Are You Like Me Who Lived a Majority of My Life Taking For Granted the Freedom Found in America? Then Oath and Honor by Liz Cheney May Help You Catch Up to Reality!

Prologue 

THIS IS THE STORY OF the moment when American democracy began to unravel. It is the story of the men and women who fought to save it, and of the enablers and collaborators whose actions ensured the threat would grow and metastasize. It is the story of the most dangerous man ever to inhabit the Oval Office, and of the many steps he took to subvert our Constitution. 

Since 1797, when George Washington voluntarily handed the power of the presidency to John Adams, every American president had fulfilled his solemn obligation to guarantee the peaceful transfer of power—until Donald Trump. When Trump lost the 2020 presidential election, he attempted to overturn the results in order to seize power illegally and remain in office. When the violent mob he had mobilized laid siege to our Capitol, he watched the attack on television and refused for more than three hours to tell the rioters to leave. Donald Trump’s actions violated the law and the oath he swore to the Constitution. 

Our founders built safeguards into our system of government to preserve our democratic process. But those safeguards require that men and women of goodwill—Americans elected to positions of public trust—put their duty to the Constitution above their party and above their loyalty to any one man. 

When our nation was tested after the presidential election of 2020, an alarming number of elected Republicans in Congress failed to do their duty. This is the story of how that happened, and why. It is a story that every American deserves to know. The end of this story hasn’t yet been written. The threat continues. The outcome now is in the hands of the American people and our system of justice. 

The methods Donald Trump is using to undermine our democracy are not unique to him. I saw authoritarian leaders use many of these same tactics in Eastern Europe, Russia, Ukraine, and across the Middle East when I was working for the US State Department. History is full of similar examples in countries around the world, but never in the United States—until now. Like other aspiring autocrats, Donald Trump cannot succeed alone. He depends upon enablers and collaborators. Every American should understand what his enablers in Congress and in the leadership of the Republican Party were willing to do to help Trump seize power in the months after he lost the 2020 presidential election—and what they continue to do to this day. 

So strong is the lure of power that men and women who had once seemed reasonable and responsible were suddenly willing to violate their oath to the Constitution out of political expediency and loyalty to Donald Trump. 

In the aftermath of January 6, one senior Republican congressman—who knew the danger Trump posed but would not speak out because he feared the political consequences—said to me: “Surviving is all that matters, Liz.” It was a sad moment. Elected officials who believe their own political survival is more important than anything else threaten the survival of our republic, no matter what they tell themselves to justify their cowardice. 

At the height of the Cold War in 1983, Ronald Reagan addressed the nation from the Oval Office. He said this about our duty to defend freedom: It is up to us in our time to choose, and choose wisely, between the hard but necessary task of preserving peace and freedom, and the temptation to ignore our duty and blindly hope for the best while the enemies of freedom grow stronger day by day. The threat we face today is different but no less perilous. Our duty remains the same. It is up to each one of us to take seriously our obligation to safeguard the miracle of American freedom. We must abide by our duty to the Constitution, and demand that our political leaders do the same. 

