In a passionate op-ed published this past Wednesday in the Washington Post, Rep. Liz Cheney, Wyoming’s only member of the U. S. House of Representatives, had this to say:
“I am a conservative Republican, and the most conservative of conservative values is reverence for the rule of law … More than 60 state and federal courts, including multiple Trump-appointed judges, have rejected the former president’s arguments, and refused to overturn election results. That is the rule of law; that is our constitutional system for resolving claims of election fraud. The question before us now is whether we will join Trump’s crusade to delegitimize and undo the legal outcome of the 2020 election, with all the consequences that might have.”
The answer to her question for most Republicans these days, unfortunately, is yes. The Republican Party is making it increasingly clear that fealty to King Donald is a necessary condition to party membership. Those offering different points of view are no longer welcome.
The Republican Party stands ready to strip Ms. Cheney of her current position as #3 leader of her party in the House. Her crime, it seems, is that former President Trump—like many world dictators before him—seeks to purge from his ranks all those unwilling to agree with him on every issue.
What are some of the “consequences” Ms. Cheney might be talking about in the last quoted sentence, above? Not many to speak of quite yet, so long as the Trumpist party remains out of power in the White House and the minority party in Congress. But put Donald Trump back in office with a majority of Trumpists in the legislative branch and look out for the following:
- Court decisions might no longer be the final determinants of judicial disputes. If a court were to reach the “wrong” decision, the Trumpist party would simply appoint an executive panel to reach the opposite decision, using the U. S. military as the only force necessary to back that panel’s judicial decisions. Judges ordering a reversal of such panel decisions would simply be impeached, arrested, or otherwise removed.
- Electoral victories by Democrats would be reversed by “audit boards” empowered to throw out whatever ballots they were to feel like throwing out.
- Anyone questioning these new arrangements would be visited by specially appointed federal officials, aka “secret police,” and arrested if necessary. Prisons would be filled with such political prisoners.
Having witnessed the actions of former President Trump and his followers on January 6th, Spirited Reasoners can no longer doubt the wisdom of Rep. Cheney’s words. Membership in the Republican Party has now come down to a simple question: Are you willing to believe the Big Lie, i. e., that Joe Biden is not the lawfully elected President of the United States? If not, if honesty matters to you at all, you need to find a political home somewhere else.