Now not chained to a celebration whose leaders have deserted its core values and ideas, Cheney is now poised to grow to be the Obi-Wan Kenobi of American politics. Like Kenobi’s well-known line in “Star Wars,” “For those who strike me down, I shall grow to be extra highly effective than you possibly can probably think about,” uttered moments earlier than he is killed by Darth Vader, the identical can now even be stated about Cheney.
However together with her rejection from Republican voters in Wyoming comes an unparalleled alternative for President Joe Biden and the Democrats, and one they need to not squander.
We do not agree with a lot, if any, of Cheney’s politics, however at this level, when our democracy is hanging on by a naked thread, ideas trump coverage, and we commend Cheney for sticking to her weapons amid a hail of incoming fireplace.
In her concession speech on Tuesday, Cheney made no formal commitments about what the long run might maintain for her past her work as co-chair of the January sixth Committee, however her speech left the door broad open for any variety of strikes down the street.
She invoked the identify of President Abraham Lincoln, a Republican who misplaced a US Senate bid just a few years earlier than profitable the presidency — a transfer that certainly added to already rampant hypothesis that she too would possibly search the nation’s highest workplace.
However primarying Trump just isn’t Cheney’s finest play. Neither is operating as an impartial, a transfer that may really serve Trump’s pursuits by splitting the conservative anti-Trump vote. And positively, what the nation doesn’t want is one other ex-pol turned TV pundit.
Cheney’s smartest transfer can be to hitch the Biden administration in a bespoke senior-level function the place her mandate is evident: coordinate the combat totally free and honest elections and wage all-out battle in opposition to the anti-American and undemocratic forces that Trumpism has unleashed. Cheney is the perfect crusader on this combat.
Such a transfer by Biden actually has ample precedent. Each Presidents Invoice Clinton and Barack Obama appointed notable Republicans to serve of their Cupboards. The symbolism of bringing members from an opposing occasion into an administration is a robust sign of bipartisanship, placing the nation forward of occasion. Putting a high-profile conservative like Cheney in a senior-level place can be a strong sign to our nation’s shared, bipartisan dedication to the rule of regulation and the fitting to free and honest elections.
It is a perilous time for our democracy, and Biden ought to acknowledge that Cheney could be a nationwide pressure for good by taking the helm of our nation’s combat to push again the darkish, homegrown forces and ideologies that threaten our future. It is clear that, regardless of her Tuesday evening main defeat, her star continues to shine brightly.
Biden can be well-served to behave decisively and harness her star energy.
