In an extraordinary announcement, Rep. Liz Cheney (R/Wyoming), an otherwise staunch Republican conservative in spite of her equally staunch opposition to Donald Trump and his fascist leanings, has advised an Arizona audience to vote for Democrats up and down the ballot. She realizes that the Republican Party has been dominated and almost thoroughly controlled by MAGA/Trump supporters whose goal is to take the country to an authoritarian extreme. From top GOP leaders to Main Street voters, many Republicans have been duped by Trump and his surrogates, to the point of cult-like loyalty. We’ve seen cult mentality in the past from Jim Jones to Hale-Bopp psychotic voyageurs, but this is the first time we see it on a national level with a major political party. We see it with Trump-endorsed candidates throughout the country, especially in battleground states where Trump has an eye to 2024 and an attempt to wrest control of the government again through any means necessary. His arrogance and impunity tells him he will defeat current attempts to indict him, as he has evaded prosecution most of his criminal life.
Liz Cheney is a champion for democracy, on a level of, yes, Abraham Lincoln. Hyperbole? Not at all. Lincoln knew the challenge of white slaveholders in the South was a daunting one, and the chips were stacked against him. If France or England assisted the Confederacy, victory could well be theirs, and today, we would be two separate nations: Free and slave. But today, because Lincoln held to his principles and convinced the free states to fight for those principles, we are one nation, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. (“Under God” was only added in the 50s to our Pledge of Allegiance and, in my opinion, should be removed to allow for patriotic atheists or pagans among us.)
If MAGA Republicans take over the House and/or the Senate after these upcoming midterms, their intent is similar to the white plantation slaveholders of 1860. They want a white, Christian nation controlled by an authoritarian MAGA leader where civil and voting rights are only for a relative few. Others would be persona non gratis. This is the direction the current Trump-infused Supreme Court is taking us. These MAGA Republicans even consider Kevin McCarthy too moderate and will try to appoint a Speaker more in line with their extreme right-wing agenda. They will even try to impeach Joe Biden via false charges to further tie up his nation and economy-building agenda.
The only answer is to know who you are voting for and what they stand for. I’m not necessarily suggesting that you blindly vote for Democrats, for you never know these days the subtleties of a candidate’s platform. Study your pamphlets. Choose wisely candidates who will support what’s important to you. And vote.
This next election will give us a good indication of the direction this country wants to take. It is like a canary in a coal mine. If MAGA Republicans take over Congress, the canary dies, and we’re in big trouble. If the Dems increase their majorities, the canary lives and thrives, and we’re on safer ground. Don’t think your one vote is inconsequential. It’s critical. Elections in recent years have been decided on the basis of very few votes. The Presidential election of 2000 showed us that.
The strength of our democracy depends on the willingness of voters like you and I, to do our homework, study the candidates, and go to the polls or fill out your mail-in ballots, whatever the obstacles Republican state legislatures and the Supreme Court have put in your way, and vote. I’m with Liz Cheney on how you should vote. But the final decision is yours.
Leave a Reply