You know who just hates identity politics and is always berating the Democratic Party over it? Yes, the Republican Party. They would never have their one and only Senator go on TV to respond to Biden's speech. And now that Trump (and Tucker) have forced McCarthy to fire Liz Cheney from her leadership position, the Republican party is looking for someone to replace her who's the most qualified, right? Well, kind of sort of... the most qualified girl.
Or, as Scott Wong and Mike Lillis put it yesterday in their report for The Hill, "House Republicans have a gender problem, and it is increasingly an issue as the drama around Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) engulfs the conference. Republicans are actively plotting Cheney’s ouster as chairwoman of the House Republican Conference over her repeated criticisms of Trump, but doing so would remove the only woman on Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy's (R-CA) leadership team. It’s an awkward reality for a party vying to win back female suburban voters in next year’s midterm elections, at a time when there are fewer than three-dozen women in the 212-strong GOP conference. The thorny dynamics have already prompted one male prospect-- Indiana neo-fascist Jim Banks-- to abandon plans to seek the seat if Cheney is removed-- and given Republicans a broader sense of urgency to replace her with another woman." LOL... that's exactly what the GOP is always accusing progressives off doing. What do they call that again? Ah, yeah, affirmative action! Very progressive of the House fascists!
Jackie Walorski (R-IN) and Elise Stefanik (R-NY), two Trump ass-kissers and Ann Wagner (R-MO) who is ever so slightly more independent-- disqualifying her-- are campaigning for the job. Stefanik has the inside track... which prompted a new video from the Republican Accountability Project.
Jason Smith (R-MO) says he's still running and the whispered jokes around Capitol Hill revolve around him being OK since he's a closet queen (to a Republican, almost a lady). Another far right extremist-- wya to the right of McCarthy or even Scalise, Mike Johnson of Louisiana, also wants to job. One pissed off GOP boy, afraid to say so publicly told The Hill that "Many in the conference are offended being told that we are ineligible because we are men. There are several very capable members who are interested in having conversations and reject the notion that it has to be a woman."
Other Republicans are worried the party will lose a powerful asset by dumping Cheney.
“They need a Liz Cheney in there somewhere. They need to show to the non-Trump Republicans, who they need in the suburbs, that the party has the welcome mat out for some Republican voters who are maybe not completely sold on Trump and ended up defecting,” said [former NRCC chair Tom] Davis. “On the other hand, you've got to have leaders working together, not across purposes.”
“She took her vote [to impeach Trump],” he added. “I think it behooves her not to rub it in every opportunity she gets.”
The early jockeying comes amid a fresh push by McCarthy allies to oust Cheney from the leadership team. The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, Liz Cheney easily beat back an effort by a small group of Trump loyalists in February to force her out after she joined the charge to impeach the 45th president for egging on a mob of his supporters that carried out the violent Jan. 6 attack on the Capitol.
But in recent days and weeks, Cheney has continued to speak out against Trump, McCarthy and their allies, warning that their “big lie” that the 2020 election was rigged and stolen is “poisoning our democratic system.”
McCarthy and his allies have argued that Cheney, who is in charge of GOP messaging, has become too much of a distraction, highlighting divisions in the party and undermining their efforts to retake control of the House next year.
“I've had it with her. You know, I've lost confidence,” McCarthy told a Fox News host in an off-camera exchange that was caught on a hot mic, Axios reported. “Well, someone just has to bring a motion” to oust her, “but I assume that will probably take place."
The House returns from its recess on May 12, and lawmakers are expecting a vote on Cheney’s future shortly thereafter.
Stefanik is already on Trump’s radar, which could give her an edge in a coming race.
A former staffer in George W. Bush’s White House, Stefanik made history in 2014 by becoming the youngest woman elected to Congress; she was just 30. Representing a large rural northern New York district that twice went for former President Obama, Stefanik burnished a reputation as a moderate and was one of a trio of leaders of the centrist GOP Tuesday Group.
But as Trump grew in popularity back home, Stefanik embraced the MAGA crowd. Her national star rose in 2019 when she became one of the loudest and most visible Trump defenders during his first impeachment. A member of the House Intelligence Committee, she tangled with one of Trump’s chief antagonists, Chairman Adam Schiff (D-CA), during the panel’s hearings, and she picked apart prosecutors’ arguments during news conferences and on social media as impeachment moved to the Senate trial.
“A new Republican Star is born. Great going @EliseStefanik!” Trump tweeted to her at the time.
Some Cheney allies are warning Republicans not to count her out just yet. Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-IL), one of nine other Republicans who joined Cheney in impeaching Trump, is still standing with Cheney and will vote to keep her as conference chair.
I wouldn't be surprised if some of the 9 vote against her. I wonder if it will be a secret ballot. Pelosi's office had some fun with this yesterday, releasing a mock GOP Help Wanted ad:
