Liz stands up, GOP stands down

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Liz Cheney is doing far more than refusing to lie. She's telling the truth about something fundamental to who we are as Americans—affirming that American democracy works. For all of her detractors' crowing about "America First," their insistence that the 2020 election was illegitimate, against all evidence, gives foreign competitors like China and Russia ammo in the global battle between democracy and autocracy. By standing up and defending her power as a congressperson, she's also defending our system of separated powers. While her colleagues are surrendering their power to "Dear Leader"—one who lost an election and was impeached for inciting an insurrection no less—Cheney is claiming her own power to lead. —Mindy Finn

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** Cheney: History is watching
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"While embracing or ignoring Trump's statements might seem attractive to some for fundraising and political purposes, that approach will do profound long-term damage to our party and our country. Trump has never expressed remorse or regret for the attack of Jan. 6, and now suggests that our elections, and our legal and constitutional system, cannot be trusted to do the will of the people. This is immensely harmful, especially as we now compete on the world stage against Communist China and its claims that democracy is a failed system." —Liz Cheney in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Liz Cheney represents Wyoming in the U.S. House of Representatives.

MORE: Dov Zakheim: Liz Cheney: A profile in courage —The Hill ([link removed])


** Fried: DeSantis attacks democracy in Florida
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"Almost systematically, [Florida Gov. Ron] DeSantis attacks [media] coverage, ignores their questions, and refuses to release data and information which should be publicly available. We've seen the same actions to consolidate power and silence media in countries like Cuba and Nicaragua, where Castro oversaw a rewrite of the constitution and Maduro has consistently silenced and undermined the independent press. And while the governor condemns the leaders of these countries, his actions speak louder than his words. DeSantis has been pulling from the authoritarian playbook—suppressing votes and opponents, attacking the media, and clamping down on constitutional rights." —Nikki Fried in ([link removed]) Miami Herald ([link removed])

Nikki Fried is Florida's commissioner of agriculture in the DeSantis cabinet.

MORE: Texas lawmakers pass election bill as Florida governor signs its own into law —The Wall Street Journal ([link removed])


** Velasco: Cautionary tales from Latin America
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"The decline of parties throughout the region is partly the result of well-meaning reforms. It was thought that making the electoral system more proportional would better reflect society's increasing diversity; instead, it produced myriad tiny parties that represent no one. Introducing primaries was supposed to make parties more democratic internally; it did, but at the risk of making them vulnerable to being taken over by media-savvy celebrities. The gain in transparency that came with campaign finance reform also caused a collapse in party discipline, as party bosses lost leverage over publicity-seeking parliamentarians. Greater use of plebiscites has allowed small groups of activists to hijack the policy agenda." —Andrés Velasco on ([link removed]) Project Syndicate ([link removed])

Andrés Velasco is an educator, author, and a former presidential candidate and finance minister of Chile. He is currently the dean of the School of Public Policy at the London School of Economics and Political Science.

MORE: Colombia enters second week of violent unrest as police crack down on protests —The Guardian ([link removed])


** Rubin: Facebook's biggest problem remains
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"Facebook's problem goes beyond the hypocrisy of potentially returning one of the worst abusers of its terms of service to its platform. To be sure, if returned, he will no doubt magnify the hate speech and disinformation problem Facebook claims to be addressing. The real issue, however, continues to be whether Facebook will pay a price for its stubborn refusal to live up to its own standards and subject itself to greater scrutiny." —Jennifer Rubin in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Jennifer Rubin is an attorney and political opinion columnist at
The Washington Post.

MORE: Ann Ravel: Trump is banned for now, but Facebook still needs to change its policies —CNN ([link removed])
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** Eisen: Accountability for Giuliani slow but sure
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"If the elements of bribery or other crimes can be established, then Rudy Giuliani could also have potential exposure as a co-conspirator under the federal conspiracy statute. It creates an offense if 'two or more persons conspire either to commit any offense against the United States, or to defraud the United States, or any agency thereof in any manner or for any purpose.' To the extent that Giuliani was a part of the alleged scheme—and the public evidence seems to suggest a unity of purpose with his client—he's at risk." —Norman Eisen in USA Today ([link removed])

Norman Eisen is an attorney, former ambassador and ethics czar during the Obama Administration, and senior fellow at the Brookings Institution.

