“To those waiting with bated breath for that favorite media catchphrase, the U-turn, I have only one thing to say: ‘You turn if you want to. The lady’s not for turning.’ ”
— British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher, Oct. 10, 1980.
Three cheers for America’s Iron Lady, U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney of Wyoming. She is not for turning, either.
Not for turning away from the calamity of Jan. 6, 2021, and not for turning from the serious and important work of saving American democracy from the malign forces within her own party who are bent on destroying it.
Here’s to her cold, hard, steely resolve — just the thing that’s needed at this moment — and her devotion to the U.S. Constitution. For her clear-eyed determination to tell the truth, to get to the bottom of things, to hold people accountable. For her flair for the serious and undramatic, she’s electrifying.
Lest her detractors try to get away with calling her a fake Republican or “squish,” here’s what Cheney said last week about her party in an interview with The Dispatch, a center-right online magazine:
“I don’t think, actually, that the House Republican conference reflects where the vast majority of Americans are. I don’t even think it reflects the vast majority of Republicans. We have now members of our conference who are avowed white supremacists. We have members of our conference who’ve espoused antisemitic perspectives. The conference itself needs more serious people. And look, I would say the Democrats need more serious people, too.
“But I know what’s right. And I know that the country needs a Republican Party that’s based on substance. We need to have a party that can defend the principles of a strong national defense and limited government and fidelity to the Constitution. Those substantive issues are what matters, and the ideals the party has had in the past are the ones that I believe deeply in.”
No shrinking violet, she.
Silence and complicity
Some of us have been waiting for a true leader like Cheney to emerge from the sick sellout of the Republican Party to Trumpian corruption in 2016.
I, for one, am eternally grateful to her for risking her political career to do what’s right this time. So many more junior (and frankly lesser) GOP politicians have done nothing except stay silent in the secret hope of saving their careers for a few more lobbyist-paid dinners on North Second Street in Harrisburg or Constitution Avenue in Washington, D.C. They’ll tell you that they need to stay in their posts in order to prevent other, more Trumpian, more dangerous people from taking their seats. Yet, what’s the difference between silent and open complicity if the outcome is the same?
Cheney and her brave compatriot, Republican U.S. Rep. Adam Kinzinger, are rushing into the fire while others cower in their protective bunkers and tell themselves baseless stories of their own bravado. She’s undeterred in her conviction that former President Donald Trump’s brand of malevolence must not prevail, and she’s willing to sacrifice her personal ambition in order to do something about it.
In last week’s interview with The Dispatch, Cheney said that what we saw in the weeks after the 2020 presidential election was “somebody who was willing to go through all the guardrails of democracy. ... That is why it’s so important that we make absolutely sure that (Trump) can never be anywhere near the Oval Office again. He is not somebody that can ever be trusted with the reins of power, because he’s demonstrated that he doesn’t respect the Constitution. He doesn’t respect our form of government and the checks and balances that are so critical to the survival of the republic.”
Indeed.
A true patriot
To Cheney’s everlasting credit, the attempted election subversion efforts of Trump and his allies, and especially the events of Jan. 6, 2021, were a bright, bold line she wasn’t willing to cross. She hasn’t backed up or backed down from the lines Trump and his conspirators clearly transgressed. She has done her homework, and has always anchored her critiques in the best of the American tradition and ideals.
Moreover, she has been enormously effective. Her comments are astonishing and inspiring for their rarity, even as they draw the jealous ire of her mewling party. And the irony is how dedicated she has been to the Republican Party and its more right-wing policy inclinations, carrying forward the legendary Cheney name and reputation for tough-minded realism. There’s something particularly profound about Liz Cheney standing up and speaking these truths to the Republican Party — truths that, if spoken by Chuck Schumer or Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez or Nancy Pelosi, wouldn’t have the same emotional punch or elicit the same level of anger from Republicans.
Cheney simply has the courage of her convictions. And in today’s Republican Party, which expects cowering evasiveness, “whataboutism” and even silence at gross violations of norms and law from its adherents, she’s a breath of the freshest air there is.
She is a true patriot who clearly loves this country.
Doing what’s right
If there were an update to the John F. Kennedy book “Profiles in Courage,” I’d expect Liz Cheney to get a chapter. She has shown intelligence, commitment to principle, courage and inspiration at a uniquely difficult time in this country. Those with little or nothing to lose in her party cannot muster even a statement of support, much less hold a town hall meeting to tell their constituents the truth.
It’s important that we all continue to speak out for what’s right. No trajectory in American politics or life is forever set. There are all kinds of contingencies and inflection points we can never anticipate. All we can do is to be faithful to what’s true and right — not necessarily successful, but faithful. We may change things, we may not. Change may be slow. We cannot succumb to despair if we don’t know whether change will come. We just have to keep the faith, and keep fighting.
Cheney may be defeated in her primary election later this year, or she could become a very important political figure going forward. Who knows what her future holds? No matter. She’s doing what is right, and that’s all that any of us can be asked to do with our lives.
Here are the ending lines of that inspiring Thatcher speech that earned her the title “Iron Lady” and the everlasting admiration of conservatives like me across the pond:
“So let us resist the blandishments of the faint hearts; let us ignore the howls and threats of the extremists; let us stand together and do our duty, and we shall not fail.”
Let’s all stand together now for the enduring promise of American democracy.
Ann S. Womble is a former chair of the Republican Committee of Lancaster County and former community member of the LNP | LancasterOnline Editorial Board. She is a founding member of the Pennsylvania chapter of the Serve America Movement, a party founded by former George W. Bush administration members.
