Liz Cheney Will Not Save Us
Liz Cheney is wrong about everything.
After all, she is a Republican.
Even though she may at times seem like the voice of reason and is one half of the two Republicans on the January 6th Insurrection Committee, the Wyoming Congresswoman will not save us from Trumpism.
Because she is wrong about everything. Always.
And the media fails to see this.
Her latest “I’m not really a moderate but I play one on TV” moment came in a recent interview with 60 Minutes. (Which, apparently, is still on TV. Does anyone actually watch it anymore?)
Responding to critics who say Cheney should not be on the January 6th Committee because she is putting a spotlight on Donald Trump, which gives him oxygen and fuels his stupidity, and that if she would just ignore him, he would go away, she says the opposite is true.
“Those who think that by ignoring Trump, he will go away, have been proven wrong,”Cheney said on the program. “And in my view, the American people, they deserve better than having to choose between what I think are the really disastrous policies of Joe Biden – in a whole range of areas, really bad for our economy.”
You see Liz, that’s where you are wrong. There is no proof that ignoring Trump will have no effect. You know how I know? Because no one has ignored him yet. Certainly not the media. He’s still the subject of one or more stories on all the Sunday shows, every week. He’s still the subject of at least one segment of the prime-time cable shows every night.
A quick look at the websites of some major news outlets reveals that many of them have an entire page – and in some cases, pages – devoted to all things Trump, with “News, Commentary and Analysis” as CNN has. Or the “Donald Trump News and Videos” page at ABCnews, to name just two examples.
This is what they consider ignoring him?
He is still covered as if he is an elder statesman in the Republican Party. As if he’s a rational human being whose every utterance is worthy of scrutiny. His Covid-19 spreading rallies are still covered as if there may actually be some news to come out of them.
Rather than treating him like the twice-impeached, failed politician that he is, the media treats him like he actually has something worthwhile to contribute to society.
He does not.
He definitely should be ignored. He’s not worth the air-time.
Also in the 60 Minutes interview, Cheney admitted that she was wrong when in 2013 she came out against gay marriage (PDF file). She apparently has evolved and now supports it. That’s nice Liz, even if it took you eight years to wake up.
Of course, every news article, television broadcast and cable news show thinks this is the important takeaway from Cheney’s interview, not that fact that she thinks ignoring Trump will do nothing.
Her evolving on gay marriage is newsworthy, I guess. But it’s more newsworthy to note that she thinks there’s nothing we can do about Trump. That he’s here forever to poison your airwaves.
It’s more newsworthy to note that she has no way of testing her theory on ignoring him because we have, in fact, not even begun to ignore him.
It’s possible she could be right about this one. But I doubt it.
But we’ll never know until we actually stop covering all his bullshit and stupidity. If the media must cover him, they should wait until there’s actual news – like when he gets indicted for his many financial crimes and/or his part in the Insurrection.
Until then he should be treated like the failed human being that he is.
He should be ignored.
By everyone.
Especially the media.