It could be argued that Liz Cheney’s done what no other politician could ever do, and that’s put sparsely populated Wyoming right smack in the middle of the 2022 hot political races map. Beating her in the state GOP primary in a couple weeks would feel like winning a Major.
A major “what” you ask? In professional golf – at least until the recent introduction of the controversial LIV golf series – the season lasts practically year-round and top players have fairly wide latitude to decide when and where they will tee it up.
But there are four tournaments each twelve months that every player craves to compete in, assuming they’ve received invitations to do so or earned exemptions through a stringent set of criteria. These four events, otherwise known to golf aficionados as “The Majors”, are: The Masters Tournament (the second week of April every year), the PGA Championship (has been moved around a bit, but now is held in mid-May), the United States Open Championship (concludes on Father’s Day every June) and The Open Championship (otherwise known to Americans as “The British Open” and is conducted in Mid-July).
These prestigious occasions have evolved over time into the highest category of competitions and the winningest professionals plan their entire lives and schedules around participating in them. It’s almost like an obsession for the flagstick chasing crème of the crop, the only dates that matter despite the sport carrying on nearly all 52 weeks of the year. As an example of the “Majors’” importance, Tiger Woods limped out of semi-seclusion and rehabilitation (of his shattered leg, a long story for those who aren’t familiar with Woods’ travails) to show up at The Masters, PGA Championship and recently concluded Open Championship this season.
Here's thinking the man would’ve crawled along Augusta National’s (site of The Masters) pristine fairways if he had to in order to take part in the most hyped golf event on the calendar. After all, there are only so many chances in one’s golfing career – and lifetime – so there’s a sense of urgency like none other when The Majors are approaching.
Politics has its own set of important happenings and the qualifying, especially at the lower levels, is open to practically anyone who wishes to compete. Simply filing the entry papers is sufficient in some cases, but the farther you go up the election ladder, the more difficult it is to secure yourself a spot in the highest profile political races.
In 2022, it’s arguable that at least half of the “Major” political matches are being waged in primary contests, with embattled incumbents trying to hold off challengers or a gaggle of hopefuls doing battle over open seats. In safe Republican congressional districts and deep red states, these intra-party primaries are where the real importance lies, since the winner almost always prevails in November’s general election.
In these places, if you’re the GOP nominee on the ballot at midterm time, you might as well pack your bags for Washington and meet with the space planners at the capital to select your office decor.
Richard Viguerie’s classic advice of “It’s the primaries, stupid!!” has never been truer than this year.
Typically, incumbents have a fairly easy time winning in their party races, particularly if they’re known for keeping promises, taking the fight to the Democrats and adhering to a conservative agenda. It’s not really hard to figure, but nonetheless there are some Republican office holders who go out of their way to make fools of themselves and virtually guarantee someone will be after them at primary time.
This season it’s the group of ten Republican House members who joined Speaker Nancy Pelosi and every other Democrat to vote to impeach outgoing former president Donald Trump last year. These unprincipled souls bowed to the outrage and reactionary mob who demanded Trump’s blood on his way out of office rather than delving into the multitude of elections integrity inconsistencies from the 2020 election.
These RINOs were vengeful and nasty. Foremost among them were Wyoming representative Liz Cheney and Illinois Congressman Adam Kinzinger. These two didn’t just vote to send impeachment articles to the senate, they made very public spectacles of themselves in the process. Almost immediately, conservatives and Trump himself called for the “Impeachment 10” to be challenged in their state primaries.
Cowardly Adam Kinzinger opted to “retire” rather than face the deserved wrath of his constituents. Cheney, on the other hand, doubled-down on her rhetoric and anger, causing quite the political kerfuffle in The Cowboy State, which will hold its primary in a couple weeks’ time. Polls show Cheney is way behind in her struggle to (literally) save her seat.
“Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) is trailing significantly behind Trump-endorsed challenger Harriet Hageman in the race for Wyoming’s lone U.S. House seat in August, according to a recent poll in the Casper Star-Tribune. Former Republican National Committee member Hageman is leading the way with 52 percent of the public support according to the poll, while three-term incumbent Cheney’s support is at 30 percent.
