The Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend
According to Google, the first recorded instance for this phrasing comes from Gabriel Manigault, who in his 1884 Political Creed described the sense that “the enemy of my enemy is my friend” as a “natural feeling.” And well it may be. Currently, Democrats along with others who are fed up with Republicans are chuckling at Liz Cheney’s leadership role being whisked out from under her like a quickly snatched tablecloth.
Yet a word of caution is advised
Before snuggling up to Liz because she’s exposing what’s left of the Republican Party for the charlatans they are, it might be wise to remember who she is, aside from being Dick Cheney’s daughter. Philosophically, Liz is very much daddy’s little girl.
Tim Murphy pens a column for Mother Jones
The title is ‘Liz Cheney Wants to Make Torture Great Again’ and its premise is that apples don’t fall far from trees, making the case that Liz has a daddy complex. And who could blame her, daddy is and was a complex man.
It’s entertaining reading and very well written. Having watched Dick through two terms as George Bush’s vice president, I got a good enough whiff of fatherly politics to write my own book, Dick Cheney’s Fingerprints. It’s basically a collection of essays written in real time as his manifold transgressions exposed themselves. It’s fair to say I’m not a fan of Cheney the father.
Liz is a different cut of cloth than current Trumpsters
It’s two presidencies and twelve years since the heady old days of the Iraq and Afghan wars, the torture chambers of Abu Ghraib and Guantanamo, as well as the Bush-Cheney combo that made both men of interest to the International Criminal Court in The Hague. I am not here to paint Liz Cheney with the brush of her father’s war crimes, nor are you interested in my doing so. But those were formative days for a daughter old enough to be tuned in and young enough to be influenced. Liz was elected as Wyoming’s lone member of the House in last November’s election, making her post -Bush, post-Obama and post-Trump—a hat trick in sporting terms. That Wyoming has only one Representative gives an idea of its sparse population and the political power of the Cheney name.
Trump blew up the Republican Party
It looked as if that might be the case in his surprise victory in the Republican nomination and surprisier election as president. Now hindsight validates the conjecture. The party is blown all to hell and only when the dust settles—perhaps in the 2020 mid-terms, but more likely in 2024—will we have a feeling for its future. But Liz means to stay and it’s more than certain she will survive both elections, perhaps taking a run at the Senate when a Wyoming seat becomes available. It’s unlikely she can be defeated in a Cheney dominated Wyoming.
Liz strongly supported Trump—until she didn’t
Showing the philosophical agility of a born Cheney, Liz backed Trump and ranted against Hillary as an unelectable felon until the votes were counted and she nailed down her slot as House Republican Conference chair. A novice got the chair? Assuredly, but a Cheney novice is a rare brand of first-timer.
Then, in a late-to-the-party turnaround similar to Mitt Romney’s attack of conscience, she shot the horse she rode in on. Following the January 6th attack on Congress, Trump suddenly became every evil she had praised. I do admire her back-flips on the political trampoline.
But Liz Cheney is, was and will always be her father’s child and champion. Those of us who were interested in what was going on during the two Bush presidencies are well aware that dear old dad was one of the most evil men ever to hold national office. Don’t be surprised to see her as a major force in whatever remnants of the Republican Party drift back to earth and suit her personal pleasures. But unless you admired Dick, don’t be surprised at what you get.
Image Credit: Bill Clark/CQ Roll Call