Welcome to Beg to Differ, The Bullworks Weekly Roundtable discussion featuring civil

conversation across the political spectrum from center left to center right.

I'm Mona Charon, syndicated columnist and policy editor at the Bullwork and I'm joined by our regulars,

Damon Linker of the week, Bill Galston of the Brookings Institution in the Wall Street Journal,

and Linda Chavez of the Niskanid Center. We're delighted to welcome

back A.B. Stoddard of real clear politics as our special guest this week.

Well, ladies and gentlemen, there is a lot going on, but we'd like to begin with what happened in the Republican conference this week.

The members on a voice vote, nobody had to be recorded about the way he or she voted,

chose to defenestrate Liz Cheney. They have not yet named her replacement. That will happen soon.

So I'm going to begin with you, Damon.

The explanation that we've been hearing

about why this needed to happen

was that Cheney, who was the conference chair which is the third ranking

position in leadership in the House Republican caucus that Liz Cheney just wouldn't stop talking about the past and so what do you make of that argument?

Well, maybe it wasn't a good idea to come to me first because I fear I will not give

our listeners the red meat they crave and deserve.

Don't worry, I'll give it to them.

Yeah, good.

I am, you know, I said last week on the podcast,

you know, on substance, I'm totally with, uh, with Liz Chaney on this.

Obviously, where listeners know all the way

through the run-up to January 6th that I fretted that something like that would happen.

...