LIZ ISN'T – AT 6:40 P.M. ET:  Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, was ousted from her leadership position among House Republicans today.  It is a very rare move by a political party, but Liz's insistence on continuing her campaign against former President Trump played a large role.  From Fox: 

House Republicans ousted Rep. Liz Cheney Wednesday morning in a closed-door vote from the No. 3 spot from leadership -- but the Wyoming Republican remained defiant on the way out.

Cheney had remained steadfast in her opposition to former President Donald Trump and his "dangerous lies" about the 2020 election being stolen from him -- putting her at odds with other House Republicans who wanted to move on from the Jan. 6 riot and unite the party to win in the 2022 midterms.

Cheney was removed by a voice vote and took a swing at Trump after the Capitol meeting.

"I will do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets anywhere near the Oval Office," Cheney said after the vote. "We have seen the danger that he continues to provoke with his language. We have seen his lack of commitment and dedication to the Constitution, and I think it's very important that we make sure whomever we elect, is somebody who will be faithful to the Constitution."

An election on who will replace Cheney will occur at a later date. Rep. Elise Stefanik, R-N.Y., is the front runner who has the endorsement of Trump and the top two GOP leaders: Reps. Kevin McCarthy and Steve Scalise.

Trump praised the decision to remove Cheney immediately after the vote and attacked the Wyoming congresswoman and daughter of the former vice president.

"Liz Cheney is a bitter, horrible human being," Trump said in a statement. "I watched her yesterday and realized how bad she is for the Republican Party. She has no personality or anything good having to do with politics or our country. She is a talking point for Democrats."

COMMENT:  It's very sad.  Liz Cheney comes from a great political tradition, and has strongly supported the basic positions of conservatism.  But her obsessive hatred of Trump, which, as you just read, was heartily returned, made it impossible for her to remain in a leadership position.   She was too divisive at a time when the GOP needs unity to move toward next year's election.  It doesn't need martyrs.

Whether Liz has a future with the party will depend on two things – 1) whether she can be re-elected to the House from Wyoming, where her anti-Trumpism has made her controversial; and 2) whether she can make an important enough contribution to be seen as too valuable to lose.  That is a tough order.

May 12,  2021