{"id":13782,"date":"2022-08-17T01:55:56","date_gmt":"2022-08-17T08:55:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13782"},"modified":"2022-08-19T02:22:18","modified_gmt":"2022-08-19T09:22:18","slug":"in-defeat-cheney-chides-trump-and-invokes-history-politico","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/?p=13782","title":{"rendered":"“In defeat, Cheney chides Trump and invokes history”, Politico"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Myah Ward<\/span>\u00a0and Olivia Beavers,<\/span>\u00a0

In a defiant and unapologetic speech, Cheney noted that even Abraham Lincoln lost elections to the House and Senate \u201cbefore he won the most important election of all.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Rep. Liz Cheney speaks Aug. 16, 2022, at a primary night gathering at Mead Ranch in Jackson, Wyo. Cheney lost to challenger Harriet Hageman in the primary. | Jae C. Hong\/AP Photo<\/p>\n

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JACKSON, Wyo. \u2014 Liz Cheney closed one chapter of her public life and opened another<\/a> with a history-heavy speech Tuesday night that made clear that she\u2019s at peace with losing her congressional seat \u2014 and ready to continue her fight against Donald Trump.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis primary election is over,\u201d Cheney told a crowd of supporters at a picturesque ranch outside Jackson, Wyo., saying she\u2019d called her Trump-backed opponent, Harriet Hageman, to concede the race. \u201cBut now the real work begins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheney made no apologies for the decisions that led to her election loss. And she contrasted her quick concession to Trump\u2019s prolonged refusal to acknowledge his own electoral loss, a refusal that led to the violence of Jan. 6, 2021 and the rise of election deniers within the Republican Party.<\/p>\n

What Cheney\u2019s next chapter will be remains uncertain, but the Republican made one thing clear about her political future in the speech: Her fight to protect American democracy is just beginning, and she meant what she said about doing everything in her power to make sure Donald Trump never steps foot near the Oval Office again.<\/p>\n

Cheney said she was well aware of the political risks she has taken in opposing Trump, noting that she won her previous primary with over 70 percent of the vote and would likely have won Tuesday night\u2019s race had she chosen a different path.<\/p>\n

\u201cBut it would\u2019ve required that I go along with President Trump\u2019s lie about the 2020 election. It would\u2019ve required that I enable his ongoing efforts to unravel our Democratic system, and attack the foundations of our republic,\u201d Cheney said. \u201cThat was a path I could not and would not take.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cheney took the stage around 8:15 p.m. Wyoming time as the sun began to set. Mountains surrounded the gathering, and hay bales held up four American flags. A red vintage Chevrolet 3100 was positioned to the side of the stage.<\/p>\n

She thanked members of her campaign team, her husband and her five children, four of whom were in the audience, along with her parents, former Vice President Dick Cheney and former Second Lady Lynne Cheney.<\/p>\n

During the speech, she made repeated references to American history, particularly the history of the Civil War. She quoted from Abraham Lincoln\u2019s Gettysburg Address. And she recounted how Ulysses S. Grant refused to retreat and led the Union Army to victory in the Civil War.<\/p>\n

\u201cLincoln and Grant, and all who fought in our nation\u2019s tragic Civil War, including my own great great grandfathers, saved our union. Their courage saved freedom,\u201d Cheney said. \u201cAnd if we listen closely, they are speaking to us down the generations. We must not idly squander what so many have fought and died for.\u201d<\/p>\n

And perhaps coyly, she noted that Lincoln had lost elections to Congress before he went on to be elected president.<\/p>\n

\u201cAbraham Lincoln was defeated in elections for the Senate and the House before he won the most important election of all. Lincoln ultimately prevailed, he saved our union and he defined our obligation as Americans for all of history,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Cheney said no citizen is a \u201cbystander,\u201d and addressed the individual responsibility of Americans to seek the truth and protect the future of the country. This means understanding what happened on Jan. 6, Cheney said, and it means not supporting election deniers in November who will \u201ccorrupt\u201d the country\u2019s future.<\/p>\n

\u201cOur nation is young in the history of mankind, and yet we are the oldest democracy in the world. Our survival is not guaranteed. History has shown us, over and over again, how poisonous lies destroy free nations,\u201d she said.<\/p>\n

Trump had identified Cheney as a top takedown target after she became the highest-ranking Republican to vote to impeach him after Jan. 6. His wrath intensified with her high-profile role on the House select committee investigating the former president and his inner circle.<\/p>\n

Cheney was punished swiftly, both in Wyoming and by her colleagues in Congress, who booted her from GOP leadership. But Cheney continued to use her platform on the national stage to oppose Trump \u2014 spurring speculation she\u2019s eyeing a run for president, speculation she\u2019s yet to dismiss.<\/p>\n

Trump allies criticized Cheney for invoking Lincoln and the Civil War in her speech, but other members of her party praised her for putting her dedication to her country above politics. Trump\u2019s former national security adviser, John Bolton, said<\/u><\/a> she deserves the \u201chighest possible praise,\u201d while former Republican National Committee Chair Michael Steele<\/u><\/a> said Cheney is \u201cthe Phoenix,\u201d and that the GOP isn\u2019t ready for her.<\/p>\n

Michigan\u2019s Democratic Attorney General Dana Nessel said Cheney<\/u><\/a> will go down in history as an \u201cAmerican hero.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Wyoming Republican\u2019s loss on Tuesday will likely only amplify her already outsizedrole on the Jan. 6 committee, which has vowed to continue its work through the end of this Congress in January. Cheney is set to continue in her vice chair seat on the House select panel as investigators prepare for more hearings next month.<\/p>\n

She ended her speech by asking Americans to join her in the next phase of her fight.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs we leave here, let us resolve that we will stand together \u2014 Republicans, Democrats and Independents \u2014 against those who would destroy our republic. They are angry, and they are determined,\u201d Cheney said. \u201cBut they have not seen anything like the power of Americans united in defense of our Constitution and committed to the cause of freedom. There is no greater power on this Earth. And with God\u2019s help, we will prevail.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Myah Ward\u00a0and Olivia Beavers,\u00a008\/17\/2022 In a defiant and unapologetic speech, Cheney noted that even Abraham Lincoln lost elections to the House and Senate \u201cbefore he won the most important election of all.\u201d Rep. Liz Cheney speaks Aug. 16, 2022, at a primary night gathering at Mead Ranch in Jackson, Wyo. Cheney lost to challenger […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1001004,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[53],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13782"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1001004"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=13782"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13782\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":13783,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/13782\/revisions\/13783"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=13782"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=13782"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/worldcampaign.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=13782"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}