Outvoted, She Concedes With Dignity & Grace

Posted on by under Election 2022, Law and justice, Political commentary, Racism & Bigotry, Social commentary

Harriet Hageman

If the Republican Party has a future, it lies with people like Liz Cheney.  It was sad, but not at all unexpected, to hear that Representative Cheney lost the Wyoming primary last night, sadder still that the Republicans in a Republican-dominated state would elect a liar, a conspiracy theorist, and an overall scumbag like Harriet Hageman.  It is, barring some truly unforeseen and world-changing event, inevitable that Hageman will join the ranks of Marge Greene, Lauren Boebert and so many others who are grossly unqualified to walk the halls of the U.S. Capitol.

I must applaud Ms. Cheney, as I have done a few times over the last couple of years.  Her concession speech was courageous and graceful, and one had to make a comparison when she said …

“Our republic relies upon the goodwill of all candidates for office to accept honouorably the outcome of elections and tonight, Harriet Hageman has received the most votes in this primary.  She won.  I called her to concede the race.  This primary election is over.”

Take a look at these short clips of Cheney as well as her opponent …

What an honourable woman.  What a breath of fresh air, especially as compared to most others in the Republican Party, particularly the former guy who still has not conceded an election he lost by nearly 8 million votes a full year-and-a-half ago!

Don’t be too fast to write off Liz Cheney, though.  I think she’ll find her way back … possibly in two short years, after Ms. Hageman convinces the people of Wyoming what a horrible mistake they made when they voted her into office.

Liz Cheney’s defeat was assured by her honesty and integrity.  It seems that those are cardinal sins within the Republican Party today, as the party continues to follow Donald Trump off the precipice.  Ms. Cheney had the courage to vote to impeach the former guy, and then added to her list of ‘crimes’ by joining the January 6th committee and working diligently and tirelessly to get to the bottom of what happened on that fateful day, to bring those who plotted and connived to overturn our government to justice.  For this, she has paid a high price, but I think that at the end of the day, she will have the last laugh.  Unfortunately for this nation, we will meanwhile have to put up with Ms. Hageman and others like her – conspiracy theorists, election deniers, and individuals who would incite violence to have their way.

In case you’re hoping for a Democratic candidate to beat Hageman in November, give it up.  The Democrat opposing her is Lynnette Grey Bull who won the Democratic primary by 62.2%, nearly matching Hageman’s 65.8%, but … there are relatively few Democratic voters in the state of Wyoming.  By the numbers, Ms. Grey Bull received only 4,410 votes as compared to Hageman’s 106,322 votes.  Roughly only 4% of all Wyoming voters voted for a Democrat.  So, grit your teeth and prepare to be underwhelmed by the incoming candidate, but keep your eye on Liz Cheney, for I don’t think she’s finished yet!

For the record, there is some speculation that Ms. Cheney is considering a run for president in 2024.  While I do greatly admire her, I think it would be a mistake.  First, while I respect and admire her integrity and courage, I disagree strongly with most of her policies.  That said, even as an Independent who leans strongly to the left, I might actually have voted for her to return to her seat in Congress if I lived in Wyoming, but I would not vote for her as president.

Ms. Cheney deserved better from her party than to be shunned, heckled, threatened and ridiculed for her courage and integrity, but that is today’s GOP … they prefer fools and clowns to honest lawmakers.  One day, hopefully soon, the pendulum will swing back and people will come to understand that a government of fools and clowns is not sustainable and those like Hageman, Herschel Walker, Mehmet Oz, Marge Greene and more will fade into oblivion.

33 thoughts on “Outvoted, She Concedes With Dignity & Grace”

  1. Jill,

    I think the hard cold fact that she, her husband, and her father and mother—the entire family!—were all from other states across the U.S. and not from Wyoming hurt her tremendously this primary, with of course her standing up firmly for our Constitution, the rule of law, and true democracy and smartly, rightly against tRump and Rumpism!

    I mention this foreigner stigma because it is exactly those types here in Texas—only out-of-staters, first, second, or barely third-generation Texans?—that have completely seized control of our state government, laws, and policies for the last 20+ years. Now look how horribly radicalized—by a minority—Texas has become!?

    That did not help Liz Cheney, from Wisconsin and Virginia(?), in the least.

    Liked by 1 person

    • I find it truly tragic that one must pay such a heavy price for honesty and integrity, for honouring one’s oath of office. Whether Wyoming, Kentucky, or California … it seems that candidates ought to be considered based on their characters, rather than their character flaws. Harriet Hageman has more flaws than character … she would have made a great cartoon villian, as would Mehmet Oz, JD Vance, Marge Greene and so many others! Sigh.

