Category: GOP

Trump Threatens Primary Challenges For Senate Republicans Who ‘Caved’ On Democrats’ Trillion Dollar Infrastructure Bill

Posted on by Becky Noble

Former President Donald Trump blasted Senate Republicans on Thursday for “caving” to Democrats’ trillion dollar infrastructure bill.

In his classic fashion, Trump accused RINO’s (Republicans In Name Only), and specifically Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, of giving in to Democrat demands.

Before the vote, Trump warned that McConnell was ready to fold: “Under the weak leadership of Mitch McConnell, Senate Republicans continue to lose. He lost Arizona, he lost Georgia, he ignored Election Fraud and he doesn’t fight.” 

“Now he’s giving Democrats everything they want and getting nothing in return. No deal is better than a bad deal. Fight for America, not for special interests and Radical Democrats. RINOs are ruining America, right alongside Communist Democrats.”  

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17 Republicans Join Democrats

The former President’s slamming of Senate Republicans came after 17 Republicans voted with Democrats to move ahead with a mammoth $1.2 trillion infrastructure plan. The final vote was 67-32. 

Trump had also warned ahead of the vote that primary challenges were to come: “Don’t do it Republicans — Patriots will never forget! If this deal happens, lots of primaries will be coming your way.”

Trump has already endorsed the primary challenger for Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), who is up for re-election in 2022.

RELATED: Biden Thanks Fox News Commentators For Telling People To Get Vaccinated

Karma Could Be In The Air For GOP Senators

But Trump could be right, patriots in the form of American voters may indeed have long memories.

Back in February, seven Republican Senators voted with every Democrat to convict Donald Trump on charges of impeachment stemming from the Jan. 6 violence at the Capitol building. At the time, nearly every one of those Senators had been censured or were facing censure by voters back home.

Seventeen Republican senators voted for the Biden infrastructure plan. Of the seven who voted to convict back in February, only Ben Sasse of Nebraska and Pat Toomey of Pennsylvania voted no on infrastructure.

Every other Senator who voted to convict Trump, also voted for the infrastructure plan. See a pattern?

Of those who voted for infrastructure, Roy Blunt of Missouri, Richard Burr of North Carolina, and Rob Portman of Ohio are retiring, and the good people of Alaska will issue a referendum on Murkowski. 

RELATED: Texas Governor Greg Abbott: Local Officials Who Enforce Mask Mandates Will Be Fined

 

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Ousted Anti-Trump GOP Chair Liz Cheney Outraises Successor Stefanik

Posted on by Becky Noble

The split in the Republican Party is not going away anytime soon, if fundraising numbers are to be believed.

Anti-Trump Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY), who was recently ousted as the GOP Conference Chair for her aggressive, repeated attacks on the leader of the party, raised significantly more money than her successor, Elise Stefanik (R-NY).

In fact, in the second quarter of the year alone, Cheney broke fundraising records for a second time.

This is significant because it is also the period during which Cheney was removed as GOP Conference Chair, the highest ranking Republican member of Congress.

She has consistently been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump.

RELATED: Major Inflation Spike As Consumer Prices See Biggest Increase Since 2008 Financial Meltdown

Tale Of The Numbers

During the second quarter of 2021, which runs from April to June, Cheney raised roughly $1.88 million. During the first quarter, also a record breaker, she raised $1.5 million.

For the same second quarter time period, Stefanik raised $1.467 million. The difference is around $400,000.

The Hill reports that the Cheney campaign has $2.85 million on hand, almost double her first quarter total. Her total so far for the year is roughly $3.5 million, up from the $3 million received for her successful 2020 re-election bid.

Cheney will likely need it, as she’s drawn a number of Republican primary challengers over her vote to impeach President Trump.

The Stefanik campaign reported having $2.1 million cash on hand. 

RELATED: Could Senate Democrats Sink Biden’s Anti-Gun Nominee For ATF Director?

Cheney And Stefanik

Liz Cheney’s trouble began soon after the Jan. 6 riot, when she placed the blame squarely at the feet of former President Donald Trump.

