If one took an anonymous poll of the House GOP Caucus, we suspect that the results would overwhelmingly reveal that they regret having booted Liz Cheney from leadership. In the four months that Trump has been out of office, there has not been a single more concrete action demonstrating their total submission to Trump’s control. Every member wants the MAGA vote, but there are likely a good number of members that want out some room to breathe.

By removing her from leadership, they’ve actually elevated Cheney, giving her freedom and a platform that she never had before. She will be in a place to continually remind those on the right that the Republican party didn’t want a conservative woman in leadership and instead promoted Elise Stefanik, whom the American Club for Growth gives a lower “conservative” score than Representative Ilhan Omar. (Remarkably, it is true) The GOP’s motives couldn’t be clearer.

So it was time to strike, despite the fact that there is no election coming in the near future. It was still time to reinforce that the GOP’s loyalty isn’t to the country, it isn’t to governing, it isn’t to conservatism, it is to one man, a man whose only platform is self-promotion. Thus it was that the Lincoln Project put together the perfect video, entitled “I Pledge Allegiance” and it makes clear that the GOP just pledged its allegiance to someone over and above the country:

Who do you pledge allegiance to? pic.twitter.com/U2XB1o1ROf

— The Lincoln Project (@ProjectLincoln) May 17, 2021

The images make one shiver. There is something about that pale blue MAGA flag that now conjures flags associated with other fascist movements and one can almost picture it flying beside the American flag if Trump were to ever gain power again. It is critical that we keep tying the GOP closer and closer to Trump as he continues his bizarre behavior.

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Peace, y’all
Jason
[email protected] and on Twitter @JasonMiciak