“The results come less than a month before the Aug. 16 primary for the Wyoming House GOP primary is set to begin. The survey questioned 1,100 registered Wyoming voters likely to participate in the primary, with a margin of error of 3 percent.
“’I can’t remember the last time I saw an incumbent down 22 points in a House Race unless it was somebody who had been indicted or convicted of a crime,’ Brad Coker, managing director of Mason-Dixon Polling & Strategy, the firm that conducted the poll, told ktvq.”
I can’t remember an incumbent being that far down either, but this is Liz Cheney we’re talking about. Former vice president Dick Cheney’s little girl has had a carpetbagger label pursuing her ever since she sought political office in Wyoming, and now the full-time Virginia resident Cheney has added heresy against the MAGA movement to her long list of undesirable traits.
It would’ve been one thing to vote to impeach Trump a second time (Cheney didn’t vote for impeachment in 2019 when she was in the GOP House leadership), but to be so vocal about it after January 6 reeked of desperation, revenge and sour grapes. It’s no secret that Trump had been critical of the G.W. Bush administration and her father’s neoconservative foreign policy leanings, but that’s no reason to wage a petty cat-fight against the man who brought policy victory after policy victory to her Republican Party.
Despite this, Cheney’s House voting record isn’t what’s got her in trouble with Wyoming’s voters. No, it’s her rotten personality, arrogance, entitled-ness, treason (against her fellow party members) and overall haughty nature that’s gotten everyone so up in arms on the high plains. Wyoming may not be the most densely populated state in the country, but its citizens expect their representatives to advocate for conservative values, not launch absurd family-inspired vendettas to avenge a past slight.
Thanks almost entirely to herself – along with Trump’s particular focus on her primary race – Cheney’s single-handedly transformed August 16 into a “Major” political championship date this year. There isn’t a political pundit or pol in the country whose eyes won’t be glued to the vote tallies trickling across TV screens on that evening to see not only if Cheney loses – but how badly will be her butt kicking.
Cheney’s earned all of it. She’s sold-out to the enemy, given dozens of snide TV interviews, rejected her fellow colleagues, courted Democrats to cross-over vote in Wyoming, taken gobs of campaign dollars from Republican establishmentarians and Democrats, and refused to even concede that the Democrats and deep state played a key role in the January 6 riot.
She’s a shameful lout and I, for one, would savor seeing her go down in flames in a couple weeks. The margin of victory isn’t important to yours truly. If Cheney loses by one vote it’ll be more than good enough for me, mostly because that one ballot will have come from a family member who resides there and desperately hopes to dump Liz.
For her part, Liz doesn’t even look like she’s trying very hard to win her primary race. She did take part in a debate and has been seen a little more often campaigning in-state, but she mostly appears resigned to her fate and dedicated to doing as much damage as she possibly can to Trump before she’s drummed out of Washington next January after her term expires.
Some suggest that Liz could try to run as an independent in November. I’m not familiar with Wyoming’s campaign laws, but there’s almost no way Cheney could collect enough votes to beat Harriet Hageman on a general election ballot there. Instead, Liz will sulk for a bit in her Washington office and trade phone calls with the soon-to-be-kicked-out Speaker Pelosi.
Trump and all conservatives would have had their “Major” victory -- and the trophy will consist of news reports marking Liz Cheney’s final hours in Congress. Liz won’t disappear forever, but at least she won’t have her stupid January 6 platform any longer.
Rumors abound that Cheney is considering running for president, either in the Republican Party or as an independent candidate. She wouldn’t have a prayer of actually winning, but the slobbering media coverage of her “principled” stance opposite Trump would earn her much praise from Democrats and RINO Trump-haters alike.
One way or another, Liz Cheney’s days in the public spotlight appear limited. Like with pro golfers past their prime, her invitations to play in “The Majors” will taper off and she’ll need to settle for appearances on liberal cable TV talking-head shows and NPR. If not many folks care about what Cheney has to say now, just wait until she loses her soapbox. Good riddance, Liz!
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