'Be the guardrails of democracy': Liz Cheney and other Never-Trumpers suggest path forward

Never-Trumpers, the conservatives and Republicans who refused to support Donald Trump and his MAGA movement, who chose country over party and, in some cases, have put themselves in possible danger to support Vice President Kamala Harris’s run for the presidency, have some thoughts about the Election Day results—and what, they say, is required of Americans who oppose now President-elect Donald Trump.

At the top of the Never-Trump list is Liz Cheney, the former U.S. Congresswoman who lost her seat after taking one as vice chair of the U.S. House Select Committee on the January 6 Attack. The daughter of a former U.S. Vice President and Secretary of Defense, Cheney chose to cross the aisle and put aside her political beliefs to help protect democracy.

She says that battle must continue, and it will take all of us.

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“Our nation’s democratic system functioned last night and we have a new President-elect,” Cheney wrote on social media. “All Americans are bound, whether we like the outcome or not, to accept the results of our elections. We now have a special responsibility, as citizens of the greatest nation on earth, to do everything we can to support and defend our Constitution, preserve the rule of law, and ensure that our institutions hold over these coming four years. Citizens across this country, our courts, members of the press and those serving in our federal, state and local governments must now be the guardrails of democracy.”

George Conway, an attorney who started the anti-Trump Super PAC named Anti-Psychopath PAC, offered several thoughts.

“We are engulfed by depravity. But it’s more important than ever not to succumb to it,” he wrote.

And he issued this warning: “I’ve always found ‘kakistocracy’ to be an interesting word. I think more and more people will come to appreciate the word in the near future.”

Kakistocracy can be defined as, “government by the least suitable or competent citizens of a state.”

Bill Kristol pointed to his piece today at The Bulwark, “What Will Trump’s Win Mean.”

He wrote: “As Churchill put it: ‘In Defeat: Defiance.’ We’ll have to keep our nerve and our principles…We’ll have to fight politically and to resist lawfully. We’ll have to do our best to limit the damage. And we’ll have to lay the groundwork for future recovery.”

And added: “‘Hope under adverse circumstances.’ That’s what we need. Hope followed by thought and action, all to help bring about a new day for a great nation which has, for now, made a terrible mistake.”

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The Atlantic’s David Frum offered this story, invoking the 1942 classic film, “Casablanca“:

“Eight years ago this night, my son asked me: ‘What do we do now?’ I answered, ‘We walk to the bar, strike up the band, and sing The Marseillaise.’ These past few months, my plan for 2025 was to retire from political journalism. Seems I’ll have to make new plans.”

Joe Walsh, the Tea Party Republican turned independent podcaster who regularly criticizes Republicans and Democrats, offered this: “I was wrong. The people spoke. Donald Trump has won. I’m devastated. I’m sad. But I accept the will of the people. I accept the results of the election. Because I love our democracy. Because I’m an American. That’s what we do.”

“We’re living in a populist moment,” he added. “Trump is a bad populist, a divisive populist, a demagogue, a lying populist. But Democrats have never recognized or understood this populist moment.”

“I’m not surprised because I’ve spoken often on how out of touch Democrats have grown with working class America,” Walsh continued. “But I am surprised because I didn’t think a majority of Americans would put such an utterly horrible human being back in the White House.”

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