Book Review: Oath and Honor: A Memoir and a Warning
by Liz Cheney
Defeating Donald Trump is the cause of our time—thus concluded Elizabeth Lynne Cheney, after a breathtaking account of the damage Trump has caused and the danger he continues to present as long as he is active. With extensive detail of objective facts from Republican sources, Liz Cheney demonstrates conclusively in this book that “Republicans cannot be both loyal to Donald Trump and loyal to the Constitution.” The author also illustrates how some Republicans have not succumbed to Trump’s threats of violence and other retribution, even though their party has been stolen from them by the MAGA forces that have captured it. Even as Cheney acknowledges the substantive policy differences between regular Republicans and Democrats, those differences did not prevent any of those on the House Select Committee to Investigate the January 6th Attack on the United States Capitol from working together constructively—to reveal to the US public the damage and threat to the Republic deliberately caused by Trump himself.
Although January 6, 2021 is now history, that threat is still active. Billionaire funded right wing propaganda outlets are working overtime to keep as many in the MAGA camp as possible, using scare tactics, lies, and gaslighing. In like manner hostile nations continue their work to generate inter-group conflict on social media, including posting inflammatory false information from bots and malicious human actors. These are part of concerted attempts at information warfare—the conscious tactic of those such as Steve Bannon, Stephen Miller, and Trump himself. Congresswoman Cheney illustrated the results of those activities well in describing her experiences with constituents, including the significant role of specific social media and broadcast outlets in fomenting the January 6th insurrection.
Fortunately, in addition to Liz Cheney, there are those clarifying the issues and countering this deliberate disinformation and emotional manipulation—including but not limited to Mary Trump (the former president’s niece), Ruth Ben-Ghiat (with the Lucid blog), and George Lakoff (with FrameLab). These counter efforts are essential antidotes to the untruthful propaganda that floods too many zones, and supporting them could make the difference in reaching people who are not yet awakened to the imminent threat described in this book.
With the US Republican Party currently being run by outright fascists and those who value personal power over principle, it is clear Republicans must be kept from positions of power until they reform. Although the Democratic Party has flaws of its own (different people will name different flaws), none of these rise to the level of threat to the Republic itself, as is the case with the Republicans—at this point, the Democrats are the only viable option for anyone who cares to improve the future. What will happen to the US political party system as events unfold is anyone’s guess—let’s work to ensure it provides voice to all of goodwill across the spectrum of constructive ideas.