While U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney loves being a member of the Republican Party, she loves her country more, she said during a speech on Tuesday.
During her keynote address at the St. Anselm College Nackey Loeb School of Communication’s First Amendment Award Celebration, Cheney said the GOP needs to admit that many Americans have been misled by former President Donald Trump.
“I love my party. I love its history. I love its principles, but I love my country more,” she said. “I know this nation needs a Republican Party that is based on truth, one that puts forward our ideals and our policies based on substance. One that is willing to reject the former president’s lies. One that is willing to tell the truth: that millions of Americans have been tragically misled by former President Trump.”
The representative added that the United States needed a Republican Party that is led by people who remember the peaceful transfer of power is sacred and who remember that their loyalty to the Constitution and law are the most conservative of principles.
She called out Republican leaders who continued to allow Trump to claim that the November 2020 election was stolen and that he is the true president. She noted that House Republican leaders who attended a recent dinner with Trump remained silent when he claimed that an insurrection occurred when he was defeated in the general election.
“Political leaders who sit silent in the face of these false and dangerous claims are aiding a former president who is at war with the rule of law and the Constitution,” Cheney said.
She also praised the U.S. Capitol police officers who managed to keep the rioters from attacking any legislators, as many intended to do.
Cheney reaffirmed her conservative Republican status, noting that she disagrees strongly with “nearly everything” President Joe Biden has done since taking office in January and adding that his policies are bad for the nation.
“I believe deeply that conservative principles: limited government, low taxes, a strong national defense, the family as the essential building block of our nation and our society, those are the right ideals for this country,” she said.
Cheney, along with U.S. House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn, D-South Carolina, and Fox News host Chris Wallace were each presented with a Jefferson-Lincoln Award over the weekend from the Panetta Institute for Public Policy.
The Jefferson-Lincoln awards are presented each year to people whose professional achievements represent exceptional commitment to the principles of democracy, to bipartisanship and a dedication to encouraging the healthy function of the American system of government through an informed electorate.
Cheney was singled out for her commitment to the country ahead of her party and Wallace said he believed one of the reasons she was being honored was due to her vote to impeach Trump.
