Sunday School 2/18/24: Extra Credit

For this week's Sunday School, I focused on some of the Democrats who were wandering the halls. 

For your Extra Credit, I've got former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Too Sane for MAGA Camp), who talked with Jake Tapper in the State of the Union classroom.

Like most folks, Cheney believes "there's no question" Vladimir Putin is responsible for the death of Alexei Navalny. And that makes it even more important that we "pass the aid bill that the Ukrainians need so urgently to help them continue what they're doing" to defeat the Russians.

And one thing that's really important, Jake, for the viewers to recognize and understand is, one man - one man has the power in his hands to get that done. And that's... Speaker of the House, Mike Johnson. It's very unusual actually in American history to be in a situation where one man holds that kind of power who's not the president.

Officially, it's Johnson, but for all practical intents, haven't her former colleagues in the House (and the Senate, too) ceded that power to Donald Trump? 

She added Johnson's got some soul-searching to do on Ukraine; he needs to understand "exactly what's happening," and how the Ukrainians are the front line in the fight for freedom.

And history will look back at this moment and ask, what did Mike Johnson do? He has said, and I take him at his word, that he believes that God has told him that he's called to be Moses. And I think Mike Johnson ought to look at whether or not this is actually that moment, and he ought to help the Ukrainian people.

Tapper mentioned the pressure on Johnson, and the threat that hangs over his head: the ironically-named House 'Freedom' Caucus, which holds the Speakership hostage, could move to boot him from the role. Cheney agrees but says Johnson should understand it'd be worth it to lose the position to do the right thing. She should know, right?

And, again, he's going to have to explain to future generations, to his kids, to his grandkids whether or not he did what was right, whether or not he was a force for good and aided the cause of freedom, or whether he continued down this path of cowardice and doing what Donald Trump and Vladimir Putin want him to do.

Again, like most folks, she's not impressed with Trump not having said anything about his friend Putin taking out a political rival. She also reminded us that Trump has promised retribution, and that retribution is what Putin did to Navalny. Trump needs to be taken seriously, and

We have to take seriously the extent to which you have now got a Putin wing of the Republican Party. I believe the issue this election cycle is making sure the Putin wing of the Republican Party does not take over the west wing of the White House.

She was harsh on Trump's NATO approach, calling it "dangerous," "disgraceful," and "completely uninformed and ignorant," and said what's "so misguided" about people thinking we should just walk away from Ukraine is

if Putin wins in Ukraine, he's telling us... the Baltics are next, Poland is next, NATO member countries will be next. If Putin wins in Ukraine, the security system -- and he knows this -- the security structures that have maintained peace and security and freedom since the end of World War II will begin to unravel.

She thinks "what the Republicans are doing" with our border issues "is really shameful." She strongly blames the Biden administration for its failures there, but "as soon as the agreement was reached" - the tripartisan Sinema/Langford/Murphy bill - she said Trump stepped in again, preferring an issue to run on, rather than movement to solve the problem. And the "contortions from many leading Republicans," aren't fooling anyone, on anything.

I think, again, the American people are too smart to fall for that, and I think that my former colleagues ought to stop the political contortions and realize how significant and serious this national security moment is.

They talked about Trump's legal issues; regarding the E. Jean Carroll case, she said the jury found that Trump actually did what he said he could get away with on the Access Hollywood tape. And she pointed to the common thread with all of the cases: Trump won't follow the law, he won't tell the truth, and he's got a "fundamental lack of character."

 And I think one of the things that is so troubling about this political season is the extent to which you have got people that used to be good and honorable members of Congress, for example, who have simply, apparently, abandoned the need to actually elect people of character and honor, and instead are embracing him.

Tapper was surprised that Sen. Mitt Romney would be "unique" among the Rs in the Senate and House to say, in effect, that he won't vote for someone who's guilty of sexual assault.  Cheney agreed. 

I mean, you would think that anyone with a daughter, sister, a mother would be where Senator Romney is on that issue. 

Tapper noted that Sen. J.D. Vance (R-OH YEAH, I'm in the Cult!) and Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-You Kidding Me? Of Course I'll be His Veep), both said they would not have certified the election on January 6th, and he wondered whether anyone should be comfortable voting for a Republican ticket with either of them on it. That's a big fat no from Cheney - and, she said, Stefanik should be removed from the board of the National Endowment for Democracy. 

Cheney also didn't think much of Snitty Snitty Bill Barr, who recently said he'd vote for Trump over Biden even though, he also said,

Voting for Trump is playing Russian roulette with the country. Voting for Biden is outright national suicide.

She said he's "absolutely wrong," and even though she hasn't endorsed anyone, she "certainly would never support Donald Trump." Why?

...we know what Donald Trump will do because he's telling us every day. And anybody who has spent any time overseas, who has spent any time studying the history of autocracies and of autocrats knows we have to listen to what Donald Trump's saying. So electing Donald Trump's not Russian roulette. Electing Donald Trump would mean putting in power a man who's committed to unraveling our constitutional framework. So Bill Barr is just wrong on that.

And what about her plans? Tapper tried to get her on the record, on a variety of options.

• Is she running for president? No decision yet, but she'll do whatever it takes to stop Trump. 
• If she didn't run, would she support Biden over Trump if they were the choices? She's "not making any announcements or endorsements," but she'll do whatever it takes to stop Trump.
• If she were a South Carolina voter, he assumed she'd support Nikki Haley in the primary? "Yes; I mean, again, I am not making any endorsements, but I don't think that's a hard call at all."

Cheney was - is - much more conservative than I am; heck, she voted with Trump nearly 93% of the time during her career. But she's one of the few politicians who answers the questions she's asked and is not afraid to speak her mind. I wish all of the folks who sat in the classrooms were as accessible. 

See you around campus.