After Tuesday’s devastating defeat in the primary election, Liz Cheney (Republican from Wyoming) is now causing speculation about her future political plans. In her concession speech, she stated that she would dedicate herself to fighting the Orange Man What Is Bad and stopping him from becoming president in 2024.
Cheney actually hinted that she might be considering entering the race for the next presidential election. This elicited more laughs than any Dave Chappelle special. Some speculate that Cheney may have as good a chance as Brian Stelter, a former media activist, of winning the “People Magazine” Sexiest Man Alive Award. However, she could still cause some damage to Trump or another GOP candidate.
On social media, I see people making comparisons to Ross Perot. Anti-Trumpers fantasize about Cheney running for the GOP presidential election.
Will she pull a Perot? Trump nemesis Liz Cheney ponders 2024 bid after her crushing defeat in Wyoming GOP primary. Some speculate she could run as an independent like Dallas’ H. Ross Perot did in 1992. #LizCheney #DonaldTrump #Cheney #Trump #Wyoming #Perot https://t.co/atPz0jykFr
— John Gravois (@Grav1) August 17, 2022
“There is a Ross Perot moment brewing, and if it comes to fruition, Donald Trump will lose the 2024 presidential election,” he said in statement. “Should Trump choose to run, he will be running uphill against the Democratic nominee and an independent torpedo named Liz Cheney.” https://t.co/sYjECnxYoq
— John McCormick (@McCormickJohn) August 17, 2022
Although it seems unlikely that Cheney would derail a Republican bid for the White House, there are ways it could happen.
First, Cheney has the support of many of the establishment neocons, which could be a benefit if she decides to run for the independent or third party. Although it is unlikely that she will actually attempt to defeat Trump in the primaries but their support might allow her to be a spoiler to ensure the Democratic candidate wins the elections.
Cheney’s success in derailing Trump or any other GOP candidate is not possible if he has to deal with anti-Trump/MAGA Republicans, but disaffected Democrats. They have so squandered their power in Congress and the White House that it might motivate some of their base members who are less progressive to give Cheney another chance. This combined with the NeverTrumpers would make it a weak voting bloc but could give the Democrats an edge.
However, as I mentioned earlier, it is not a realistic possibility.
It doesn’t seem likely that more conservative Democratic voters would be willing to support a neocon warlord like Cheney, even though they may not like their party. These people would likely say “a pox to both your houses” and omit the 2024 election, even if Trump were the Republican nominee. After four years of the disastrous Biden government, Orange Man Bad won’t go far.
This scenario, however, is unlikely to happen. It is the only way that I see Cheney being a successful spoiler by 2024. She won’t be able to garner enough right-leaning votes to make a difference. Instead, she would need to draw support from Democrats and Independents. Neither of these is likely to like her. It is clear that Liz Cheney isn’t liked at the moment.
