WASHINGTON WATCH: WY Dems Should Get Something In Return To Save Cheney's Career
Embattled Republican congresswoman should back voting rights legislation
In the congressional committee room on Capitol Hill — as she lays out, the case against Donald Trump, public hearing after public hearing — Rep Liz Cheney is the picture of gravitas and composure.
But it's become clear that, off-camera, the embattled Wyoming Republican is anything but calm and composed.
The 2022 midterm elections are starting to bear down, and the very real possibility that she could face defeat by one of her four declared rivals in her state's Republican primary election — coming up quick on August 16 — has obviously become quite real to Cheney.
So much so, that this lifelong Republican — and daughter of the possibly most powerful Republican vice president in US history — is now asking for help from her state's Democrats to help keep her in Congress.
Republicans have out for Liz Cheney's political blood since she voted to impeach Donald Trump in the aftermath of the failed January 6 coup to try to overturn the results of the 2020 election and install Donald Trump in an illegal second term in the White House.
Cheney last year was ousted from her perch in House Republican leadership and anger against her has only grown since she agreed to be one of only two Republicans willing to serve on the House select committee investigating the January 6 insurrection.
And now any one of her opponents in the August Republican primary could successfully deny her a fourth term as Wyoming's at-large representative.
In response, Cheney is actively reaching out to Cowboy State Democrats to cross over, and register as Republicans for the purpose of re-electing her.
Cheney has mailed instructions to Wyoming Democrats on how to switch parties to vote for her.
And I think that they should support Cheney and her scheme — for a price.
Wyoming Democrats should leverage their considerable power here over the congresswoman's political future to exact a vow from her to sincerely lead, draft and ultimately move to passage some form of federal voting rights legislation which could be approved on a bipartisan basis.
With the coming together of bipartisan gun legislation in the Senate a reality, that's proof that legislation can be achieved on the thorniest and most partisan of issues.
And while it's absolutely true that Rep Cheney has stood forthrightly and stalwartly against Trump's election-rigging, his “Big Lie,” and now bringing needed justice and accountability to those responsible for trying to steal the election — it's equally true that she's been missing in action when it's come to passing needed federal voting rights legislation to curtail the power of individual “red state” laws aimed at voter suppression.
Joe Barbuto, the chair of the Wyoming Democratic Party should be equally public in asking his rank-and-file to hold back on Cheney's request until he has a meeting with the congresswoman and successfully exacts that promise for voting rights.
It's the least the congresswoman can do if she expects Democrats to go through all the trouble of party-switching just to save her political bacon.
Editor's Note: Washington Watch is our occasional column on the news and happenings in Washington DC and national politics.
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