“If you strike me down, I shall become more powerful than you can possibly imagine.” – Liz Cheney
Oh… wait… no… that was Obi-Wan Kenobi, not Liz Cheney.
Representative Liz Cheney lost the 2022 Arizona Republican primary for congress to a Trump supporter. Cheney was criticized by Trump supporters for referencing Abraham Lincoln in her concession speech. Cheney was not comparing herself to Lincoln but rather echoing his call for “… government of the people, by the people and for the people…
In statements since her primary loss, Cheney gas said that she is considering a run for president in 2024.
Can Cheney win the Republican nomination? No.
Can Cheney win the presidential election? No.
Does Cheney define winning in some other way? Yes.
In her concession speech, Cheney said,
“… I will do whatever it takes to make sure Donald Trump is never again anywhere near the Oval Office.”
Representitive Liz Cheny
“Did she have a precursor? She did, indeed, she did. “
– Vladimir Nabokov
Former president Theodore Roosevelt had a political falling out with his friend and successor, William Howard Taft. Roosevelt ran against Taft for the 1912 Republican presidential nomination, but lost. Roosevelt formed a third party and ran against Republican Taft and Democrat Woodrow Wilson. The result was a landslide win for Wilson… and a landslide loss for Taft.
Cheney defines winning as keeping the authoritarian Trump from taking the presidency again. Cheney could try to deny Trump the nomination by running in select states in the Republican primaries. Should Trump win the Republican nomination Cheney could run as a third party conservative candidate in the general election. Cheney does compare to Abraham Lincoln in her dedication to government of the people, but she also compares to Teddy Roosevelt as a spoiler in the matter of practical politics.
As Lord Byron said,
“In play there are two pleasures for your choosing – The one is winning, and the other losing.”
Lort Byron
Sources
https://nypost.com/2022/08/17/liz-cheney-ripped-for-likening-self-to-lincoln-in-concession/
https://www.wishafriend.com/quotes/qid/9632/
https://nypost.com/2022/08/17/trump-gloats-over-fool-liz-cheneys-primary-loss/
https://www.newsweek.com/read-liz-cheneys-concession-speech-congresswoman-ousted-wyoming-1734296
https://www.270towin.com/1912_Election/
https://www.goodreads.com/quotes/32046-lolita-light-of-my-life-fire-of-my-loins-my
Thanks, and a tip of the hat to DonleyHotey for the image.
