MSNBC op-ed suggests Cheney's best chance at payback against Trump is fighting for 'voter rights'
After Liz Cheney's electoral defeat, an MSNBC writer offered advice if Cheney 'wants to be on the 'right' side of history.'
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}An MSNBC oped suggested that if Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., wants a political future that can spite former President Trump, it will be through "vigorously" upholding "voting rights and voter access."
Cheney was soundly defeated in the Republican congressional primary Tuesday night, where she lost to Trump-backed Harriet Hageman by more than 30 percentage points. Since her loss, Cheney teased a possible presidential bid in 2024.
"Rep. Liz Cheney’s primary election loss Tuesday was no surprise," ReidOut Blog writer Ja'han Jones wrote in the Wednesday piece.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}However, Jones said if Cheney really wants to fight Trump, she should support voting rights instead of launching a presidential campaign.
"If Cheney truly wants to beat back Trump and the fascist Republican Party enabling him, a long-shot presidential bid almost certainly doomed to failure isn’t the way to do it," Jones warned. "The real solution will require her to do something she’s opposed in the past: vigorously uphold voting rights and voter access."
Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., speaks to reporters after House Republicans voted to oust her from her leadership post as chair of the House Republican Conference, at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, May 12, 2021. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In order to do that, Jones said Cheney would have to change her mind on a few policy stances.
"Cheney voted against Democrats’ 2021 proposal to restore protections outlined in the Voting Rights Act that had been gutted by the Supreme Court," He wrote. "She’s denied that Trump's lies about the 2020 election paved the way for Republicans in state legislatures to pass voter suppression measures. By now, Cheney surely knows that the GOP’s future electoral prospects depend on suppressing votes."
Democrats tried to pass several bills in regard to voting rights: For the People Act; the Freedom to Vote Act; and the John Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act. Republicans opposed these bills, although several Republican senators tried to negotiate a compromise. GOP opposition was due to Democrats' pushing to ban voter ID and provide public financing for campaigns. Cheney opposed these bills.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}In this Feb. 13, 2019 file photo, House Republican Conference chair Rep. Liz Cheney, R-Wyo., with House Minority Whip Steve Scalise, R-La., at right, talks to reporters during a news conference at the Capitol in Washington. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)
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Jones argued how aiding "voter rights" and "voter access" initiatives could directly undermine Trump.
"Bolstering voter protections for people Trump and the GOP want to deny is the best way to combat the right's authoritarian power grab," he explained. "Ultimately, Cheney’s willingness to do this would show she truly cares about democracy — and not just retribution — after her ouster from Congress."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}While Jones noted he is unsure if she will pursue this tactic, he has reason to believe she may, pointing to her concession speech.
"It has been said that the long arc of history bends toward justice and freedom. That’s true, but only if we make it bend," Cheney said after her defeat.
Jones responded by observing that former President Obama said something similar and in the context of voting rights.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}"Something like that has been said, in fact — by former President Barack Obama. Refashioning a quote from Martin Luther King Jr. in 2013, Obama said, ‘The arc of the moral universe may bend towards justice, but it doesn’t bend on its own,'" Jone wrote. "He delivered those remarks to commemorate the 1963 March on Washington — which focused heavily on the right to vote."
Then-Vice President Joe Biden whispers "This is a big f------ deal," to President Barack Obama after introducing Obama during the health care bill ceremony in the East Room of the White House in Washington, March 23, 2010. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
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Jones concluded by condemning today's Republican Party, and warned that those Republicans who wish to be on the "right" side of history should heed his words, noting "If Cheney wants to be on the 'right' side of history, she’ll need to take off the blinders she’s been wearing and see that the conservative assault on democracy goes beyond Trump and Jan. 6."