Liz Biz

Whoever, on the Democrat side of the aisle, or even with a modicum of sanity, ever thought that they would have a kind word to say about anyone who was created by Dick Cheney? But, the man who became known as “Darth Vader” created Liz Cheney – the darling now of the political left.

If your recollections of Dick Cheney have faded, let me remind you of some of the highlights of Cheneyism. This was a man who was the face of support for “enhanced interrogation techniques”; who pushed us into the useless and tragic war in Iraq; and whose approval rating when he left office as Vice-President was a whopping 13%. 

Of course, the sins of the fathers should not be visited on the daughters (although I don’t think I would vote for Ivanka). But, in this case, like Ivanka, the female version of the acorn hasn’t fallen far from the tree. A quick look at her favorable ratings from various lobbying groups shows her inclinations. From conservative groups: 100% rating from the US Chamber of Commerce; 86% from the Americans for Prosperity; and (here’s a good one) 60% from the John Birch Society. On the Liberal side: 0% from the Humane Society; 0% from the ACLU; but she was able to scratch out a 10% rating from Common Cause.

But she hates Trump. So, we are not only treating her with kindness, we are treating her as if she had led the invasion on D-Day and slew the Nazis single-handedly. Liz Cheney, solely because of her opposition to The Man Who Would Be King, is now a hero to those who share with her nothing more than her expressed antipathy to everything Trumpish.

My point here is only that we should not get carried away with this woman. I don’t dispute Ms. Cheney’s sincerity in her opposition to the Orange Monster. I’m skeptical, but I’ll accept it. What I refuse to accept is the oft-repeated mantra that Liz has thrown away her future by taking the stance that she has. C’mon. What future has she thrown away?

At the very least, there will be a book deal and speaking fees. A lot of people make a lot of money doing that stuff. 

But, more than that, there is the political future that everyone is saying she threw away. Hardly. She just lost her primary for re-election as the Congressperson from Wyoming. Wow! What possibly could be a more powerful position than being the Congressperson from Wyoming? You are only one out of 435. You have the same impact on Congress as a batter who comes up in the bottom of the ninth with two outs and his team down by 217 runs.

Now, though, she is a national figure. She has all kinds of options.  Now, she has become a powerful fund raiser for anti-Trump Republicans and for any Democrats. And when you become a big fund raiser in this “money-is everything” political system we have, you are on the top of the pyramid. You can get what you want. You are a lot more powerful than one Congressperson out of 435.

And then, when you become that powerful fund raiser that a lot of other powerful people are beholden to, you can call on them when you want their help for, say, a run again for Congressperson from Wyoming? Not hardly. How about that big white house on Pennsylvania Avenue?

So, weep no tears for Liz Cheney. She’ll be just fine. In fact, she may be too fine. Like the “heroic” former Trump officials who testified against him before the January 6 Committee, all she’s done is at last see the light, a light that long burned very brightly for the rest of us. If then, by oversleeping but finally waking up, she becomes not less, but more powerful, she will still be the same Liz Cheney who is as conservative and bellicose and Cheney-ish as they come. 

Let’s be careful.