Barack Obama gave a speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that catapulted him into the national consciousness and eventually lead to him becoming president. Describing a politician’s speech as “presidential” may be overused, but that’s what I thought of when I listened to this speech. She emphasized our most important values, she reminded Americans of the importance to defend the Constitution, putting this above politics, and she used rhetoric to help unify the country (although she had a small political digs in there). In short, she sounded like the type of Republican that I’ve been accustomed to–which was refreshing, but also something that sadly now requires courage. Rep. Cheney certainly has displayed tremendous courage, not just in this speech but her work in the 1/6 Committee and her public criticism of Trump. She has made herself a pariah in her party, and may lose her seat in Congress. And she’s doing this to defend the Constitution–to keep her oath.
I highly recommend listening to this (start around the 14:00 minute mark). I not only found her words inspiring, but also the moments and energy of the crowd’s applause.
Somebody else sent me this link too and I’m definitely going to watch it. This last two weeks has been a little crazy at work and I’m behind on my consumption (except consumption of food, which somehow I’ve found time to ramp up) so hopefully this long weekend. I still have 30 minutes to go on the sixth hearing. It’s been like that. Ten minutes here and fifteen minutes there.
Same here.
Do you know if anyone has put together good abridged versions of the hearings, featuring the most important parts? I don’t think many people will sit through the entire hearings. I have a feeling large numbers of people are getting information from video clips of the hearings from nightly news or news articles, which might be good enough, I guess.
To me, one of the most important moments in one’s life involves standing up for a principle–especially at the expense of one’s well-being. This is my thought today as I hear Rep. Liz Cheney losing her primary (by likely a wide margin). She could have supported Trump or stayed quiet, like vast majority of her Republican congressional colleagues, and won her seat. But she decided to do what was right and defend our country. Listen to her explanation:
Cheney proved she loved her country more than her party, and the vast majority of her Republican colleagues proved the opposite.
I have a great deal of respect for her. If any of my children did something similar, I would be incredibly proud. Kudos to a true patriot.
Edit:
Here’s the full speech. The audio and video aren’t great, but this is worth listening to. I was inspired, and I predict anyone with a strong patriotic streak will be moved by this. It does sound like she’s running for president, and if not, she sure sounds presidential. (She needs to do one thing, and I would seriously consider voting for her if she runs–assuming it wouldn’t help Trump or a Trumpist Republican win.)
Other notes:
The way Cheney spoke is what I’ve been yearning to hear from Republicans–and I still want to hear other Republicans speak this way (Mitt Romney! Ben Sasse!)
One specific thing she said that I think other Republicans could say and would be really critical–if they care about protecting our democracy–namely, she said election deniers running for governor, secretaries of state or other positions that could affect elections should not be supported. This is huge, and other people like Romney should say this, too. (It seems clear this will be an important task Cheney has set for herself–I just hope she can get other prominent Republicans to join her.)