Liz Cheney published a new memoir last month to cement her legacy as a political martyr whose career on Capitol Hill fell at the whims of an American “dictator.” The reality is far different. The ex-Wyoming lawmaker who struggled in congressional leadership dismissed her constituents to chase political fame with a personal vendetta and now wants to be remembered as a folk hero for democracy.
To the right, Cheney is a political opportunist who turned on her party to capitalize on a media environment hungry for Republicans eager to attack Republicans. To the left, she’s a profile in courage whose policy prescriptions render her unelectable. Does Cheney want to be president? Find someone on Capitol Hill who doesn’t. Her path might be impossible, but the incentives are the same for any politician with a platform: cash and camera time are the lucrative currency that can make just about anyone say just about anything.
Cheney would have readers believe she was kicked out of Congress because she attacked former President Donald Trump.
“I had watched thousands of hardworking, good-hearted people across Wyoming fall prey to Donald Trump’s lies,” Cheney wrote. “Some truly believed the falsehoods he was spreading. Others knew the truth but chose to perpetuate lies.”
At first glance, it makes sense that Cheney’s resounding defeat in Wyoming was brought about by Trump. Cheney was re-elected to the lower chamber in 2020 by a nearly identical margin as the former president. Her principal opponent who ultimately ousted the three-term
