As the saying goes, you don’t get many do-overs in politics. Still, the House Republican conference is about to get—and apparently take the best advantage of—a second chance to oust Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney from the #3 spot on the House GOP leadership team.
The first failed attempt was a ludicrous RINO display that disgusted voters who, unlike the Cheney types, prefer to leave the failure of leftist-rooted “compassionate conservatism” and non-stop war-mongering back where they belong: in the Bush-(Dick) Cheney administration.
The Democrat propagandist media, #NeverTrumpers, and the usual leftist suspects cheered the failed vote to remove Cheney as a “rebuke to Trump loyalists” and a sign that the GOP was returning to the good ole days of decades of failure pre-Orange Man Bad. The delight on the left (and the squishy right) was palpable.
But Cheney has spent the last three months, emboldened by her survival and believing her own press (i.e., mistaking the Democrat activist media as actual purveyors of truth), doubling down on her anti-Trump, America Last rhetoric . . . to the point that GOP leadership this time around is openly supporting New York Rep. Elise Stefanik to replace Cheney.
Not only is GOP House leadership backing Stefanik, but so is President Trump.
“Liz Cheney is a warmongering fool who has no business in Republican Party Leadership. We want leaders who believe in the Make America Great Again movement, and prioritize the values of America First. Elise Stefanik is a far superior choice, and she has my COMPLETE and TOTAL Endorsement for GOP Conference Chair. Elise is a tough and smart communicator!” the former president said in a statement.Stefanik, who is 36, is seen as a rising star in the party, in large part because of her vocal support for Mr. Trump and her efforts to recruit Republican women as candidates.
Cheney used the press attention at the latest GOP retreat to escalate her ongoing war against Trump and to share her self-aggrandizing aspiration to a possible (and so clearly doomed) run for president in 2024—none of which will help the GOP regain the majority in 2022, the focus of the retreat.
This “me, me, me” attitude did not endear her to House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
McCarthy (R-Calif.) was caught on a hot mic Tuesday stating, “I think she’s got real problems. I’ve had it with … I’ve had it with her. You know, I’ve lost confidence. … Well, someone just has to bring a motion, but I assume that will probably take place,” while speaking with Fox News anchor Steve Doocey off camera, Axios first reported.. . . . “I have heard from members concerned about her ability to carry out the job as conference chair, to carry out the message,” he said.“We all need to be working as one if we’re able to win the majority. Remember, majorities are not given, they are earned. And that’s about the message about going forward.”
By contrast, Stefanik, who must have higher political aspirations of her own, clearly gets what is important to the GOP at this moment in time. (Hint: it’s not Liz, Liz, Liz.)
Stefanik, you may recall, was a star during the first Trump impeachment trial.
Stefanik dominated the hearings, as Professor Jacobson noted at the time: “She cross-examines witnesses the way cross-examination should be done: A tightly controlled examination that does not allow the witness to vary from prior testimony or to deny the obvious.”
Her examination of former Ambassador Marie Yovanovitch showed Stefanik’s approach.She told the witness what territory she would cover not because she wanted to make it easier, but to signal to the witness that you are boxed in, I’m in control, and I’m covering topics about which you are going to have to capitulate. Pay attention to how many of the questions are answered with a simple “Yes” because the question was framed in such a way that Yes was the only viable option.Those simple “Yes” answers were devastating to the Dems impeachment narrative.
Watch:
So effective was Stefanik that Kellyanne Conway’s #NeverTrump husband immediately attacked her in particularly venomous, dishonest, and spiteful ways:
Meanwhile, Mittens McRomneyCare has thrown his diminished clout behind Cheney in his typical out-of-touch fumbling way.
Too bad for Cheney that Smarmy McMittens is in the Senate and can’t actually vote for her to remain in House leadership.
The vote is expected to take place next week, and it seems that Republicans will soon have a team player in Stefanik in the #3 House leadership spot.
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