Democrats continue to despise Republican Dick Cheney for his resolute support of the Iraq War throughout his time as vice president. However, this week he endorsed Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris, putting aside his partisan allegiances in an unprecedented manner.
Democrats saw the sudden removal of U.S. attorneys under Alberto Gonzales’s leadership with great skepticism, and arguments over invasive government surveillance engulfed his tenure in George W. Bush’s administration. But even the ex-AG is choosing Harris over Trump, the Republican.
With these endorsements, the extraordinary transformation of the Republican establishment wing—which had dominated Washington under Bush but had been pushed to the sidelines since Trump took over the party—was crystallized. These individuals, who were once despised by Democrats, are now willing to fight against their own party’s presidential candidate because they are terrified of the former president’s return to power.
By doing so, they are providing Harris with a crucial opportunity to increase her support base.
According to Will Marshall, founder of the center-left Progressive Policy Institute, “It’s easier for prominent Republicans like Cheney and Gonzales to say, ‘I support Kamala Harris.'” This is due to the fact that, in essence, their old home has been plundered and destroyed. Despite the inherent partisanship in both houses of Congress, “the ties of partisanship, which are always strong in both parties, are attenuated” (Trump, p. 2021).
The president himself will not do the same. According to a representative, the ex-president will not be openly endorsing any candidates or revealing his voting intentions.
Republicans, with whom Harris has few commonalities, have endorsed her, and their support is probably motivated more by their dislike of Trump than by their agreement with her policy views. In an email that emphasized Gonzales’ support, her campaign said that it welcomed “every American – regardless of party – who values democracy and the rule of law.” She often brings up the fact that over 200 Republicans have backed her.
Speaking at last month’s Democratic convention, former Georgia Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan—a Republican who endorsed Harris—said that the influence of “card-carrying, time-tested Republicans” supporting Harris could convince other Republicans who oppose Trump to cast ballots against him instead of abstaining from the election.
“I am uncertain if we persuade someone to switch from Trump to Harris,” Duncan remarked. “My opinion is that we can persuade someone to vote for Kamala Harris, rather than remaining at home and not casting a ballot.”
Who the Republicans will be able to influence is anybody’s guess.
It is unclear, however, how much actual power Republicans really have, particularly in light of raw emotions and Cheney’s divisive character that has persisted over decades in Washington.
On “The Daily Show,” comedian Jon Stewart made fun of Cheney’s endorsement, calling the former vice president an expletive and yelling, “You came this close to destroying the entire world,” as the Harris team reveled in the support. We were so near.
“You mean that endorsement isn’t going to influence anybody?” Stewart insisted. “The Democrats’ child tax credit program is great, but are they targeting enough Middle Eastern nations with their bombs?”
For a long time, the idea of Cheney voting for the Democrats was incomprehensible. He was vice president, defense secretary, and chief of staff for three Republican presidents.
Among Cheney’s many charges leveled by Democrats was his close association with the defense contracting firm Halliburton, which he had previously helped lead. Another issue was his involvement in the leak of the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame, whose husband was the ambassador and who questioned the U.S. intelligence that was used to justify the Iraq invasion.
Even Peggy Noonan, who had been a copywriter for Reagan and a veteran of Bush’s reelection campaign, thought Cheney might have to step down when he shot a friend in 2006 while on a hunting trip.
“At a certain point, a hate magnet can draw so much hate you don’t want to hold it in your hand anymore, you want to drop it,” she wrote then in the Wall Street Journal.
Although Bush served two terms, Cheney remained in office.
“The fact that Cheney is now seen as a mainstream Republican is a sad reflection on that party and even more justification to ensure that Trump and the Republicans do not gain control in 2024,” stated Adam Green, co-founder of the Progressive Change Campaign Committee.
Regarding the accusation that the Bush administration had intentionally lied to the public regarding the existence of WMD, Cheney characterized them as “opportunists” and called it “one of the most dishonest and reprehensible charges ever aired” in Washington. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) rebuked him for saying that the Democrats’ stance on the war will “validate the al-Qaida approach” later on.