Former Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) delivered a major election bombshell when she announced that her father — former Vice President Dick Cheney — was planning to join her in voting for Vice President Kamala Harris in November.
Many MAGA Republicans have been attacking the Cheneys as RINOs (Republicans in Name Only) following their Harris endorsements. But former Republican National Committee Chairman Michael Steele slammed such attacks as silly during a Friday appearance on MSNBC.
Asked to weigh in on the Liz and Dick Cheney endorsements, Steele — a Never Trump conservative who is also supporting Harris — told MSNBC's José Díaz-Balart, "I think it's profoundly important."
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The former RNC chair continued, "I know some people look at it and go, 'Oh, OK, it's not going to move the needle.' It actually does. I think it affirms the permission structure that many of us who remain in the Republican Party — and certainly, those who have left — have tried to create for Republicans and center-right independent voters to say it's OK…. It is not a profound stain on your political heritage if you vote for a Democrat.
“As Liz admitted, she's never voted for a Democrat before. And for a lot of Republicans, that's a big step."
Steele found it laughable that some MAGA Republicans call him a RINO these days, as he has been a Republican since Gerald Ford was president.
"Yeah, I'm OG, there we go," the former RNC chairman told Díaz-Balart. "Right here. You got one on the show. OG. I'm OG. I joined the party in 1976. All of these pretenders, you know, who've come, calling someone like me a RINO need to step it down a little bit. Because you haven't done the work…. This is not about: oh yeah, now, I'm a Democrat for Kamala Harris."
Steele continued, "No, I'm an American who's going to elect a president who actually gives a damn about the Constitution and doesn't want to tear it up, and doesn't want to be a dictator on Day one or for just a day. Because we know that's not real."
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Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley is now supporting Trump after being so critical of him during the final weeks of her presidential campaign — a change Steele finds ridiculous.
Steele said of Haley, "Just stop it. There is no comparison between Kamala Harris and Donald Trump on any planet. So stop faking it. You made your bed, now own it."
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