To the editor: Then former Vice President Dick Cheney and his daughter, former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.), announced they will vote for Kamala Harris for president.
This action by the Cheneys makes all the Condoleezza Rices, Mitt Romneys and John Boltons of the Republican Party look pathetic for their cowardice in not supporting Vice President Harris. Maybe the Cheneys will help strengthen these people.
Additionally, former President Trump admitted last week that President Biden defeated him “by a hair” in the 2020 election. That is, by a hair of more than 7 million popular votes and 74 electoral votes, nearly the same margin of electoral votes by which he won in 2016, which he called a “landslide” victory.
Is it possible that this admission will finally begin to pierce the MAGA blockade of willful ignorance and force Trump’s base to experience righteous outrage at the dire consequences the Republican Party has suffered as a result of believing this falsehood?
Stopping Trump is certainly the first task, but the entire Republican Party needs to undergo a cataclysmic change before we can truly return to any state of normality in our political life.
Tom Moore, Ventura
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To the editor: If it weren't as serious as this election is, it would be very funny to see Dick Cheney announce that he will vote for the Democrat for president. That party used to hate him more than anyone else.
And as the architect, I believe, of two senseless wars and responsible for countless deaths and dismemberments in those conflicts, who could take him seriously?
Joe Regan, San Marino
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To the editor: A frequently asked question is: why do nearly all Republicans continue to support Trump, despite his lies, conspiracy theories, heinous acts and serious crime convictions?
Political analyst Matthew Dowd, a former Republican strategist, offers a plausible explanation that I agree with: He compared what is happening with Republican acquiescence to Trump to someone who is in an abusive relationship and continues to allow themselves to be mistreated because they see no alternative.
If that analogy is appropriate, and I think it is, then staunch conservative Liz Cheney's declaration that she will not only oppose Trump but plans to vote for Harris, followed by Dick Cheney's declaration that he will also vote for Harris, might give Republicans a safe place to go.
Following Cheney's lead would offer Republicans a chance to reclaim their identity, their party, and their identity.
Richard Cherwitz, Austin, Texas
