Today is Tuesday, August 16, 2022. It’s a sad day for American democracy as we learn that Wyoming Rep. Liz Cheney, the most ardent critic of former president Donald Trump in Congress, has lost her seat to a Dumpf-backed opponent, Harriet Hageman. This loss was no surprise, but it’s still hard to fathom that Wyoming voters who overwhelmingly identify as Republican would turn their backs to a relentless defender of democracy. Cheney is the last of the 10 House Republicans who voted for Dumpf’s second impeachment to face voters and becomes the eighth who will not be returning to Congress next year. The target of an FBI investigation into possible acts of espionage must be chuckling to himself over her loss. This election night outcome is covered in an online CNN article by Gregory Krieg entitled “Liz Cheney falls to Trump-backed challenger in Wyoming GOP primary, CNN projects.”

Despite her conservative credentials and party pedigree, her role as Dumpf’s chief GOP critic on Capitol Hill made her a heavy underdog in a state the former president won with nearly 70% of the vote in 2020. So Cheney was unable to combat Dumpf’s enduring popularity there as she waged an uphill battle against an opponent who has embraced Dumpf’s false election fraud claims and called the 2020 race “rigged.”

The loss in her home state has strengthened Cheney’s resolve to ensure that the former president “never gets anywhere near the Oval Office,” as she has proclaimed in an address to Wyoming voters recently. There is much speculation that Cheney will pursue the presidency in 2024.

I will close this blog with Cheney’s impactful words about what the obvious legacy of the former president really is. She has said, “The lie that the 2020 presidential election was stolen is insidious. It preys on those who love their country. It is a door Donald Trump opened to manipulate Americans to abandon their principles, to sacrifice their freedom, to justify violence, to ignore the rulings of our courts and the rule of law. This is Donald Trump’s legacy – but it cannot be the future of our nation.”

As Cheney has declared that she is only at “the beginning of the battle,” even if this one is lost, the fight for this nation’s preservation as a democracy has just begun.

Stay safe and be well.