Opinion: Bravo, Liz Cheney

The answer is simple: Liz Cheney’s honesty is making some of her GOP colleagues very uncomfortable. She has refused to deny the reality of the 2020 election by telling the truth that Joe Biden won the presidency — and Trump lost. She has further stated behind closed doors, “We can’t embrace the notion the election is stolen. It’s a poison in the bloodstream of our democracy. We can’t whitewash what happened on January 6 or perpetuate Trump’s big lie. It is a threat to democracy. What he did on January 6 is a line that cannot be crossed.” Bravo, Liz Cheney.

Woe to any GOP congressman who publicly contradicts Trump’s tall tale about the election being stolen from him. Such heresy will not be tolerated. Better to keep your head down and mouth shut rather than incur the wrath of the disgraced, defeated former President.

Of course, silencing Cheney will not silence hard-hitting Democratic campaign ads against those who aided and abetted Donald Trump’s assault on the constitutional order that resulted in the insurrection. News flash: Whitewashing the events of January 6 will not erase what Americans actually witnessed on that dreadful day.

What these outstanding leaders need are vocal GOP followers in Congress. If a critical mass of GOP congresspeople speaks up, the Trump stolen election narrative will change. So many GOP congresspeople privately want to separate from Trump and seek a new direction for the GOP.

For this to happen, however, these GOP members will need to go public, find their voices, lose their fear of primary defeat and then risk their jobs in order to save them. Both the Party of Lincoln and the country will be better for it.