Credit where due

By Dr. E. Faye Williams
TriceEdneyWire.com Columnist

I am undisputedly a political progressive. I am vehemently anti-racist. I am an activist for women’s rights and equity. A primary goal in my life is the increased prospects for communities of color to improve their overall ‘quality of life’ and gain access to all of the rights, benefits, and opportunities available to any other citizen of the wealthiest nation in the world. There are no circumstances in which I can be identified to be aligned with politically conservative principles. I restate these facts because of the thoughts I offer today.

The old adage of “Giving credit where credit is due” dictates today’s musings. I find myself doing something I could have never imagined before last year. With respect to the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack, I commend the actions of Congresswoman Liz Cheney, Congressman Adam Kinzinger, and others whose actions can only be labeled as patriotic.

For those too young or who haven’t yet made the connection, Liz Cheney is the oldest daughter and political clone of arch-conservatives (ex-Vice President) Dick and Lynne Cheney. Her campaign webpage states: “Liz has been a proven constitutional conservative and an advocate for a strong America.” Wikipedia describes her as “a leading ideological conservative…and a representative of the Republican establishment.” Her congressional voting record is 93 percent in support of Trump initiatives. She is a true Republican conservative.

Conspicuously, her conduct as vice-chair of the House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack contradicts her past political positions. Her seat on the committee stands in opposition to the stance of congressional Republicans. She has aggressively rebuffed the alibis of the would-be insurrectionists and has vigorously supported the conventional expectations of the rule of law. Her interrogation of witnesses before the committee has been detailed and incisive. She has become a pariah and antagonist to her own party.

Her opposition to party orthodoxy has led to her removal as Chair of the House Republican Conference and leadership among congressional Republicans. Her participation on the committee has drawn the ire of House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy and the disgraced, twice-impeached ex-president who have orchestrated a primary challenge for her seat in Congress. Yet, despite the on-going hostility and what appears to be an unceremonious end to her political career, Cheney refuses to rollover to those intent on the destruction of the democratic traditions of the nation. For that I commend her.

While offering commendations, I must also commend the courage and personal values of Cassidy Hutchinson, former aide to presidential Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows. In the face of public criticism and the possibility for retribution – both in career potential and physical security – she stood firm for the rule of law and brought the truth of an administration immersed in unethical conduct and corruption to the nation and the world.

Among those who testified before the committee, we cannot forget Ruby Freeman and her daughter, Wandrea “Shaye” Moss. These women, poll workers in Georgia during the 2020 election, were identified and targeted, by name, by Trump. Accused of ballot tampering by Trump and his stooge, Rudy Giuliani, they were threatened with bodily harm, were the victims of home invasion and schemes to extract confessions of malfeasance.

Representative Adam Schiff asked a question that was applicable to all of the committee witnesses. “If the most powerful person in the world can bring the full weight of the presidency down on an ordinary citizen who is merely doing her job, with a lie as big and heavy as a mountain,” he said, “who among us is safe?”

This article originally published in the August 8, 2022 print edition of The Louisiana Weekly newspaper.