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In another era, not so long ago, an announcement like that of former Republican Vice President Dick Cheney, who stated this weekend that he will back Democrat Kamala Harris because he views Donald Trump as a grave threat to the United States, would have been akin to a political earthquake.
Just imagine the headlines: “Gore Backs Bush, Says Kerry a Danger to Nation,” or “Biden: Trump Must Defeat Clinton for the Sake of the Republic.”
That would have been inconceivable.
Now, people are barely batting an eye when Cheney, one of the most prominent and consequential conservatives of this millennium, is endorsing Kamala Harris, whom Trump refers to as a “communist.”
In fact, it almost would have been bigger news if Cheney had backed his own party’s candidate.
That’s how much the erstwhile Republican leaders despise Trump and what he has done to “their” party.
It’s tough to find any of them who will endorse the former president, publicly say they will cast their ballot for him, or actually do so once they are in the voting booth.
Not Cheney. Not George W. Bush, who has never voted for Trump. Not Mitt Romney, the 2012 GOP nominee, nor Paul Ryan, his vice presidential pick. And certainly not Mike Pence, whom Trump supporters wanted to hang four years ago.
This means that, at the most, only one person who served on a Republican ticket this century (apart from this year’s nominees), will vote for Trump: Sarah Palin, who first demonstrated how much potential the GOP holds for right-wing populists.
Or, in other words, nearly all of the party’s pre-Trump leaders reject him.
To anybody paying attention, that was never in dispute. The real question now is what they are willing to do about it.
If they truly understand the danger Trump and his movement pose to their party and their country, which they seemingly do, then putting out a statement isn’t enough.
This isn’t the time for letting it be known that they will write in another candidate.
This is the time for real action.
Trump and his supporters will have you believe that it doesn’t matter that the party’s past leaders oppose him (while at the same time claiming that getting the endorsement from former Democratic kooks like Robert F. Kennedy Jr. or Tulsi Gabbard is a game changer).
Republicans like Cheney should do all they can to prove him wrong and salvage what is left of their party in the process.
His daughter Liz understands this.
She is all-in against Trump and said she is willing to do “whatever it takes” to help Harris win.
Her father should join her.
So should Romney, and Paul.
This moment isn’t about past and present policy differences; it’s about taking a stand against authoritarianism.
“What I think Dick and Liz Cheney are saying is that in this existential moment in American history, it’s not just issues,” said Bernie Sanders (I-VT), perhaps the most left-wing senator. “Cheney and I agree on nothing — no issues. But what we do believe in is that the United States should retain its democratic foundations.”
The senator also praised the Cheneys’ “courage in defending democracy.”
That’s what the next two months are about.
Any Republican opposed to Trump should offer to hit the campaign trail for Harris and ensure that the former president is defeated so soundly that nobody will believe another round of lies about a “stolen” election.
And the Harris campaign should let them.
High-profile Democrats will be able to get the vote out among people for whom the choice is Harris or nobody. But it doesn’t matter to moderate Republicans what people like Sanders or Barack Obama have to say.
They may, however, listen to Romney, whom they campaigned for not so long ago. They may listen to Bush and Cheney.
This election will probably come down to a few thousand votes in a handful of states, so, if you really believe that Trump poses such an existential threat, shouldn’t you be willing to do your part to make sure that the pro-democracy side wins?