Politicians who minimize the threat, repeat the lies, or enable the liar are not fit for office. Most importantly, we cannot make the grave mistake of returning Donald Trump—the man who caused January 6—to the White House, or to any position of public trust, ever again.

~~~

The fact is that, for the majority of my life, my involvement with politics was low priority. Like many in America, we were working hard to make a living. We enjoyed the life living in a free nation, while, never really thinking about what might happen if we lost those freedoms... I had registered as a Democrat while I was working simply because Richard Byrd, a then WV Senator, was often part of discussions at the State University where I worked for close to 40 years.

It was only when I went into Job Burnout and had to retire, that I had more time... And, frankly, it was the infamous leaked video where Donald Trump said, "I can grab them by the pxxxy, that I Woke...

And I've been getting more and more Woke since then! So, if you were like me, I have a must-read book for you to read and catch up with reality! It is by Liz Cheney...

You know, the long-time politician who, as the father of a former republican vice-president, had more knowledge and experience than many in Congress... Yes, that one who was ousted by the republican party now in Congress, who were upset that she had the audacity to tell the truth! BTW, if you didn't already know that, and you are a republican, then it is even more important that you read her book...

I am not a republican, but my family is. In fact, it seems, that I, too, have been ousted by some members of my family for the same reasons as Liz. I spoke out against Donald Trump immediately and have continued to do so since 2015...

However, I have aligned myself with  Republican Liz Cheney and the majority of Americans who now oppose the entire republican party. So, let's get specific:

• President George W. Bush’s victory in 2000 had ultimately come down to just over 500 votes in Florida, with a razor-thin Electoral College margin of 271 to 266. By contrast, Donald Trump lost in 2020 by more than 70 electoral votes. His nationwide popular-vote deficit of seven million represented a 5 percent gap—not even close. Trump would have needed tens of thousands more votes across at least three different states to reverse his Electoral College loss.
• He had been tweeting repeatedly about the “thousands of people pouring into D.C.,” suggesting the outcome of the election could change on January 6, and threatening that the crowds “won’t stand for a landslide election victory to be stolen.” He was also spreading the lie that the “Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” I wanted there to be no doubt about the responsibilities of Congress that day, so I put out this statement:
• We have sworn an oath under God to defend the Constitution. We uphold that oath at all times, not only when it is politically convenient. Congress has no authority to overturn elections by objecting to electors. Doing so steals power from the states and violates the Constitution.
• “Are you listening to Trump?” he asked. Trump was speaking at a rally on the Ellipse, but I hadn’t been listening. “He just told the crowd they should ‘get rid of the Liz Cheneys of the world.’ He has created a serious threat to your security.”
• When one member (who ultimately voted against impeachment) told me that he knew what Trump had done was impeachable but he couldn’t vote to impeach because “I am afraid it will put my wife and my new baby in danger,” I absolutely understood his fear. But I also thought, “Perhaps you need to be in another job.” Other members said they believed Trump had committed impeachable offenses, but they complained about the timing of the vote. Some said it was rushed. Others claimed Trump would be gone soon, so we didn’t really need to impeach him. These arguments sounded like rationalizations to me...
• Monday, January 12, I sent this statement to my colleagues: On January 6, 2021, a violent mob attacked the United States Capitol to obstruct the process of our democracy and stop the counting of presidential electoral votes. This insurrection caused injury, death, and destruction in the most sacred space in our Republic. Much more will become clear in coming days and weeks, but what we know now is enough. The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution. I will vote to impeach the President.
• Later that evening, I ran into Jamie Raskin of Maryland in the Capitol Building. “Your statement is one of the most powerful things I have ever read,” he said. “Thank you.” I received an outpouring of similar messages from Democrats and Republicans across the country. Some I knew and some I didn’t. One Republican who had served on the Hill and at the Pentagon said, “You fulfilled the ancient charge from the Bible: ‘Be strong and have courage.’” Another Republican staffer said, “You represent the reason my parents left everything to come to this country. Thank you.” A retired four-star general told me he was “very proud of the courage and clarity” of my statement. A prominent conservative legal analyst texted me to say, “You are doing the honorable, constitutional, American thing. That’s what matters.” Early the next morning, President George W. Bush sent me this note: Liz, Courage is in short supply these days. Thank you for yours. You showed strong leadership and I’m not surprised. Lead on. 

I could go on and on sharing the many lines of content I highlighted. But a key point where I stopped is one that must be told. After doing everything right and telling the truth as she believed was her duty, Liz was not only removed from Congress by republicans, but republicans in her home state (Wisconsin) voted her out... How do you justify ousting out an individual without showing that something had been done wrong? 

