The chairman of the Carbon County Republican Party believes U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney’s vote to impeach former President Donald Trump will have far-reaching implications, including Cheney’s possible loss in her next re-election bid.
This subject was one of a number addressed by Joey Correnti IV during a 45-minute interview with FYNTV, a Georgia-based media outlet, on Thursday morning.
“I understand people [think the censures against Cheney] doesn’t mean anything, that it’s a slap on the wrist,” Correnti said. “Well, that shows their own ignorance of when you get slapped on the wrist by the hand that feeds you. The people are saying something.”
The host of the program asked Correnti if he thought it was appropriate for Cheney to “vote her conscience” instead of voting for how she thought Wyomingites would want her vote.
“I don’t expect our representative to take a poll of the entire electorate of Wyoming every time they have a decision to make,” Correnti responded. “But she didn’t have to take a poll. Wyoming took a poll on November 3.”
The Carbon County GOP was the first of multiple Wyoming GOP organizations to criticize Cheney for her vote to impeach Trump following the attack on the U.S. Capitol in early January. The Wyoming Republican Party followed up with its own vote for her censure last weekend.
A censure is an expression of disapproval and has no binding effect on its subject.
Cheney was one of 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach the president on allegations he helped incite the riot.
Correnti expressed disappointment and frustration that Cheney was quick to make a judgment about the riot and that she was not available for any form of contact the night of the riot, which saw Congress reconvene to confirm electoral college results giving President Joe Biden victory over Trump in November’s general election.
Cheney’s lack of availability was one of the major reasons the Carbon County GOP decided to censure her, Correnti said.
“I couldn’t get ahold of our representative, and the people do have a voice, we ended up putting together a resolution,” he said.
Trump’s Senate trial is taking place this week, but both U.S. Sens. John Barrasso and Cynthia Lummis have indicated they will not vote to convict the former president.
Correnti added that there was no evidence that Trump helped incite the riot and that Cheney was only trying to further her own interests with her impeachment vote.
“She said she voted her conscience based on her constitutional duty,” he said. “That, to me, sounds like an accusation.”
