.
Former President George W. Bush will hold a fundraiser next month for Rep. Liz Cheney, the Wyoming Republican whom former President Donald Trump has been urging Republicans to defeat in a primary next year.
Bush is scheduled to host the event for Cheney — the daughter of his former vice president, Dick Cheney — in Dallas on Oct. 18, and other members of his administration are expected to attend, including former advisers Karl Rove and Karen Hughes. . .
The news comes less than two weeks after Trump endorsed Harriet Hageman in the Republican primary. . .Cheney responded to the endorsement by tweeting, “Bring it.”
Trump has tried to paint Cheney as a “RINO,” but not only has she been consistent in her support of conservative issues, she even voted almost every time with Trump 93% during his tenure in the White House.
Cheney, notably, has voted with Trump’s positions approximately 93% of the time throughout her last two terms in Congress, according to an analysis by the website FiveThirtyEight.
So, obviously, this is not about issues. It’s all personality, and Trump is known for holding a personal grudge and taking retribution. But it would be truly historic if Trump is able to unseat Cheney.
However, no Republican congress member from Wyoming has lost a primary challenge since 1968, when John S. Wold defeated on-again, off-again Congressman William Henry Harrison in that year’s election.
Cheney is also being caught in a battle of ex-presidents.
Former President George W. Bush will headline a fundraiser next month for top Donald Trump critic Liz Cheney, turning her reelection race into a proxy war of sorts between the ex-presidents who represent two competing factions of the Republican Party. . .
Bush’s involvement puts the two former Republican presidents directly at odds and underscores the deep tension that remains within the party between Trumpism and the GOP’s establishment wing. . .
Bush spokesperson Freddy Ford said. . . “President Bush is impressed by Liz Cheney’s strength and vision, and he’s proud to support her,” he added.
While Bush has kept a low profile since leaving office in 2009, he made an important speech on the 20th Anniversary of 9/11. The surprising thing is that he warned about domestic terrorists now, clearly talking about white supremacists and the January 6 mob.
“There is little cultural overlap between violent extremists abroad and violent extremists at home,” he said as he delivered the keynote address at the national memorial to the victims of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. “But in their disdain for pluralism, in their disregard for human life, in their determination to defile national symbols, they are children of the same foul spirit. And it is our continuing duty to confront them.”
While most Republicans are afraid to stand up to Trump, there are the beginnings of a rebellion inside the party. In fact, 100 Republicans are even threatening to form a Third Party.
More than 100 Republicans, including some former elected officials, are preparing to release a letter this week threatening to form a third party if the Republican Party does not make certain changes, according to an organizer of the effort. . .
The list of people signing the statement includes former officials at both the state and national level who once were governors, members of Congress, ambassadors, cabinet secretaries, state legislators and Republican Party chairmen, [Miles Taylor, an organizer of the effort and a former Trump-era Department of Homeland Security official] said.
Mr. Taylor declined to name the signers. Reuters reported earlier that the former governors Tom Ridge of Pennsylvania and Christine Todd Whitman of New Jersey will sign it, as will former Transportation Secretary Mary E. Peters and former Representatives Charlie Dent of Pennsylvania, Barbara Comstock of Virginia, Reid Ribble of Wisconsin and Mickey Edwards of Oklahoma. . .
“I’m still a Republican, but I’m hanging on by the skin of my teeth because how quickly the party has divorced itself from truth and reason,” Taylor said. “I’m one of those in the group that feels very strongly that if we can’t get the G.O.P. back to a rational party that supports free minds, free markets, and free people, I’m out and a lot of people are coming with me.”
But Trump’s most ardent loyalists are standing firm in obeisance to him.
“Republican voters support him still. The party is his,” [Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor] Greene said at a Friday morning press conference outside the Capitol, referring to Trump. “It doesn’t belong to anybody else.”
