https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2023/12/28/voters-democracy-minority-rule/ "Cheney’s memoir takes us through the events leading up to the 2020 election, the attempted coup and the investigation that followed. In granular detail, she explains how a maniacal narcissist insistent on retaining power bent weak men and women to his will. Had Republicans not played along with the “big lie,” not signed a brief attempting to disenfranchise millions of voters, not raised bogus objections to electoral votes, not maintained those bogus objections even after the assault on the Capitol, not acquitted Trump in his second impeachment and not continued to curry favor with him, the nation long ago would have done away with the only president ever to refuse to transfer power peacefully to his successor. "Cheney’s account is a damning indictment of a party that prizes power over principle, careerism over country. Along the way, she singles out disreputable lawyers, opportunistic apparatchiks and deceitful right-wing media figures who not only would not stand up to Trump but also attacked those who did. She makes a powerful case that no written Constitution or statute is sufficient to deter men and women determined to act in bad faith and even deploy violence. "Few could argue that Republicans still prize character in their leaders. A 2018 Gallup poll found: “Republicans, by 22 points, were much more likely than Democrats to say it was very important for the president to be a moral leader when [Bill] Clinton was in office.” The pollsters continued, “Now with Trump in office, Democrats are more likely than Republicans to hold this view, by 14 points.” However, it ends with this critique: "Rules, norms and laws are empty fixtures without decent, patriotic leaders. We cannot survive when one party’s leaders give up on truth, loyalty to country and self-restraint." It is obvious to me this woman is a Patriot with a capital "P", and that most in the GOP, which gives the same lip service to "patriotism" that it does to "family values", are not (as is reflected in the posts of some on this site).
