Much has been made of old guard Republican Liz Cheney‘s endorsement of Democratic presidential nominee Kamala Harris this week, an endorsement that was both largely expected and — even four years ago — absolutely unthinkable.
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, who worked in every post-Nixon Republican administration preceding Donald Trump, Liz Cheney circa 2016 or even 2020 could never cast a vote for a Democratic presidential candidate.
Indeed, before Cheney was ignominiously booted from the House of Representatives by the now-dominant MAGA wing of the Republican Party — and, critically, before Trump’s actions on January 6 — Cheney had swallowed her distaste and voted for Trump in 2020, despite his first impeachment and his conservative-in-name-only administration.
Cheney recalled her choice in May of 2021: “Yeah. I mean, look, I was never going to support Joe Biden, and I do regret the vote. I think that it was a vote based on policy, based on, sort of, substance and what I know in terms of the kinds of policies he put forward that were good for the country, but that I — I think it is fair to say I regret the vote.”
Donald – This is the type of thing that demonstrates yet again that you are not a stable adult—and are not fit for office. https://t.co/AXES2YkD95
— Liz Cheney (@Liz_Cheney) July 1, 2024
This time around, Cheney — a censured MAGA outcast who retains a following among more traditional Republicans — doesn’t think there’s room to let policy enter the equation. Trump, she says, is just too “dangerous.”
Trump is so dangerous, in Cheney’s assessment, that the former Wyoming Congresswoman warned conservatives not to sit out the race and waste their votes, but instead to use their votes to repel Trump — no matter how strong their antipathy toward Harris may be.
Speaking at Duke University, Cheney contended that anything but a vote for Harris was a “luxury” the country could not afford. Writing in candidates by way of protest or failure to show up at the polls signals a dereliction of citizen duty, as Cheney sees it, “particularly in swing states.”
(NOTE: Duke is in North Carolina, a swing state with a Democratic Governor and two Republican Senators.)
“Because we are here in North Carolina, I think it is crucially important for people to recognize not only is what I’ve just said about the danger that Trump poses, something that should prevent people from voting for him,” Cheney said.
“But I don’t believe that we have the luxury of writing in candidates’ names, particularly in swing states. And, as a conservative, as someone who believes in and cares about the Constitution, I have thought deeply about this, and because of the danger that Donald Trump poses, not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris.”