House Republican Caucus Chairman Liz Cheney He’s likely only going to hold that title for an hour or two today, but on Tuesday night the Wyoming Congresswoman gave a powerful speech attacking Donald Trump and those who continue to support him.
Speaking to the rule of law and the constitution, Cheney warns of “the dissolution of our democracy”.
“Today we face a threat America has never seen before,” says Cheney. “A former president who provoked a violent attack on this Capitol to steal the elections has resumed aggressive efforts to convince Americans that the elections were stolen from him. He risks further violence. “
Read the full speech and watch the video below:
“Madam Speaker, I get up tonight to speak about freedom and our constitutional duty to protect freedom.
“I have had the privilege of seeing firsthand how powerful and how fragile freedom is. 28 years ago I stood in front of a polling station, a school building in western Kenya. Soldiers had chased away people who were lining up to vote. A few hours later, people streamed back and risked further attacks, undaunted in their determination to exercise their right to vote.
In 1992, I sat across from a young mayor in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, and listened to him speak of his dream of liberating his nation from communism. Years later, Boris Nemtsov would be murdered by Vladimir Putin’s thugs for his commitment to freedom.
“In Warsaw in 1990 I listened to a young Polish woman who told me that her greatest fear was that people would forget what it was like to live under communist rule, that they would forget the price of freedom.
“Three men – an immigrant who escaped Castro’s totalitarian regime; a young man who grew up behind the iron curtain and became his country’s minister of defense; and one dissident who spent years in the Soviet gulag all told me that it was the miracle of America, captured in the words of President Ronald Reagan, that inspired them to seek freedom.
“I’ve seen the power of faith and freedom. I heard Pope John Paul II speak to thousands in Nairobi in 1985, and 19 years later I saw the same Pope take my father’s hand, look into his eyes and say, “God bless America.”
“God has blessed America, but our freedom will only survive if we protect it, if we honor our oath before God in this Chamber to support and defend the Constitution, if we recognize threats to freedom as they arise.
“Today we face a threat America has never seen. A former president who provoked a violent attack on this Capitol to steal the election has resumed aggressive efforts to convince Americans that the election was stolen from him. He risks further violence.
“Millions of Americans have been misled by the former president. You only heard his words, not the truth, as he continues to undermine our democratic process and cast doubt on whether democracy really works at all.
“I’m a conservative Republican, and the most conservative conservative principle is a reverence for the rule of law. The electoral college has voted. More than sixty state and federal courts, including several judges appointed by him, have dismissed the former president’s claims. The Justice Department under its administration investigated the former president’s allegations of widespread fraud and found no evidence to support them. The choice is over. That is the rule of law. This is our constitutional process.
“Those who refuse to accept the decisions of our courts are at war with the Constitution.
“Our duty is clear. Each of us who have sworn the oath must act to prevent the dissolution of our democracy. This is not about politics. This is not about partiality. This is about our duty as Americans. Silence and ignoring the lie encourages the liar.
“I will not take part in that. I will not sit back and watch in silence as others lead our party on a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy.
As the party of Reagan, Republicans campaigned for democracy, won the Cold War and defeated the Soviet communists. As we speak, America is on the brink of yet another Cold War – this time with communist China. Attacks against our democratic process and the rule of law empower our adversaries and fuel communist propaganda that American democracy is a failure. We have to tell the truth. Our election was not stolen and America did not fail.
“I received a message from a Gold Star dad last week who said, ‘Standing up for the truth honors those who have given their all. ‘We must all strive to be worthy of the sacrifice of those who died for our freedom. They are the patriots of Katherine Lee Bates, described in the words of America the Beautiful: “Oh, beautiful for heroes who have stood their ground in liberating disputes, who loved their country more than themselves and had more mercy than life.”
“Ultimately, this is the core of what our oath requires – that we love our country more. That we love them so much that we will stand above politics to defend them. That we do everything in our power to protect our constitution and our freedom – paid for by the blood of so many.
“We must love them so much that we will never give in in their defense.
“That is our duty.”
Clock:
Liz Cheney’s speech at the House House:
“The election is over … this is our constitutional process. Those who refuse to accept the decisions of our courts are at war with the Constitution. Silence and ignoring the lie encourage the liar. I will not take part in that. “Pic.twitter.com/sGZRaknBPc
– JM Rieger (@RiegerReport) May 12, 2021
Comments are closed.