At the time, she called it “the most egregious violation of an oath of office of any president in our history.” She then became one of just 10 House Republicans to vote to impeach Trump for what they saw was his role in the violence at the Capitol.

Cheney came under fire not just from Trump and his supporters, but she also garnered some trouble at home.

Almost immediately following her impeachment vote, she had a 2022 primary challenger. Since then, others have jumped into the race in Wyoming to unseat her.

Cheney is not the lone House member to get a primary challenger. Of the 10 that voted to impeach, nine of those have 2022 primary challengers. 

Republicans first tried to remove Cheney from her Conference Chair position in February, but she managed to hang on to her position. On the second attempt in May, she was removed from the Conference Chair position.

Elise Stefanik is a fourth term Congresswoman from upstate New York. She is young, and has described herself as the opposite of far-left Democrat Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

Stefanik’s district has seen a bigger shift to the right since the election of Donald Trump, and she has become an ally of Trump. Trump hosted a fundraiser for Stefanik back in June that brought in $250,000.

RELATED: Feds Spent $3 Million Taxpayer Dollars To Study If Evicted People Have Unsafe Sex

GOP Feeling Good About 2022

The National Republican Congressional Committee is set to report $79.2 million raised in the first half of 2021.

The NRCC reports having $55 million cash on hand, compared to $44 million for the DCCC.

NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer said of the cash haul, “We will take back the majority next fall and voters are doing everything they can to help us accomplish that goal,” NRCC Chairman Tom Emmer said in a statement. “Every vulnerable House Democrat should be eyeing the exits because if they choose to run, they will lose.”

 

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Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis Quits The Republican Party During Live Broadcast

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Jenna Ellis, the former attorney for President Trump, quit the Republican Party during a live broadcast on the conservative news platform, “Real America’s Voice.”

Ellis said she is making the move because, in her mind, it’s clear the GOP does not – and did not – support the former President enough.

“Sure, the Republicans claim to be keeping Democrats in check, but only a handful of outsiders are actually speaking up,” she claimed. “The rest are compromising on everything.”

“The infrastructure bill, for example,” Ellis continued. “Or the second impeachment hoax, where [Senate GOP Leader Mitch] McConnell actually stood up and ranted against President Trump for his own political gain, not for the truth.”

The former Trump attorney’s announcement seems to have been spurred on by a recent spat with the Republican National Committee (RNC).

RELATED: Trump Lawyer Jenna Ellis Demands RNC Chair Resign – Claims They Abandoned Trump Then Lied About It

Jenna Ellis Quits The GOP

Late this past weekend, Jenna Ellis accused the RNC of lying about a story claiming the group’s chief counsel questioned electoral fraud claims.

The in-fighting exploded following a report regarding a new book by Michael Wolff which, in one excerpt, claimed Ellis received a forwarded note from RNC chief counsel Justin Riemer.

In emails obtained by The Hill, Riemer questioned colleagues who were backing Trump’s claims of election fraud during the 2020 election.

“What Rudy [Giuliani] and Jenna are doing is a joke and they are getting laughed out of court,” Riemer reportedly wrote in emails obtained by the Washington Post.

“They are misleading millions of people who have wishful thinking that the president is going to somehow win this thing,” he continued.

Ellis allegedly showed the message to the two people she was having dinner with at the time, one of whom was another attorney for the former President, Rudy Giuliani.

The book claims Giuliani was so incensed by the message that he called Riemer and delivered a profanity-laced demand to resign.

“Who the f*** do you you think you are? How can you be going against the president?” the book claims Giuliani said. “You need to resign and resign tonight … because you are going to get fired.”

Giuliani then purportedly called McDaniel to ensure he had been fired.

The RNC issued a statement insisting the story “is simply false.”

Ellis, however, said it was true and that she had the receipts to back it up. She demanded McDaniel resign.

