Eight Years Late, Better than Never

Now anti-Trump, veteran advisor and media figure Mark McKinnon can be seen saying (beginning at 3:30)

Can we just put Liz Cheney on Mount Rushmore? My god,  she's the only Republican who- she's the only Republican left with a backbone to stand up for the Constitution... 

And by the way, unlike me, who's kind of a squish Republican, she's very conservative, super conservative, Wyoming conservative, Dick Cheney conservative. So for he to come out like this, again, it shows she puts principle over party and it's just- I'm so proud of her doing this. And I think it's going to make a big difference- she's saying. It's a big voice for at least the 20% of voters who voted for Nikki Haley and probably lots more to say "you know, listen, the Republican Party under Donald Trump is not one any of us under Bush or Reagan or McCain recognize anymore.

They should, because it's still that party and has been since at least the time of Ronald Reagan with a brief timeout for John McCain. And it may help Kamala Harris- assuming, of course, that Donald Trump is either too stupid (unlikely) or too proud and arrogant (much more likely) to go to Michigan and remind Muslim voter who Ms. Cheney's father is. Charlie Pierce, much more favorable to Harris than am I, writes

It is now the second day, and I think I have had my fill of the Apotheosis Of The Cheneys. It is nice that Liz Cheney is working so hard for the Democratic ticket. But it is goddamn weird that a retired war criminal like Dick Cheney is shouted out at a Democratic rally. As I believe I've said a number of times, this is indeed an all-hands-on-deck moment. However, all-hands-on-deck does not mean all hands on the bridge. The Cheneys get a laurel and hardy handshake from me, and then I'll move along to appreciate the contributions of the people who have spent decades fighting the politics that a) made Trump not only possible, but inevitable, and b) that the Cheneys have represented for their entire public careers.

It's not surprising that Liz Cheney would endorse, even attend a rally, with Harris, given that Cheney was the de jure vice chairperson, arguably de facto chairperson, of the January 6 committee. She not only knows what Donald Trump is all about, but has a stake in his defeat because in early July

Former President Donald Trump amplified posts on social media calling for a televised military tribunal for former Republican Rep. Liz Cheney and the jailing of top elected officials, including President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris.

“ELIZABETH LYNNE CHENEY IS GUILTY OF TREASON,” one post created by another user that Trump amplified on his social media website Truth Social on Sunday reads. “RETRUTH IF YOU WANT TELEVISED MILITARY TRIBUNALS.”

Still, Cheney deserves credit for going where few others have gone, given that

A separate post Trump amplified on Truth Social Sunday includes photos of 15 former and current elected officials and says, “THEY SHOULD BE GOING TO JAIL ON MONDAY NOT STEVE BANNON!”

In addition to Biden and Harris, the post includes photos of Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, former Vice President Mike Pence and members of the House select committee that investigated the January 6, 2021 attack on the US Capitol.

So the former Wyoming congresswoman has at least shown more courage than McConnell, Pence, and other Republicans who have endorsed Trump or merely signaled they will not support the ex-President in November. Nonetheless, as Charlie Pierce wrote a couple of years ago, Republicans who stuck with their party until Trump presented an obvious danger to the survival of the republic are welcome onto the bus but in the driver's seat.

Pierce added "Thursday's Nicolle Wallace show on MSNBC was an exaltation ceremony with Liz Cheney cast in a role somewhere between Joan of Arc and Wonder Woman. I lasted about 10 minutes." That's generous and as I've implied previously, it's about ten minutes longer than Nicole Wallace deserves. 

 

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Your 'Family Values' Party At Work

This from a Time Magazine portrait by Michael Scherer entitled "McCain: Loving His Misspent Youth" from the publication's website on 4/3/08:

"I enjoyed every single moment of my life here," he announced in a prepared speech Wednesday in Pensacola, Fla., "from learning to fly to blowing my pay at Trader Jon's."

The otherwise conservative crowd of more than a thousand supporters burst into approving applause and laughter at the mention of their storied downtown watering hole, which had dancing girls back when McCain served in the area as a young pilot. McCain's own knowing smile only added to the moment. Indeed, all week, the Republican nominee-in-waiting has been alluding to the wild days of his younger years, and crowds have been eating it up.

So the Repub Party's presumptive for president is enjoying boasting during his "biography" tour about his riotous past. Here is the message: when young, dedicate yourself to the Roman god of voluptas and throw caution to the wind; eventually, you, too, land on the brink of becoming commander-in-chief of the armed forces and leader of the free world.

In case we're unsure whom McCain hopes to influence, the campaign's media advisor assures us. "That's why we like him," (Mark) McKinnon said with a smile. "That's why he has potential appeal to young people."

Man of integrity, indeed.