Samuel Case, FISM News
Last week, Congressional Republicans ousted GOP House Chair Liz Cheney from her leadership position following her continued condemnation of former President Donald Trump. Some of the comments her GOP counterparts found inflammatory were that Trump “provoked the violent attack on the Capitol” and is a risk for “inciting further violence.”
The move received various responses from conservative pundits, highlighting the continued debate over Trump and the vision of the Republican party going forward.
For example, the anti-Trump Jonah Goldberg of the Dispatch argues that the booting of Cheney showed hypocrisy on the part of Republicans, saying, “[Trump] gets to behave however he wants, belch out whatever absurdity or slanderous lie he pleases, and it’s okay because that’s who Trump is. But if you dissent, object, or just point it out, you’re the one who is obsessed.”
On the other hand, the more pro-Trump Jesse Kelley of The First believes it was the right move. Kelley said on Twitter that Cheney’s ousting what purely due to her lack of political shrewdness: “Liz Cheney is still in her leadership position if she could have done the one thing that seems to elude so many people: Shut up. It’s not about Trump or anti-Trump or an election or anything else. It’s about her inability to control her mouth. And now she’s gone.”
But political punditry aside, what do Republican voters think about the GOP removing Cheney from her position? According to a recent CBS/YouGov poll 80% of self-identified Republicans agree that Cheney had to go.
Among Republicans who agree that it was the right move, most agree with Jesse Kelley, saying she was not on message with the rest of the party. According to poll, however, Kelley’s wrong when he says “it’s not about Trump or anti-Trump or an election,” because Republicans say her opinions about the 2020 election (57%) and Donald Trump (52%) are also reasons for he demotion.
As far as Trump is concerned, 66% of those polled said “being loyal to Trump” is important in a candidate and even more (89%) say that Republicans should follow his example on the economy.
When it comes to the election, a good portion of Republicans believe the election was fraudulent, with 67% saying Joe Biden is not the legitimate winner of the 2020 presidential election. Despite this, only 37% of Republicans say it’s “very important” candidates say the election was illegitimate.