RELATED: Trump Easily Wins CPAC Straw Poll – Warns Biden Bringing America ‘To the Brink of Ruin’ In Fiery Speech

Ellis Calls Out The RNC

The RNC, well after the incident in question took place in November, continued to raise money off Trump’s claims of election fraud.

Jenna Ellis, in her on-air speech in which she quit the Republican Party, addressed the perceived hypocrisy.

“What happened to the millions raised by the RNC in November and December of 2020?” she asked. “The Trump team never saw a dime of that help.”

“All of them, including Ronna McDaniel, should resign now,” she continued before announcing her departure.

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“Until they do, as of today, I am resigning from the party,” she declared. “A compromised, corrupted majority is not a majority worth being a part of.”

Riemer, who is still with the RNC despite Giuliani’s attempts to get him fired, insists that the committee did everything they could to support Trump without dabbling in election fraud conspiracies.

“Any suggestion that I did not support President Trump or do everything in my power to support the RNC’s efforts to reelect President Trump is false,” Riemer said in a statement to the Washington Post.

“I will say publicly now what I then said privately: I take issue with individuals who brought lawsuits that did not serve President Trump well and did not give him the best chance in court,” he added.

Regardless of Riemer’s assertion, which might very well be accurate, it’s clear the RNC tried to discredit the story only for the truth to have come out in an embarrassing fashion.

“If we genuinely want to create a more perfect union, we have to stand up for our principles against a corrupted machine of self-serving politicians in Washington,” Ellis said.

McDaniel, who is the niece of anti-Trump Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), has since purportedly blocked Ellis on Twitter.

 

 

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Murkowski Challenger Kelly Tshibaka Is Endorsed By Alaska Republican Party

Posted on by John Hanson

On Saturday, the Republican Party of Alaska officially endorsed Kelly Tshibaka in her primary challenge against long-time incumbent Sen. Lisa Murkowski. 

Murkowski has been a frequent critic of former President Donald Trump and voted to convict him on his second impeachment of inciting the January 6 attack on the Capitol.

Trump endorsed Tshibaka in June.

Local party branches typically support the incumbent, or at the most, stay out of primaries. It’s big news when a state party actually endorses an intra-party primary challenger.

RELATED: Lincoln Project Co-Founder Says January 6 Riot ‘Likely To Kill A Lot More Americans’ Than 9/11

Murkowski’s Favorable Ratings Plummet 

Tshibaka said in a statement, “I am grateful and thrilled to have the strong support of the Alaska Republican Party, which voted overwhelmingly to endorse my candidacy for the U.S. Senate.” 

“We all share a unified goal: to promote the principles upon which our country and state were founded. I have pledged that I will be true to our shared, conservative Alaska ideals and be a senator upon whom they can depend to make every decision based on what is best for our great state,” she said.  

“We need a senator who will stand with Alaskans and not cozy up to the Washington, D.C. insiders, a senator who has earned the trust of the people and strives to keep it every day,” Tshibaka continued, obviously referring to Murkowski.

“It is time for conservative leaders, with courage and common sense, to rise together across the nation,” the GOP primary challenger added. “I am honored to be endorsed as that candidate for Alaska.”

In the past Tshibaka has called Murkowski a “traitor” and has described her as someone who “sucks up to CNN” and the “radical Biden administration.”

In June, Murkowski saw her favorable rating among Republicans sink to a jaw dropping 6 percent.

Tshibaka Claims Murkowski Has Not Pursued A Conservative Agenda

Tshibaka said of Murkowski to Breitbart News on Saturday, “She’s been voting with them, hurting our way of life, and she’s not standing up to the radical Biden administration while they kill our oil and gas jobs.”

Tshibaka then gave a few examples of where she thought Murkowski had voted with Democrats more than her own party.

“She’s voted to allow illegal immigrants to come into our country,” Tshibaka accused Mrkowski. “Even if they commit crime, they can stay here.”

RELATED: Far-Left Democrats Pressuring Pelosi And Biden For Trillions More In Spending

Tshibaka: ‘We Are Absolutely Fed Up With Lisa Murkowski’

“She was the deciding vote to keep Obamacare and that means higher health care costs and fewer healthcare choices for us in Alaska,” she continued, adding that they have “some of the highest health care costs in the country.”

