The GOP is still the "Party of Trump"

The Tuesday Talking Points!

Later this evening (or by tomorrow morning), Wyoming Republican Representative Liz Cheney quite likely will be heading back to private citizen status following a primary defeat to Harriet Hageman, her opponent who has the strong backing of former President Donald Trump. 

As I consider this inevitability, I think this is a perfect time to ask in the public square what factors tend to motivate modern voters the most? 

Seriously, when you consider that Liz Cheney is one of the most staunchly conservative women to ever serve in Congress, surely it can't be her record through the years? I mean, pick an issue, be it abortion, tax cuts, defense spending, entitlements, and you would be hard pressed to tell the difference between Rep. Cheney and Candidate Hageman.

So what gives? 

Well, the only answer that I can come up with is "celebrity," and the power that celebrity political figures have over their followers. To this point, Trump loyalists out in Wyoming are giddy to deliver a victory against Cheney not because she shunned conservatism and became some liberal overnight, but because she dared to state early and often that Joe Biden won the 2020 presidential election—fair and square. 

Now, to break the prior paragraph down further, I've long since concluded that there are two types of Trump supporters that fuel his still powerful influence; the first type recognizes that Trump is a deeply insecure man with sketchy character and an inability to act like a mature adult, but are willing to look past those flaws because his celebrity status allowed him to deliver tax cuts, three Supreme Court Justices who just led the reversal of abortion rights, and wage a culture war against Blacks, Mexicans, Muslims, and the LGBTQ community where he used his Twitter account to say things about those minority groups that most conservatives think to themselves—but could never get away with saying in public. 

The second type is the blind follower who has no interest in realpolitik—one who literally could watch Trump commit a crime on film and would still love him, defend him, and vote for him again all because he "owns the Libs," as they are fond of mindlessly saying.  

A not so bright Trump supporter circa 2016…

Both types are the reason why no matter how popular Florida Gov. Ron Desantis seems as the Republican 2024 Presidential Primary draws near, or even longer shots like Texas Sen. Ted Cruz or Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley, that Trump is still the odds-on favorite to win the Republican Primary if he chooses to run for a second term. 

To be clear, I will not lose any sleep over a Liz Cheney loss because our politics do not align! In fact, Cheney was one of Donald Trump's most reliable supporters throughout his single term in office.

Rep. Liz Cheney (l) and former President Donald Trump during happier times circa 2020…

But I do recognize that she is about to lose her job simply because, well, she did her job in helping to certify the lawful results of the 2020 election. Results that were certified by 61 of the 62 courts that denied Trump's mendacities about election rigging—including the very Supreme Court that sat three of his appointees who ALL agreed that there was no ripe election controversy in 2020 as there had been in Bush vs. Gore in 2000. 

Such is why I can't help but wonder whether this obsession with political celebrities is healthy or even tenable for the nation? To balance today's post, I know first hand that celebrity worship crosses party lines as there are some Democrats who took deep offense in ages past when I wrote columns criticizing former President Barack Obama, or even one year ago today when I blasted President Joe Biden for his mishandling of the American withdrawal from Afghanistan. 

But that's the point—as an objective writer, I realize that wrong is wrong and when the politician I voted for has erred, honor compels me to call them out. Hypothetically, if 2024 arrives and the Republican nominee is the winner of the presidential election, should President Biden choose to act the same petulant way that Trump did after he lost, I would blast him with the same rhetorical fury that I blasted Trump after the events of January 6th. 

To conclude, lest we forget that Liz Cheney was a conservative back when Mr. Trump was still writing campaign checks for Hillary Clinton, Kamala Harris, and other progressive Democrats whose politics he shared at one point before finding his voice and adoring fans on the right.

As Al Green used to sing: “For the Good Times…”

But that reality doesn't "trump" the fiction which has made the former president a "victim" in the eyes of millions of his followers, folks who would rather blame their fellow Republicans like Rep. Cheney for "being disloyal to former President Trump," than blame Trump for being disloyal to the oath he took to uphold and defend the Constitution.