      Liked by 1 person

  2. Sorry, but I have to disagree again.

    Many conservatives are critical of Trump and the Republican party. They just don’t do it in such a way which endears them to the Democrat party as Representative Cheney did. If you listen to the more conservative media outlets such as The Blaze and Daily Wire, you will heard a considerable amount of criticism of Republicans and Trump. They have been critical for many years. Ben Shapiro, head of the Daily Wire, is very skeptical of Trump’s claims of election fraud altering the election. I disagree with him, but I hear him raise the criticism continually. Shapiro is also very critical of Democrat policies, double standards, hypocrisy, and all the rest. His criticism of Trump does not endear him to the Left because he does not do it in the same way as Representative Cheney did.

    Cheney’s claim that criticism must be leveled in the manner she leveled it, by echoing the talking points of the Democrat party and joining in the unmerited attacks on Donald Trump via the J6 committee, are not the only way, indeed not the most effective way, to bring about change in the party. Those of us, like me, who have voted Republican, very much want change in the Republican party. The leadership of McConnell, McCarthy, Cornyn, Romney, and others is just abysmal. They are not representative of the rank and file in any way. The Republican leadership appears to despise its voters and rarely lives us to the promises it makes in elections. We want better leaders in the Republican party. I will agree with you, that the current crop of Republican politicians is awful. You think the Democrats and turncoat Republicans are the solution; they are not, they are even worse.

    Cheney is supporting her father in all this. The Bushes and Cheneys do not like Trump because of his attacks on Jeb Bush during the 2016 campaign and his criticism of the Bush administration. She is defending her father’s honor, but why? The Democrat party savaged her father for the eight years he was VP. Now you have new-found respect for the Cheneys because they are critical of Trump. What else has she done? She says, she is standing up for Democracy, but acts as if she is the only one, and her method of attacking Trump is the only way to do it.

    I am critical of many of Trump’s action as well. I don’t like the way he trashed John McCain or made up stories about Ted Cruz’s father, just to name a few. I think he has done some abysmal things. Yet, I have a balanced perspective on him. Trump made many promises and I think more than any other politician of recent years kept more of his promises. He defeated ISIS in Iraq (this was significant issue in the 2016 campaign); he moved the Israeli embassy to Jerusalem, something every one of his predecessors said they would do but did not; he cut taxes; he gave us the best economy (including the best for women, Hispanics, and blacks), in most of our lifetimes, he negotiated 4 historic Middle East peace deal; he kept us out of a war, the first to do so in a long time; he dealt with the Chinese head-on and in a way no president has done in recent times; he got us out of an awful deal with Iran; he exposed the media for the awful frauds they are and always have been (and they hated him for it); he was first president to speak at the March for Life and he brought us three justices who ended the awful Roe v Wade decision. You may not agree with many of these decisions, but you should recognize he made the promises and kept them.

    President Biden killed a major terrorist leader last month and took a victory lap; when President Trump killed General Soleimani, then candidate Biden said: President Trump just tossed a stick of dynamite into a tinderbox, and he owes the American people an explanation of the strategy and plan to keep safe our troops and embassy personnel, our people and our interests, both here at home and abroad, and our partners throughout the region and beyond,” Biden tweeted. Does anyone remember that when they took a victory lap? Does anyone ask an Al-Quaeda terrorist is living in the heart of Afghanistan?

    Cheney wasn’t bold. She was trying to turn herself into a martyr, and is getting many plaudits from folks like you for it. She could have changed her party, and done it in a far more constructive way. She was in the House leadership and McCarthy stuck with her for a long while, but nobody inside the Republican party will listen to her now. She is beating her chest and comparing herself to Abe Lincoln, but it is a farcical comparison. Lincoln lost because of his criticism of Douglas and slavery. He later won the presidency because of his principled stand, and he saved the nation and ended the abomination of slavery (there’s a mention of slavery which others have accused folks like me of whitewashing). Cheney lost because of her criticism of Trump and her support of the opposition party. She can’t win a primary in a very red state; she lost by the largest margin of any incumbent in the last 100 years, yet her hubris is at a maximum. She is saving democracy by her loss. Gimme a break! What is her future to shape the country? How does she plan to accomplish any of her goals? Her only apparent goal appears to be to defeat Trump and deny him a return to office. Perhaps she wishes to be a CNN anchor (Don Lemon reach out to her to join this elite group)? Yeah, that’s what Lincoln would have done were he around today. CNN and the Democrats are simply using her to undermine the Republicans they don’t like and Rep. Cheney is not smart enough to see how she is being manipulated.