Tshibaka added, “She votes against common-sense judges that keep and protect our Second Amendment rights.”

“So, for all of those reasons, we are absolutely fed up with Lisa Murkowski,” Tshibaka thundered.  

With the endorsement of the state GOP and President Trump working against her, Murkowski has a steeply uphill battle for re-election.

 

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Mitch McConnell Warns He Could Intervene In 2022 GOP Primaries To Boost Establishment Candidates

Posted on by Becky Noble

On Monday, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-KY) cautioned that he and those associated with him are ready to intervene in any Republican Senate primaries to defeat candidates he views as “unelectable.”

McConnell told radio host Hugh Hewitt that he, or a group closely linked to him called the Senate Leadership Fund (SLF), would be willing to get involved in any primary race.

McConnell replied to Hewitt, “If necessary. There’s no question that in order to win … you have to appeal to the general election audience. I’ll be keeping an eye on that. Hopefully we won’t have to intervene, but if we do, we will.”

Conservatives will no doubt view the comments from the establishment Republican as meaning McConnell will oppose grassroots conservatives or Trump-aligned Republicans.

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Trump Candidates Vs. McConnell Candidates

Mitch McConnell and his allies ready to jump into any GOP primary they think needs guidance sets up an interesting dynamic heading into 2022 for Republicans.

By all accounts, former President Donald Trump is the head of the party, and an endorsement from him will be sought by most candidates seeking office. 

So far, the SLF has endorsed one candidate on the opposite side of Trump: Sen. Lisa Murkowski (R-AK).

Murkowski, who voted to convict Trump in his second impeachment, has picked up a primary challenger – though Trump has not yet endorsed in that race.

Will McConnell try to woo candidates with cash? Probably so, but as  Trump’s popularity shows no signs of letting up, PACs that are associated with him are raising record amounts of cash.

RELATED: Clinton Emails Reporter Christopher Sign Who ‘Committed Suicide’ Was Getting Death Threats

Will McConnell/SLF Candidates Water Down The GOP?

Back in February, McConnell stated that the thing he cared about the most was “electability.” Americans who want to elect Republicans are also concerned with electability, but at what cost? 

Is it possible that, if McConnell and his friends intervene in enough GOP primaries, would Trump supporters smell a rat, and be suspicious of McConnell of watering down the party until it is full of John McCains and Mitt Romneys?

Just more establishment RINOs who will cave to every liberal Democrat demand?

There is also the problem of McConnell intervention into races where the context of background surrounding candidates figures very heavily in the race. In Missouri for example, former Gov. Eric Greitens has thrown his hat in the ring to replace Sen. Roy Blunt (R-MO). Greitens resigned from the governorship after a sex scandal in 2018.

While Greitens may have name recognition which might give him a lead in the polls due to core support from those who don’t care about the reasons behind his ouster from the Governor’s mansion, and those who just know his name, does not mean he is the most popular with voters with knowledge of his background. 

Would not just Missouri voters, but voters in any state appreciate team McConnell swooping in to take over a primary election?

RELATED: Fox Reporter Stuns Audience, Says Live On-Air She Will Reveal Information Being Kept Secret

The Task Republicans Must Focus On

The main task at hand for Republicans is taking both the House and the Senate back in 2022. Republicans must defend 20 seats, while Democrats must only defend 14.

Four of those seats were won by Democrats in 2020, and the GOP is hoping to flip them red. They are also looking at taking seats from Georgia, Arizona, and New Hampshire.

Jack Pandol, communications director for the SLF says that, “As has long been SLF’s policy, we reserve the right to intervene in cases where a candidate is a clear threat to lose a seat in a general election and to protect our Republican incumbents.”

Intervention by Mitch McConnell and friends could be seen as interfering with the will of the people, and nothing more than a power grab on his part.

Perhaps McConnell and the SLF should find out if the candidate in question is who Mitch McConnell wants or the people want. 