Well, all you have to do is go against anything whatsoever that offends anybody and everybody within the republican party. And even if it doesn't offend or is not wrong, it is irrelevant, because NOW republicans are no longer acting upon any basic set of principles, rules or laws... All you have to do is bowed down and kiss the ring of the past president...A Liar above all other crimes he has committed...

One of the things that, once again, was not addressed in this book and others I've read so far from those affected by MAGA and its leader that is especially of concern in my opinion. That is the role of the Evangelical Christian group and the use of the Bible in the manipulation of the trillions of words of misinformation that has been published... Here is one example that haunts me personally...

Jeffrey Clark attempted to move in and take over as Attorney General in DOJ who would then create a letter which would claim that the election was rigged and be sent out... Clark was automatically given a security clearance and placed in the office... the key point was that when Clark was originally contacted and he questioned doing what he was being asked, it was Senator Scott Perry who had said something like, It's a go, we are doing God's will..." 

Re the new leader of the House, though his placement as leader is fairly recent, Cheney has much to say about this individual who, also, uses the Bible to explain what he wants to do... I'll leave it up to the Reverend in the video to handle pointing out his hypocrisy...

Bottom line for this book, this really isn't meant as a review... This is an opinion piece as well as an attempt to provide as much about the book that should, if you are concerned enough, lead you to read the entire book.  It is well written primarily because of her long experience and knowledge of the political environment and therefore has done an excellent job of presentation. At the end, it seems to get choppy; however, I am sure that what was happening is that she was adding "the latest" information as long as it was still in pre-publication mode. 

Liz Cheney is a formidable woman and I hope she succeeds in her goal to keep Trump out of office ever again... Then, perhaps, the Republican Party can begin to heal and become a functioning co-partner in making meaningful decisions for the benefit of America...

God Bless

Gabbie

Excerpt from Liz Cheney's book: Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning - Review Coming Next!

I added a number of videos which make up most, if not all, of the recent interview by Rachel Maddow with Liz Cheney... For One Reason, I wanted to spotlight Rachel's prelude about just how different she and Liz were related to political issues. Yet, beyond that, both Rachel and Liz were supporters of the United State Constitution and were Not Election Deniers... This, to me, is one of the most important issues that we must make clear to those still supporting our past president. ALL OF US--NOT JUST POLITICIANS ARE RESPONSIBLE TO KEEP THE CONSTITUTION!*

Like Rachel, I was never a supporter of Trump. In fact, as an Independent-registered citizen, once I saw just how badly things were, I switched to register as a Democrat, simply because I wanted to be able to vote at primaries which my state does not now allow. And, as Rachel describes the differences she had with Liz, I realized more than ever that I, too, was definitely not a conservative related to policies. Indeed I had been involved with improving women's rights for most of my professional career and I didn't plan to ever go backward in those rights...

THE OATH DOES NOT BEND OR YIELD TO POPULAR SENTIMENT

 

FOR MOST OF OUR HISTORY, the counting of electoral votes by Congress has been an uneventful, though important, constitutional proceeding. Before 2021, the vote count I had the most distinct recollection of was January 6, 2001. That year, Vice President Al Gore and his wife, Tipper, invited our family to tour the vice president’s residence at the US Naval Observatory. My parents would be moving in after my father was sworn in as vice president on January 20, 2001. 

Vice President Gore met us at the front door of the 19th-century mansion in Northwest Washington. Although it was a Saturday, he was wearing a suit and tie. The rest of us were dressed more casually. He smiled as he explained the business attire: “I’m on my way to preside over the counting of electoral votes for your victory, Cheney,” he said. There was no bitterness in Vice President Gore’s voice as he left to carry out his constitutional duty. It had been a hard-fought campaign and one of the closest presidential elections in history. A few weeks earlier, on December 13, 2000, after multiple rounds of litigation, Al Gore had conceded the race, saying, in part: Almost a century and a half ago, Senator Stephen Douglas told Abraham Lincoln, who had just defeated him for the presidency, “Partisan feeling must yield to patriotism. I’m with you, Mr. President, and God bless you.” 

Well, in that same spirit, I say to President-elect Bush that what remains of partisan rancor must now be put aside, and may God bless his stewardship of this country. The election was over, Gore said: Resolved, as it must be resolved, through the honored institutions of our democracy… I know many of my supporters are disappointed. I am, too. But our disappointment must be overcome by our love of country. 

