OPINION:
Earlier this week, House Republicans voted by secret ballot on whether or not to remove Rep. Liz Cheney from her leadership position after she voted — along with only nine other GOP members — to impeach former President Donald Trump over his alleged precipitation of the Jan. 6, 2021 storming of the Capitol.
Ms. Cheney who, as House Republican Conference Chair, is the third highest-ranked member in House Republican Leadership, survived the vote 145 to 61 to retain her hold. All of this took place, of course, against the backdrop this week of the debacle surrounding Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a vocal Trump ally, who faced media criticism for conspiracy theory social media posts, but was not removed from any committee assignments by House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy.
As of this writing, House Democrats have forced a vote on whether to strip Ms. Greene of assignments. Her congressional fortunes lie in the balance of a simple majority vote. So here, following a contrite speech she gave on the floor of House on Thursday, is where the rubber meets the road.
If the GOP cows to Democratic pressure, does not fight, and allows the whims of the opposing side to dictate committee placement — or whatever power-play Nancy Pelosi and Co. next conjure — the political future of the Republican Party is over.
To put this in as plain of terms as possible: What Republicans are allowing Democrats to do is strip GOP members of committee assignments for behavior that occurred prior to the members’ term in Congress. The mouths of DNC operatives everywhere must be salivating. Imagine, if this stratagem proves successful, what future designated “no-no behavior” can be used to decimate GOP ranks.
Ms. Greene’s poor past judgment deserves reprobation. And it’s already happened in the public eye. Moreover, CNN and your favorite Big Apple newspaper are seeing to it that you don’t forget, so no worries on this front. So what’s happening in Congress, in large part thanks to the so-called “leadership” of people like Ms. Cheney and, on the other side of fence, Senate Minority Mitch McConnell, is the slow strategic defeat of the Republican Party.
Now, more than ever, the GOP, never an organization particularly adept at coalescing to get its act-together on behalf of the American people, must learn the hard lesson that their opponents will never, ever stop until conservatism in even its most tepid form is stamped out. The DNC, for all its idiocy, is, at times, a well-oiled machine, at least when mobilized against Republicans. They are, today, so mobilized and will soon claim Ms. Greene.
Tomorrow, Ms. Cheney and Mr. McConnell, it may be you.
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