 

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Pro-Trump Republican Challenging Lisa Murkowski Releases First Ad: ‘America First, Always’

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Kelly Tshibaka, a pro-Trump conservative challenging Senator Lisa Murkowski in Alaska, has released her first ad.

Murkowski, a Republican, voted to convict Trump during his second impeachment trial.

While the ad avoids making any negative commentary about her opponent, Tshibaka does sprinkle in some clearly Trumpian elements to her message.

“I’m a conservative, pro-life, pro-second amendment,” she confidently states. “And America first, always.”

Tshibaka also positions herself as an outsider running against an establishment Republican.

“The insiders don’t like me because I spent my career exposing taxpayer fraud and abuse,” she tells potential voters. “That’s okay, I’m not running for them, I am running for you.”

Tshibaka most recently served as Alaska commissioner of administration, a position from which she stepped down to announce her campaign to unseat Lisa Murkowski.

RELATED: Report: 9 Of The 10 Republicans Who Voted To Impeach Trump Facing Primary Challengers

Pro-Trump Kelly Tshibaka Ready To Take On Murkowski

While the new ad by Kelly Tshibaka doesn’t delve into any specific messages contrasting herself with Senator Lisa Murkowski, she is, as Alaska’s News Source reports, “closely aligned politically with former President Donald Trump.”

Tshibaka has defined herself as a “new generation” of Alaska conservatives and chastised Murkowski for siding with Democrats in the impeachment trial, voting to convict Trump for the charge of incitement of insurrection related to the Capitol protest.

“President Trump has been great for Alaska, and we need to remember that in both elections Alaska selected President Trump as our president,” Tshibaka told the outlet.

“I don’t think it helps Alaska when our senator goes against and picks a fight with a president who’s benefiting our state.”

Tshibaka has also reportedly hired several advisers with ties to the former President to help her with a campaign to defeat Murkowski.

“Former Trump campaign manager Bill Stepien, deputy campaign manager Justin Clark and battleground states director Nick Trainer … will serve as Tshibaka’s senior advisers,” Politico reveals.

She also brought on Tim Murtaugh, who was communications director on Trump’s reelection effort.

RELATED: Here Are the 6 Republicans Who Voted That Trump’s Impeachment Trial Is Constitutional

Trump: I’ll be There To Campaign Against Murkowski

Donald Trump has yet to endorse anybody against Lisa Murkowski though Politico notes he is “on the hunt for a credible Murkowski opponent on the senator’s right flank.”

Trump has repeatedly bashed Murkowski not only for her impeachment vote but for consistently standing alongside Senator Susan Collins and the late John McCain in obstructing a conservative agenda.

He recently knocked Murkowski for her role in voting to confirm appointees for President Biden who have, he states, led to the revocation of ANWR drilling permits.

“Not only did Murkowski kill the biggest economic stimulant for the State, but also one of the biggest energy-producing sites in the world,” he criticized.

“She’s the best friend Washington Democrats ever had—and Alaska’s reward for that betrayal is an empowered Left coming after their wealth and jobs,” he added.

“I think she will be met very harshly by the Alaska voters in 15 months, and I will be there to campaign against her!”

“We can’t let the Radical Left destroy Alaska’s Energy Industry with their Socialist job-killing agenda,” Tshibaka recently tweeted.

“If Liberal Lisa Murkowski won’t protect us, I will!” she added.

 

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Liz Cheney Says Her Re-Election Bid Will Be ‘Referendum On The Future Of The Republican Party’

Posted on by John Hanson

On Wednesday, former GOP conference chair and Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney said that she sees her “re-election bid as a referendum on the future of the Republican Party.”

Cheney made her comments during an interview with the Wall Street Journal’s “Women, Power and Equity” event.

RELATED: Senate Breaks Out In Cheers After Paul Amendment Passes That Bans Gain-Of-Function Research In China

Cheney: 2022 ‘Very Important In Terms Of The Future Of The Party’

Cheney said that voters are “potentially facing a choice between what she sees as traditional conservative values and loyalty to former President Donald Trump.”