    Dave

    Like

  3. We are indeed in a bad place as a nation, Jill. I’ve mentioned before a dear friend who is quite intelligent and who opposed Trump when he began his run in 2016. But other family members and friends pulled her into the MAGA movement and now she’s a dedicated disciple. Her dedication became absolute when she–as an evangelical Christian–bought into the notion that Trump, despite his undeniable moral flaws, is a modern-day savior, much like Persia’s King Cyrus was for the Jews in the Babylonian captivity.
    There’s no way to reason with these folks who have made Trump their new messiah. I’m confident this friend will never turn to violence, but I’m equally confident that a large percentage of the MAGA crowd will turn to violence if (when?) Trump is convicted on some of the many crimes he has committed. Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger will definitely be high on the MAGA crowd’s hit list.

    Liked by 2 people

    • It amazes me that people are so easily swayed, seemingly without even thinking. I, too, have friends who were once rational, thinking people but now they are riding the Trump bus, maga hats and all.

      I agree with you … I think the maga crowd are just waiting for a spark to set them off and send them into the streets with their guns, which is what frightens me most. I suspect that is why Merrick Garland has tread so carefully, but at the end of the day, come what may, Trump MUST be held to account for his crimes, especially as related to the attempted coup and his theft of (and possibly misuse of) highly classified documents that could pose a threat to the entire world. Yes, Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, as well as anyone who has testified against him in the January 6th hearings. Probably Mike Pence, as well. We may be in for a rough ride, my friend.

      Like

  5. I’m not a fan of Liz Cheney. She is, with the exception of matters specifically related directly to Donald Trump, a very conservative Republican through and through. But at least she’s not insane, like the woman who beat her in the primary.

    Liked by 1 person

  6. Democrat politicians and their voters must force themselves to see reality. Liz Cheney got crushed by her own red state voters. Further, the new, fighting GOP is a creation of Donald Trump. And they are out for bear. Democrats have always been out for bear. So carry on.

    Like

      • Gone are the Republicans who are in it to serve all the people in the US. It is very scary, but as long as people speak up, maybe someone, somewhere will open their eyes.

        Liked by 1 person

        • As best I can tell, the Republican Party now stands for only two things: bigotry in all of its many forms, and greed. They pander to the wealthy and pay lip service to the rest of us with lies and convoluted rhetoric. Sadly, they appeal to two groups: the lesser-educated and the ultra-religionists such as the evangelicals. Those two groups likely comprise some 75% or more of their base.

          Liked by 1 person

      • I’m not sure how it works there. Could she stand as an independent? Wouldn’t need official GOP backing for that, and if she needed nominations I doubt she’d have trouble getting them.

        Liked by 1 person

        • Well … she could stand as an Independent, but … the deck is stacked against any third-party or Independent candidate by the FEC (Federal Election Commission) rules. An Independent must be at a certain level in a state’s polls to even get his/her name on the ballot in that state. No Independent has ever won the presidency, nor are they likely to unless the rules change. Ross Perot came closest in 1992 and he was the only one in our history to qualify to be on the ballot in all 50 states, but then his campaign fell apart and he withdrew his candidacy. It can be done, but it never has been successfully done thus far. However, a third-party or Independent candidate who is popular and can get on the ballot in, oh, say 1/3 of the states, can be a great divider. They stand no chance of winning, but they can dilute the vote for one … or both … of the other candidates, in Liz’ case, the Republican candidate.

          Liked by 2 people

          • Sounds like it would be heavily stacked against her. But even if she campaigned without getting nominated she could still do Trump some damage. Mind you, he seems to be doing that to himself at present!

            Liked by 1 person

            • You’re right … I think she could do Trump some damage, but ONLY if there are actually enough in the Republican Party who would prefer truth and integrity to vitriol and drama. Yes, Trump seems to shoot himself in the foot multiple times a day without so much as breaking a toenail! Teflon Don, they call him.

              Liked by 1 person

              • I hope she does, and finds an audience who haven’t been conned by his lies. From reports here today it seems that Loony Rudy has been doing his best to shove him under the bus, without even trying 🤣

                Liked by 1 person

                • Are there any in the Republican Party who haven’t fallen for his lies, his rhetoric? Yeah, I know there are, but they are not making their voices heard, as they should be, but rather are slinking away with their tails tucked between their legs, hiding in shame that they ever fell for the clown act. Rudy … sigh … Rudy was my hero in the days after 9/11. Although I live in Ohio, I am and always will be a New Yorker at heart, and Rudy was … THERE. He was the voice of calm, of reason, of hope. And now look at him! It’s as if there are two different people in his body. He and Trump deserve each other … it’s more or less a contest of which one will bring about the downfall of the other, though Trump has already cost Rudy his law license in at least two states. What a mess, eh?

                  Liked by 1 person

                  • That ‘Anonymous Someone’ was me, Clive … dunno what’s up with WordPress, but even though I’m signed in as me, it has posted a few of my comments as ‘Anonymous’.

                    Like

Comments are closed.