You can’t get any more conservative than Republican Representative Liz Cheney, who just endorsed a Democrat. Yes, you read that right. Cheney endorses a Democrat. In the race in which Representative Elissa Slotkin is running against MAGA Republican Tom Barrett, Cheney chooses Slotkin.
And so should you.
This is exactly one of the things that need to happen to help Democrats win the midterms. Politics nowadays is not left vs. right or liberal vs. conservativism. It’s Democracy vs. fascism.
Liz Cheney is a true Constitutional Conservative, so much so that she is one of the few Republicans who did not abandon their oath of office, one who did not toe the line but held Trump accountable for violating the Constitution and inciting an insurrection.
Liz Cheney is a true patriot for putting her personal beliefs aside by endorsing a Democratic candidate with opposite political views from hers (see: abortion rights) to make sure that Trumpism is eradicated.
Cheney is a good example that you don’t have to be a Democrat to support one, that it’s OK to stay in the party to which you feel you most belong and vote for the person who is better for the country.
Cheney’s not the only Republican doing this. Outgoing Republican Adam Kinzinger, Cheney’s only Republican cohort on the House Select Committee investigating the January 6 insurrection, founded Country First, a PAC whose MO is to “put country over party,” which hosted a rally endorsing independent Evan McMullin against Republican Mike Lee in the Utah Senate race.
If we do not protect our Democracy and the Constitution, nothing else matters. Every value that we hold dear to our hearts will go out the window.
We need to have more conversations with our conservative friends and family members. We need to let them know that having Democratic leadership is something that we shouldn’t be afraid of.
I think of my own journey, when I learned that the Democrats were not the enemy, and that none of our rights under their leadership would be in jeopardy–it was quite the opposite, in fact.
These kinds of conversations will save our country and get us to a place where we can vote on competent people who really do care about our country instead of profiting off it for their personal gain.
I believe we can move on from Trumpism, and we will win the midterms.
So much is on the ballot, and we can’t afford to lose.
David M. Weissman is a former Republican who has seen the light.
You can follow him on Twitter here.
This is an opinion column that solely reflects the opinions of the author.