Al Gore’s concession speech was both gracious and patriotic—one of the best concession speeches ever given by a presidential candidate. By any measure, the presidential election in 2000 had been far closer than the 2020 contest. President George W. Bush’s victory in 2000 had ultimately come down to just over 500 votes in Florida, with a razor-thin Electoral College margin of 271 to 266. 

By contrast, Donald Trump lost in 2020 by more than 70 electoral votes. His nationwide popular-vote deficit of seven million represented a 5 percent gap—not even close. Trump would have needed tens of thousands more votes across at least three different states to reverse his Electoral College loss. 

But by January 6, 2021, Donald Trump had consumed a good portion of almost every day in a rage: inventing and spreading lies about election fraud, preying on the patriotism of his supporters, and telling them they had to “fight like hell” if they wanted to save their country. He had summoned them to Washington for a “big protest” on the day of the congressional vote count, promising them it would be “wild.” The United States had never seen anything like this. 

Some of my Republican colleagues in the House were preparing to use Trump’s stolen-election lies as the basis for an unconstitutional attempt to overturn the election results. Historian Timothy Snyder has described the deep damage this was doing to our country: “Making [Trump’s] fictions the basis of congressional action gave them flesh.” A sinister feeling was in the air in the days before January 6, 2021. Most members of Congress recognized the potential for danger. I didn’t know exactly what might happen, but security was a real concern. 

For more than seven years, while my dad was vice president, I was a Secret Service protectee. The brave, patriotic, and professional men and women of the Secret Service had kept my family and me safe. I have stayed in touch with many of them for nearly 20 years. A few days before January 6, I called one of these former agents, a person who had headed multiple protective details, and asked for security advice. He helped me arrange for private security on January 6. Another retired agent would drive me to and from the Capitol and remain on standby throughout the day. And in the days that followed January 6, a number of other former agents provided a private security detail. These were some of the same people who had protected my family when the threat we faced was from al-Qaeda terrorists. Now they were protecting me again—this time in the face of threats from our fellow citizens, mobilized to violence by an American president. 

Before heading for the Capitol on the morning of January 6, I was watching news coverage of the statements Trump had made over the last 48 hours. He had been tweeting repeatedly about the “thousands of people pouring into D.C.,” suggesting the outcome of the election could change on January 6, and threatening that the crowds “won’t stand for a landslide election victory to be stolen.” He was also spreading the lie that the “Vice President has the power to reject fraudulently chosen electors.” 

I wanted there to be no doubt about the responsibilities of Congress that day, so I put out this statement: We have sworn an oath under God to defend the Constitution. We uphold that oath at all times, not only when it is politically convenient. Congress has no authority to overturn elections by objecting to electors. Doing so steals power from the states and violates the Constitution. As we drove down the George Washington Memorial Parkway to Capitol Hill, I was working to make sure Republicans who were not objecting to electoral votes would be given time to speak during the floor debate. Normally, debate on the floor is equally divided between Democrats and Republicans. In this case, we needed to ensure that the objectors would not monopolize all the Republican speaking slots. I also called in to a local Wyoming radio station, KGAB, to do an interview about the day’s upcoming proceedings. 

It was clear from the host’s questions that disinformation about what Congress could do on January 6 had taken hold.*

I described how America’s presidential-election process works, and how allegations of fraud had already been addressed in the courts. I also explained that Congress had no authority to overturn an election. If we do this, I said, four years from now there will be nothing to stop the Democrats from saying they disagree with the electors Wyoming has chosen—then substituting their preferred candidate for ours. 

When we arrived on Capitol Hill, we parked in the Cannon House Office Building garage, and I walked through the underground tunnel to the Capitol. I got on the elevator in the basement to ride up to the second floor, where the House chamber is located. The elevator stopped on the first floor. When the

doors opened, my friend Joyce Hamlett was standing there. Joyce had worked in the Capitol for over 35 years. Since 2007, she had been the “Keeper of the Mace.” 

The mace is one of the oldest objects in the Capitol, and one of the most important symbols of our nation’s government. As she stepped into the elevator shortly before noon on January 6, Joyce was carrying the large silver mace in her gloved hands. A little over four feet long, the mace is made of 13 ebony rods (representing the 13 original states) wrapped by two interwoven silver bands—an ancient Roman design meant to symbolize the strength of unity. Topped with a silver globe and an eagle with outstretched wings, the mace represents the power and authority of the House of Representatives, and is carried into the chamber whenever the House is in session. It stands on a pedestal on the rostrum near the Speaker. 