She acknowledged that 2022 midterm election was going to be difficult for her, after she was booted from House Republican leadership earlier this month for repeatedly criticizing former President Donald Trump for his statements on the 2020 election.

Mrs. Cheney said the she “anticipates it’s going to be a hard-fought race.” She now also says openly she regrets ever supporting and voting for Trump.

“I really do think it’s one that will be a moment where the people of Wyoming can demonstrate to the country our commitment to the Constitution,” she said during her interview.

Cheney believes the 2022 election will be “very important in terms of the future of the party and the future of our republic.”

Cheney has at least four primary opponents so far – though she has outraised them all to this point.

Cheney Said She Refused To ‘Perpetuate The Lie’ That Trump Won The Election

Cheney was one of the ten Republicans who voted to impeach Trump during his second impeachment.

The Wyoming Republican said, “It became very clear that staying in leadership would require me to perpetuate the lie about the last election, perpetuate the big lie, perpetuate things that are dangerous.”

RELATED: Grand Jury Seated For NY Trump Investigation, Former Pres. Slams ‘Greatest Witch Hunt In American History’

Polls Not Looking Good For Cheney

She told the WSJ that “she hoped Republicans would begin to rally around traditional conservative policy issues like military spending” instead of Trump in the future.

A Club for Growth PAC poll showed earlier this month Cheney with a net negative image, with an unfavorable rating at 65 percent with a net rating of -36 percent.

52  percent also said they would rather vote for her opponent, no matter who it is. 

 

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Conservatives Are Lining Up To Primary Anti-Trump Cheney In Wyoming

Posted on by Becky Noble

On Wednesday, House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from her position as GOP Conference Chair, and now challengers in Wyoming are lining up to oust her from her Congressional seat altogether.

As many as six people have already announced they will challenge Cheney for her House seat in the 2022 midterms. A defiant Cheney told reporters on Thursday that she “obviously welcomes” anyone who wants to throw their hat in the ring against her. 

“There are millions and millions of Republicans out there who want us to be a party that stands for principles and who are very worried about the direction that the party is going and don’t want the party to be dragged backward by the former president.”

Cheney has been an outspoken critic of former President Donald Trump, and has also spoken out about her concern with the direction of the Republican Party as influenced by Trump.

RELATED: Gas Lines, Inflation Evoke Biden-As-Carter Memories

Trouble For Cheney Started With Impeachment

Liz Cheney’s troubles began not long after her impeachment vote against Donald Trump. In February, Cheney was censured by the Republican parties of ten Wyoming counties. Some used phrases in their announcements of a censure like “betrayed the trust” of voters, and “devalued the political influence of the state of Wyoming.”

Cheney also survived an attempt in February to remove her from the Conference chair position, with even fellow Republican Matt Gaetz of Florida traveling to Wyoming to encourage voters there to remove her from office. 

Last month at a GOP retreat in Florida, calls for her to be removed from the Conference Chair got louder as Cheney was at odds with House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-CA) over the scope of a commission that is investigating the events at the Capitol on Jan. 6.

She also said that anyone who challenged the 2020 election results should be disqualified from being the 2024 GOP nominee – a clear shot at Trump.

RELATED: CDC Director Quickly Goes From ‘Impending Doom’ To ‘No Masks’, Prompting Questions About Timing  

Who Are Cheney’s Challengers?

State Senator, gun rights activist, and Cheyenne-area business owner Anthony Bouchard was the first to announce he intended to challenge Cheney.

Another Wyoming legislator, a conservative radio host whose family owns Casper-area radio stations, State Rep. Chuck Gray has also announced he is running. 

Retired Army Colonel Denton Knapp, who currently lives in California but grew up in Wyoming and plans to move back, has thrown his hat in the ring. He said what prompted him was, “What’s missing right now is trust in our elected officials. Wyomingites expected Cheney to vote a certain way and she didn’t. As a result, she’s going through consequences.”

