Representative Cheney voted to impeach President Trump last week despite her Republican colleagues pushing her to step down.
Cheney said her vote was not about politics.
“It was very clear to me that there was no option other than voting to impeach,” Cheney said.
According to Cheney, she has been making countless phone calls in the time leading up to this in order to talk to people about the vote, which she doesn’t view as a partisan vote.
“Lively debate over the right course of action is key to the way our political process functions,” history professor Isadora Helfgott said. “Partisan debate within parties is and always has been crucial to how policies get made and how the democratic process works.”
Cheney said, “There are some things that should never be partisan: the defense of our Constitution, the defense of our republic, the defense of the peaceful transfer of power, ensuring the Constitution and the constitutional duties are carried out–those must always be carried out.”
Cheney said the insurrection caused problems that neither party can ignore because of the destruction of a sacred spot to our Republic.
“The President of the United States summoned this mob, assembled the mob, and lit the flame of this attack. Everything that followed was his doing. None of this would have happened without the President. The President could have immediately and forcefully intervened to stop the violence. He did not. There has never been a greater betrayal by a President of the United States of his office and his oath to the Constitution,” Cheney said.
Pro-impeachment and anti-impeachment republicans will eventually find common ground.
Political Science Professor Jim King said, “Historically, parties have found ways to reach agreement and to find common ground within the political party to move forward. The divisions are not strong enough to cause divisions.”
“It was absolutely in my mind high crimes and misdemeanors; there’s simply no question. This is a vote that has nothing to do with party or politics,” Cheney said.
Professor King explained disagreements within a party during impeachments is expected.
“It is not a situation where all republicans vote one way and all democrats vote another way on an issue,” King said. “There are people that cross lines on particular issues that affect their state or district differently.
“This was not a situation where a majority of the republicans switched sides–there were 10. There were a couple who voted against Clinton’s impeachment. There are always going to be some exceptions and, in this instance, there were 10 republicans that didn’t vote with the rest of their colleagues. Unusual but not unprecedented either.”
