She has become a distraction extraordinaire. Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) simply cannot get out of her own way and the hour is getting quite late for this sort of hysterics. It’s not hard, lady. Just keep your mouth shut. And if you can’t, you must go. It’s the same protocol for government workers. If you can work with a new administration, fine. If you want to act like Dumbledore’s Army and all deep state in trying to hamstring a new government, not only should you leave—you might be engaging in acts of treason. The intelligence community had scores of folks like this leaking and peddling lies about Russian collusion that never happened. I’m not saying Cheney is a traitor. No. But her inability to read the room is one of the main reasons why she has to go.
She’s one of the faces of the Republican Party. The base is Trump. The base wants Trump to be a major player in shaping its future. Cheney says she doesn’t want that. That’s fine—but who the hell are you. Cheney has burned so many bridges that she seems resigned to her fate. Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-NY) is putting out feelers—and Politico added that the gentlelady from Wyoming isn’t working hard at all to keep her position. She’s not on the phone with other members of the caucus in stacking sandbags. She’s reportedly looking for the exit. On the other hand, she also could be taking a ‘let it all burn’ approach and leave like Joan of Arc (via Politico):
Liz Cheney is not fighting to hold onto her job as House GOP conference chair, even as top Republican leaders openly campaign to replace her in the No. 3 spot.
To the frustration of many fellow Republicans, Cheney has continued to clearly state her positions on Donald Trump's baseless claims that the 2020 election was fraudulent and on the Jan. 6 vote to certify Trump's loss. And Cheney has been telling people that if holding onto her leadership role requires having to lie or stay quiet, she doesn’t believe that’s a price worth paying, according to a source familiar with her thinking.
Behind the scenes, Cheney has not been making calls or engaging in the type of campaigning that's ordinarily necessary in politics to build a coalition of support ahead of a vote that will determine her future in leadership, multiple GOP sources said. And even if she did, the odds seemed stacked against her: Top GOP leaders and Trump are now backing a challenger to Cheney.
[…]
Some House Republicans have mused that Cheney sees the writing on the wall, so she is choosing to be pushed out in a martyr-like fashion, rather than staying silent and fading away. One Republican said it looked like Cheney was trying to find an “exit strategy.”
"It's like she's trying to be an agitator,” another GOP member added. “It's like she's trying to stoke the fire to precipitate her own downfall."
The ‘Boot Liz’ movement got a huge boost when Rep. Steve Scalise (R-LA) backed Stefanik to replace Cheney (via NY Post):
House Minority Whip Steve Scalise is no longer supporting GOP Conference Chair Liz Cheney remaining in leadership, confirming to The Post Wednesday morning that he is officially backing Rep. Elise Stefanik for the job.
In a statement first released by Punchbowl News, later obtained by The Post, Scalise (R-La.) spokeswoman Lauren Fine explained the decision as one about keeping Republicans’ priorities in check.
“House Republicans need to be solely focused on taking back the House in 2022 and fighting against Speaker Pelosi and President Biden’s radical socialist agenda, and Elise Stefanik is strongly committed to doing that, which is why Whip Scalise has pledged to support her for Conference Chair,” Fine’s statement read.
Liz Cheney is more focused on irking Trump and his base, which she has yet to discover is the Republican Party. Enough already.
Join the conversation as a VIP Member