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Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) on Friday voiced his concerns about the Republican Party's ousting of Rep. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) as he suggested that the decision may ultimately backfire on his party.
On Friday, May 15, Kinzinger appeared on "The View" where he shared his grievances about House Republicans' vote to oust Cheney. The vote was cast on Wednesday, May 12 after Cheney repeatedly pushed back against former President Donald Trump's baseless claims about the presidential election being stolen and his rhetoric that she believes influenced the insurrection on the U.S. Capitol.
Despite the vote being finalized, Kinzinger believes there will be consequences for the decision. "I believe that by basically deplatforming Liz they've actually given her a massive platform," Kinzinger said when he appeared on the show.
He added, "I think they actually created their worst enemy in … deplatforming her."
The Illinois lawmaker noted that Cheney, before being stripped of her position as the House Republican Chair, made it a priority to "tell the truth obviously" but also "took into account the needs of the whole conference."
However, things are different now because she is "basically out there independently saying what needs to be said, finding whatever media outlet she wants to go on, and I think telling the truth."
Rep. @AdamKinzinger tells @TheView that by removing Rep. Liz Cheney from GOP leadership, the party has “actually gi… https://t.co/JrcApelwgJ— The View (@The View)1621033200.0
Kinzinger went on to argue that the party's decision to support "loser" Trump was "not providing people any kind of a path to the future."
He added, "And standing up and being sane in the Republican party, that's not anything heroic. That's just what people expect of us and unfortunately, there's not many of us doing that at the moment."
The Republican lawmaker's remarks come as Cheney was replaced with Trump loyalist, Rep. Elise Stefanik (R-N.Y.).
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How Ralph Reed made white evangelicals 'synonymous' with the GOP and its most powerful voting bloc
May 16, 2021
During the 1980s, the late Sen. Barry Goldwater of Arizona — arch-conservative Republican, 1964 GOP presidential nominee, and a political role model for future Arizona Sen. John McCain — famously railed against the Christian Right and its growing influence in his party. Goldwater, a blistering critic of the Rev. Jerry Falwell, Sr. and his Moral Majority, believed that far-right White fundamentalist evangelicals were terrible for the GOP and terrible for the conservative movement. But fellow Republicans ignored Goldwater, and the Christian right became the GOP's most powerful voting bloc. One social conservative who did a lot to bring that about was Republican activist Ralph Reed, whose tireless support of the Christian Right is the focus of a new episode of The Atlantic's podcast "The Experiment."
Reed was Goldwater's worst nightmare. While Goldwater and like-minded conservatives and libertarians wanted the Christian right to have less influence in the GOP, Reed has spent decades giving it more influence. And 18 years after Goldwater's 1998 death, Reed aggressively supported Republican Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election and did a lot to rally White evangelicals around that year's Republican nominee.
The Atlantic's Emma Green, interviewed for "The Experiment," explained that Reed "has kind of become this spokesperson for the Christian Right."
According to Green, "You could maybe think of him like Mr. Evangelical…. He was the guy behind the scenes who directed the course of history in a big way."
@TheAtlantic @WNYC Ralph Reed helped transform evangelicals into a political group, one church directory at a time.… https://t.co/ReJp4LeS7q— Emma Green (@Emma Green)1620914291.0
Trump himself is no evangelical. Although raised as a Presbyterian/Mainline Protestant in New York City, Trump has never been especially religious. Having extramarital affairs with an adult film star (Stormy Daniels) and a Playboy model (Karen McDougal) and — according to his former personal attorney Michael Cohen — paying them hush money to keep quiet is hardly the type of thing that pastors openly encourage. But Trump knew how to appeal to the severe tribalism of the Christian right, and Reed defended him aggressively.
During the podcast, Green notes that Reed's political career goes back to the early 1980s — when the Christian right "was in its infancy." The Republican Party, according to Green, was not "synonymous" with the Christian right when Reed campaigned for Ronald Reagan in 1980's presidential election. But that changed, Green adds, thanks in part to Reed's activism.
Before the 1980s, Green points out, the most famous born-against Christian president in the United States was, ironically, Jimmy Carter, a centrist Democrat. But after Carter's presidency, the Christian right movement became inseparable from the GOP.
The Atlantic, describing the podcast, notes, "Trump's election was everything Reed spent his entire career fighting for: a president who was anti–abortion rights, listened to evangelical leaders, and advocated for Christians who felt pushed out of the public square. But Reed's victory had a cost. Many, many Christians have come to feel that their church cares more about politics than Jesus. They have spoken out. They have grieved. And some of them have left."
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NBC's "Saturday Night Live" took on Americans' confusion over new mask guidance from the Centers for Disease Control during the shows cold open.
SNL's Dr. Tony Fauci presented doctors at the CDC who had minored in theater to act out skits to help people understand the implications of the new policy.
The first scene was titled, "man walks into a bar."
"Do I still have to wear a mask indoors?" a man asks.
"You actually do not," a woman replies as he takes off his mask. "Well, as long as you're vaccinated."
"No, I'm not," he replied.
"Then that's bad," she replied.
"Well, I"m entering a bar at 11 am, do you really think I'm vaxxed? Cause that's on you," he said.
"You're right, I deserve COVID," she said.
"And, scene!" he said, followed by them both taking bows.
"I don't know if that's the right takeaway," Fauci interjected.
The next scene ended up with a flight attendant and passenger joining the "mile high club."
Trump insurrectionists and LGBT allies were also covered. Along with dating, masturbation on public transit, and even masks in schools.
As it progressed, Fauci grew frustrated. But he ended with a smile on his face as he insulted the live studio audience.
Watch:
cold open youtu.be
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