The current mace dates from 1841. The original was destroyed when the British invaded and burned the Capitol in 1814. I was honored to be riding with Joyce that morning. We had spent a lot of time talking together in the well of the House over the previous difficult months. Today, the House and Senate would meet and perform our constitutional duty. 

To mark the occasion, I took a picture of Joyce holding the mace. Neither of us would have predicted that a few hours later, Joyce would be forced to rush the mace off the House floor to protect it from an irate mob of our own countrymen. 

The House chamber was cold when I walked in that morning. The temperature had been lowered in preparation for the bright television lights and additional people, including the senators and staff members, who would be attending the joint session. Inside the Republican cloakroom, members were signing their names on sheets of paper spread out on tables against the wall. 

I asked what they were doing. A cloakroom staffer explained that they were signing the electoral-vote objections. The signature sheets were arranged by state, in alphabetical order from left to right, Arizona to Wisconsin. This was purely for show. 

Each objection is made by a single member of Congress. If a senator joins, there is debate and a vote. Every House member would be recorded voting on any objection a senator joined. Signing these pieces of paper was therefore meaningless—except as yet another public display of fealty to Donald Trump. Most of the members taking part in the sheet-signing ritual knew it was a farce. Among them was Republican Congressman Mark Green of Tennessee. As he moved down the line, signing his name to the pieces of paper, Green said sheepishly to no one in particular, “The things we do for the Orange Jesus.” 

I shook my head and walked to the other end of the room. Ryan O’Toole, a member of Kevin McCarthy’s cloakroom staff, let me use his computer to finish the remarks I planned to make during the upcoming debate on objections. Shortly after January 6, Ryan would quit working for McCarthy and come to work for me. 

While I was sitting at Ryan’s desk, my dad called me. “Are you listening to Trump?” he asked. Trump was speaking at a rally on the Ellipse, but I hadn’t been listening. “He just told the crowd they should ‘get rid of the Liz Cheneys of the world.’ He has created a serious threat to your security.”*

I stepped into a cloakroom phone booth for privacy and slid the door shut. “You are in danger,” my dad said. “You need to be aware of that as you think about whether to go forward with your remarks.” My dad’s voice was steady—and deadly serious. I knew he was angry and worried as a father, and I knew that his heart was breaking for our country. 

The president of the United States was attempting to utilize an angry crowd as a weapon to threaten Congress, to prevent us from carrying out our constitutional duty. My father knew immediately and unequivocally that Trump’s speech was likely to cause violence. And now Trump had targeted me directly. I listened to what my dad was saying, but I think we both knew what the answer had to be. There was no world in which I would let Donald Trump threaten or bully me into abandoning my duty. 

“I can’t stay silent out of fear, Dad.”* “Okay,” he said. “I understand. But please call me as soon as you’re speech is done.” I said I would and I told him I loved him. The next time I talked to my father, I was being rushed from the House chamber as the violent mob mobilized by Trump stormed through the Capitol. 

The remarks I had written for that day, but never got the chance to deliver, said this: 

Madam Speaker, I rise in opposition to the objection. Let me begin by noting how disappointed I am at having to rise today to address this issue. I wanted the election to turn out differently. But I’m bound by a solemn oath, given before God, to preserve, protect, and defend the Constitution. I cannot comply with that oath only when it is convenient politically. Our oaths are not given to any specific president. They are given to preserve the Constitutional structure that has governed our republic for over 230 years. The oath does not bend or yield to popular sentiment, mob rule, or political threats. We do not compromise our oath. It compels us to adhere to the Constitution and rule of law…always.

What the Constitution requires here is not a mystery. It is clear from the plain text of Article II and the 12th Amendment. The states and the people have the authority to choose the president, not Congress. Some have suggested that we should read more into the Constitution than it says—inferring authority the framers did not give us. We do not have some secret unwritten constitutional authority to overturn elections, impose our will, contradict state law, and contradict the rulings of the courts. If we assert that we do, we are creating a tyranny of Congress, stealing power from the states, and striking at the foundations of our republic. In the years to come, historians and scholars will take account of what we say here today. They will credit those who stood true to the text of the Constitution and honored their oaths.

~~~ 

Later, as television coverage began to show Donald Trump’s armed mob surging through metal security barriers, attacking police officers, and scaling the walls outside the Capitol Building, my dad feared that the Capitol Police were losing control. He thought that it had become too dangerous for me to remain on the House floor, so he called my chief of staff, Kara Ahern. “You need to go get Liz,” he said. “She isn’t safe.” Kara and my special assistant, Will Henderson, worked with the retired agent providing my security that day to find a way to evacuate me. But it was already too late. The Capitol had been breached.*

*(My Emphasis)