Also in the running is Marissa Joy Selvig, former mayor of Pavillion, a small town of 200. Selvig said, “I’ve never been a Cheney fan.” She added, “She has been working more for herself and for the Republican Party than she has the citizens of Wyoming. That’s what I see.”

Businessman Darin Smith is the most recent challenger to announce his candidacy. He announced his intention to run last week.

RELATED: 3,309 New Earmarks Proposed by 324 Members Of Congress Cost Taxpayers $10 Billion

Could Be An Uphill Battle For Cheney Opponents

Liz Cheney has a formidable track record when it comes to campaigning. She has beaten both Democrat and Republican opponents in the Cowboy state, and enjoys all the benefits of incumbency.

In the first quarter of this year, she raked in $1.5 million, her best fundraising quarter yet. Being the daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, she enjoys universal name recognition and family legacy advantages, too.

Prior to being in the House, Cheney ran an ill-fated Senate campaign against then Senator Mike Enzi, but dropped out after only six months. Accusations of being a “carpet-bagger” dogged Cheney and claims that she had not spent much time in Wyoming until moving to affluent Jackson Hole in 2012.

Liz Cheney is free to do what she believes is right, but she might want to get home to see if the people in Wyoming agree with her.

 

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Chip Roy Won’t Rule Out Running Against Stefanik For GOP House Conference Seat: She ‘Should Have An Opponent’

Posted on by John Hanson

On Wednesday, Congressman Chip Roy would not rule out running for the GOP leadership position left in the wake of former chairwoman Liz Cheney being ousted by her own party on Wednesday. 

Mere hours after Cheney was pushed out for constantly criticizing former President Donald Trump, Roy was asked if he had any desire to become the next House Republican Conference chair.

Roy had previously criticized the choice of Elise Stefanik as a replacement, arguing that she was too liberal. Some conservatives agree.

RELATED: Pelosi Launches Attack On GOP For Removing Liz Cheney – ‘Republicans Must Take Back The Party’

Roy: ‘I Don’t Believe There Should Be A Coronation’

“We’re here to talk about other topics but I will say this, (New House GOP Chair Rep. Elise Stefanik) should have an opponent,” Roy said at a press conference.

Stefanik is one of Congress’s youngest members. Her influence began to rise in the GOP during the first impeachment trial, as many began to see her as the natural successor to an increasingly unpopular Liz Cheney.

“I don’t believe there should be a coronation,” Roy told reporters on Wednesday.

“I believe that if the [House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy wants us to be united, then he should take the time to do this the right way,” Roy added.

Before Cheney’s removal and Stefanik stepping into that role, Roy and other conservatives were already sounding the alarm that the new presumed House Chair was too liberal.

Multiple Outlets Were Reporting Wednesday That Roy Plans To Challenge Stefanik

The Political Insider reported on Tuesday, “With the vote to oust Congresswoman Liz Cheney from House Republican leadership looming, one conservative House Freedom Caucus member circulated a memo to every GOP office claiming that her presumed successor, Congresswoman Elise Stefanik isn’t much different from a Democrat.”

“On Tuesday, Congressman Chip Roy sent a memo asking the House Republican conference to reconsider Stefanik, citing her voting record, and encouraging Republicans to choose someone more conservative,” The Political Insider noted.

Multiple news outlets on Wednesday speculated that the Texas Republican already had his sights set on challenging Stefanik for her leadership seat.

And while the media regularly portrays Stefanik as hyper loyal to Donald Trump, and she even secured the endorsement of Trump himself, conservative critics have pointed out that she has regularly opposed Trump’s main platform issues. 

For example, Stefanik opposes the border wall. 

NPR put together a list of Stefanik’s attacks on core Trump positions. Besides opposing the wall, she attacked Trump’s position on NATO and implied he was soft on Putin. 

She opposed Trump’s move to block immigration from terror-heavy Middle East countries. 

She attacked Trump for allegedly describing some third-world nations as “sh&thole countries.”