MORE: Who's who in the Giuliani-Ukraine search warrants? —CNN ([link removed])


** Kilgore: The delegitimization remains strong
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"[Y]ou have to worry about today's GOP mistrust in democracy becoming permanent. In 2024, how much of a Democratic margin will be necessary to give a Democratic winner truly bipartisan legitimacy? 10%? A minimum of 5% in every battleground state? Does the loser get to decide if the winner can actually claim victory? How about if the loser has said for months that any defeat must be the product of a 'rigged' election? What if the Republican candidate is again Donald Trump? In the long run, this phenomenon is a bigger threat to democracy than the thuggish but sometimes farcical insurrection on Jan. 6. And like a slow-motion riot, the threat remains ongoing." —Ed Kilgore in New York Magazine ([link removed])

Ed Kilgore is a political analyst and columnist for New York Magazine.

MORE: Institutionalizing Trumpism —Axios ([link removed])


** Vanden Heuvel: RCV changes politics for the better
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"[T]he For the People Act, which passed the House in March, contains a clause that would provide funding for states to implement new voting systems capable of counting ranked ballots. If passed in the Senate, it could remove a logistical hurdle for future jurisdictions seeking to implement ranked-choice voting. In an era of heated divisiveness, cynical punditry, and exhausting negativity in politics, ranked-choice voting could be the systemic electoral change we need to foster substantive campaigns—and build healthier, more collaborative, and more sustainable movements for change." —Katrina vanden Heuvel in ([link removed]) The Washington Post ([link removed])

Katrina vanden Heuvel is a columnist at
The Washington Post covering national politics and foreign policy.

MORE: Lansing City Council explores ranked-choice voting for 2022 elections —City Pulse ([link removed])


** In memory of Keri
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A week after Frank O'Donnell buried his youngest child, 15-year-old Keri, the victim of a tragic highway accident, he saw a monarch butterfly land on the side of his house. It remained there for a while, a brief moment of comfort in a terrible time. Before long, Frank planted a memorial garden in Keri's memory, replete with milkweed plants that attract and sustain monarchs, which, for the grieving father, came to symbolize his lost daughter. The garden soon turned into a mission to help save the delicate, endangered creatures. In January, Frank began offering milkweed seeds from Keri's garden to anyone who wants them. He likes to imagine the seeds from the garden sprouting into milkweed plants all over the country, feeding the progeny of the butterflies that have helped him through his grief. "I'm not saving the world, but I don't want to see the monarchs disappear. They're just cool," Frank says. "Their population is dwindling, but the more milkweed that's out there, I'd say the odds are
good that we can help them." Though he will never stop missing his daughter, the monarch project is a way of keeping her alive. "Monarchs, to me, are Keri," Frank says. This summer, 11 years after he lost her, he'll look again for the beautiful, fleeting flutter of orange, and feel as if she has come home. — ([link removed]) The Boston Globe ([link removed])

To request milkweed seeds from Keri's garden, e-mail Frank at [email protected] (mailto:[email protected]) .

Thank you for providing this place where I can get sensible, accurate, and reliable information. I wholeheartedly agree with what has been said about the horrible situation the Republican Party is in. I am ready at a moment's notice to leave this party if need be. But what option do I have? Let's bond together and get Trumpism out and principles back in! Please, please, please back to principles! —Thayne L., Utah

After watching the disgraceful, even embarrassing booing of Mitt Romney at the Utah Republican Party meeting, I was saddened. And surprised.

I've always considered Utah a unique, and in some ways, a special place. The one state that was settled by religious refugees in their own land, people who unlike African-Americans or Asian-Americans were not immediately visualized as different, but who chose to be.

This resulted in a culture of self-sufficiency, where hard work was necessary, industry was respected, honesty was expected...and the particular tenets of the religion emphasized fidelity to faith and family, as well as compassion for people who, like them, had once been outcasts. Perhaps this is why Utah has long been one of the most reliably conservative states in the nation.

Hard work. Industry. Honesty. Faith. Family. Compassion. How alien to everything Donald Trump is, or ever has been, or ever will be.

I always thought if Trump became popular, it would be with the fast-buck, loose-morals crowd more prevalent in New York or California...the dreaded "coastal elites." Not in Utah.

But here you had Republicans booing a former presidential nominee of their own party who, most likely, shared their faith and history. They were not booing him for what would have been the right reason: advocating policies and programs that were contrary to conservative principles. They were booing him because his loyalty to the Constitution would not permit him to genuflect to a man who was not conservative, who had no principles, who cared nothing about the Constitution.

Standing tall and straight and proud at that podium, Mitt Romney may have felt a kinship with his ancestors, who perhaps felt similar wrath in locations like Nauvoo, Illinois, before they reached the land where Brigham Young said, "This is the place."

But Mitt Romney surely never thought he'd encounter it in Utah. —Jim V., New York
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** The views expressed in "What's Your Take?" are submitted by readers and do not necessarily reflect the views of the editorial staff or the Stand Up Republic Foundation.
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