A political dynasty falls
Left, Right & Center
KCRW
3.9 • 5K Ratings
🗓️ 19 August 2022
⏱️ 50 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
This week, Congresswoman Liz Cheney lost her Wyoming primary to Harriet Hageman, a Trump-endorsed attorney, ending a political dynasty. Her defeat by more than 37 points was one of the largest losses by a House incumbent, despite her conservative voting record. Cheney previously voted against restoring parts of the Voting Rights Act, expanding the Affordable Care Act, and impeaching Trump the first time.
But the GOP and the Wyoming Republican Party noisily separated from Cheney after she voted to impeach former President Trump for inciting an insurrection in 2021 and denounced his lies about the 2020 election. So where does she go from here? And what does this signal about the GOP’s future?
Now Cheney is hinting at running for president in 2024, presumably against Trump. But after this significant defeat, does she even have a chance?
This political moment and the Republican Party’s recent shift may have ties to the 1990s. What can history teach us about times when belief in the democratic process is fading? And how can the Democratic party build a candidate that personally resonates with voters similar to Trump?
Fall marks the start of a new school year, and the fight over vaccine mandates seems to have slowed down. In Washington, D.C. public schools are mandating students get vaccinated against COVID-19, but no state is requiring it.
Should there be a limit to mandates in public schools? And how can the general public discuss these complicated issues without becoming politically divisive?
Host David Greene discusses with Elizabeth Bruenig, staff writer at The Atlantic, on the left; Tara Setmayer, senior advisor at the Lincoln Project, on the right; and special guest Nicole Hemmer, associate professor of history and director of the Rogers Center for the Study of the Presidency at Vanderbilt University.
Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | This is David Green. I'm the co-founder of Fearless Media and I'm your host here on Left |
| 0:05.4 | Right in Center. This is the show where we take on all the political issues, even those |
| 0:09.5 | complicated ones that might be dividing your own family these days. So, we're in the |
| 0:13.6 | third week of August now and this week a political dynasty may have fallen. This was no surprise, |
| 0:20.5 | but Congresswoman Liz Cheney lost her Republican primary for her seat in the House of Representatives. |
| 0:26.0 | She lost it overwhelmingly to Trump endorsed attorney Harriet Higman. Despite Cheney's |
| 0:32.0 | reliably conservative voting record and also long time support for the Cheney family |
| 0:36.8 | in the state of Wyoming. So, let's start there. With our crew, our Left Right in Center |
| 0:40.8 | panel, I'm your host at your center. On the left we are rejoined by Elizabeth Brunig, |
| 0:45.7 | staff writer at the Atlantic and on the right. Tara Setmeyer, senior advisor at the Lincoln |
| 0:49.6 | project, former GOP communications director on Capitol Hill and a resident scholar at the University |
| 0:54.7 | of Virginia Center for Politics. Hello to you both. Hi there. Hello. So, this was not |
| 0:59.9 | a surprise at all. I would say I mean, Cheney lost support of... Lost support of dare I |
| 1:07.1 | say the new Republican establishment, which is kind of scary to say, when she voted to |
| 1:10.8 | impeach President Trump and took on this really outspoken leadership role in the January |
| 1:14.9 | 6th committee. I guess just to start broadly, Tara, how would you describe Liz Cheney's |
| 1:21.7 | legacy in Congress? Well, just the fact that she comes from a legacy political family that |
| 1:28.3 | was political royalty, the Republican Party for decades. Cheney goes back to the Ford White |
| 1:34.0 | House, right? Absolutely. And the first time that her father |
| 1:37.0 | was elected to Congress in 1978, I believe, out of Wyoming. And as, you know, SECDEF, |
| 1:43.0 | Vice President, I mean, the Cheney dynasty was one that was up there with the bushes. |
| 1:48.6 | And, you know, the Reagan era. And to see her in just a few short years go from Republican |
... |
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