Stefanik told the Post-Star that “I disagree with his (Trump) position on Russia. I believe that Russia is an adversary,” Stefanik said. “In terms of Russia’s use of cyberattacks, in terms of Russia’s use of information operation and influence campaigns, I’m deeply concerned.”

Further, she backed the so-called Mueller investigation: “I disagree on his (Trump) attacks on law enforcement and the Department of Justice. I have confidence in the Mueller investigation. I have repeatedly and explicitly said that I support the Mueller investigation.”

Stefanik opposed Trump’s efforts to replace NAFTA, and is a proponent of comprehensive immigration reform – which conservative critics, along with Trump, argue is little more than amnesty.

It seems Roy may have a point.

RELATED: GOP Rep: Stefanik Too Liberal To Replace Cheney, Urges GOP To Choose A Conservative

When asked about the potential for a challenge from Roy, Stefanik told reportes on Wednesday, “We have a great support conference-wide.” 

 

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Lindsey Graham Warns Anti-Trump Republicans They’re Going To Wind Up ‘Getting Erased’

Posted on by Rusty Weiss

Senator Lindsey Graham said it’s impossible for the GOP to move forward without Donald Trump as its leader, warning that those trying to “erase” the party of the former President might themselves be “getting erased.”

Graham’s comments came just before House Republicans voted on Wednesday to remove Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from leadership for lack of party unity and consistent attacks on Trump and his supporters.

The South Carolina Republican spoke earlier this week with Fox News host Sean Hannity regarding the future of the party.

“It’s impossible for this party to move forward without President Trump being its leader, because the people who are conservatives have chosen him as their leader,” Graham stated. “And you know why they chose him? Because he delivered.”

He then began listing off several conservative victories under the Trump administration – including national security, border security, tax cuts, and pride in America.

RELATED: Mitt Romney Claims That Removing Liz Cheney From Leadership Will Cost Republicans ‘Quite A Few’ Votes

Graham: Anti-Trump Republicans Are Going to End Up Getting Erased

Senator Lindsey Graham also issued an ominous warning against anti-Trump Republicans like Liz Cheney, Senator Mitt Romney (R-UT), and Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL).

“The most popular Republican in America—it’s not Lindsey Graham, is not Liz Cheney, it’s Donald Trump,” he told Hannity.

“To try to erase Donald Trump from the Republican party is insane,” he added. “And the people who try to erase him are going to wind up getting erased.”

Graham went on to say that conservatives are disappointed that he lost the election because they “believe that Trump’s policies worked.”

RELATED: Trump Cheers Utah GOP That Booed ‘Stone-Cold Loser’ Mitt Romney, Rips ‘Big-Shot Warmonger’ Cheney

Cheney Ousted From GOP Leadership

Graham specifically commented on the embattled Representative Cheney whose leadership role was terminated on Wednesday.

Cheney was removed for her unwillingness to unite the party and instead attack Trump at every turn.

“I’ve always liked Liz Cheney but she’s made a determination that the Republican Party can’t grow with President Trump,” he said. “I’ve determined we can’t grow without him.”

Cheney has refused to unite a Republican party that includes Trump supporters. Instead, she insults them.

She has accused Trump voters of believing “the big lie” that the 2020 presidential election was stolen, has gone after colleagues in her own party who supported the former President, and vowed to campaign on impeaching him “every day of the week.”

In an op-ed for the Washington Post last week, Cheney encouraged Republicans not to embrace Trump’s “cult of personality.”

That is not somebody who belongs in a leadership role.

Romney, as you might imagine, disagrees.

“Every person of conscience draws a line beyond which they will not go: Liz Cheney refuses to lie,” he asserted.

“As one of my Republican Senate colleagues said to me following my impeachment vote: ‘I wouldn’t want to be a member of a group that punished someone for following their conscience.'”

Trump issued a statement referring to Cheney as a “big-shot warmonger” and Romney as a “stone-cold loser.”

 

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The Political Insider ranks #16 on Feedspot’s “Top 70 Conservative Political Blogs, Websites & Influencers in 2021.”

 

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