Liz Cheney
Liz Cheney

Liz Cheney deserves accolades rather than scorn from progressives for her revolt against the Republican party’s cultish worship of Donald Trump and his effort to run roughshod over the US Constitution.

The Wyoming Congresswoman spoke forcefully against Trump’s bid to “delegitimize and undo the legal outcome of the 2020 election.”

She blamed his lies and distortions for provoking the Jan. 6 Capitol Hill riot.

“If you want leaders who will enable and spread his destructive lies, I’m not your person, you have others to choose from. That will be your legacy,” Cheney told her colleagues as they stripped her of the No. 3 GOP leadership post on May 12.

Purer-than-the-driven-snow liberals (Hello, Maureen Dowd) can’t accept Cheney’s war against her party's devotion to Trump and his effort to trample the Constitution.

They cast her as an evil incarnate for backing the war-mongering policies of dad, Dick, conservative social policies and over-the-top criticism of Barack Obama as “the most radical man to occupy the White House.”

Rather than knocking Cheney, progressives should embrace her because the 54-year-old promises to fight to save the Republican party from Trump.

US democracy relies on the functioning two-party system. A robust American political system depends upon a Republican party interested in governing, rather than reflexively opposing any proposal put forward by Democrats.

A strong Republican party also keeps Democratic excesses in check.

In ousting Cheney, spineless Republican leader Kevin McCarthy called for a voice vote so his cowardly colleagues wouldn’t be on the record for rejecting someone who took a stand for democracy.

After that vote, Cheney vowed to “do everything I can to ensure that the former president never again gets near the Oval Office.”

Progressives should help Cheney live up to her pledge.

The Xinhua News Agency, which Reporters Without Borders, says is “at the heart of censorship and disinformation” put into play by China’s communist party, is spending big money to influence American public opinion.

The New China News Agency has finally complied with demands made by the Justice Dept. to register under the Foreign Agents Registration Act.

Its May 5 filing shows spending of more than $8.5M since March 2020 to bankroll bureaus in New York, DC, Houston, Chicago, Los Angeles and San Francisco.

Xinhua disputes the notion that it is an entity tightly controlled by the Government of the People’s Republic of China.

In its filing, Xinhua claims that it is a news organization established as an independent legal entity under Chinese law. It is a “public institution” that is subject to government oversight.

“With only a small portion of its operational funds now coming from the Chinese government, Xinhua is increasingly relying on its own commercial and subscription revenue to sustain its global news operations,” according to the FARA filing.

Xinhua on May 12 certainly lived up to the Reporters Without Borders claim that it is China’s biggest propaganda channel.

It took issue with a report in the New York Times and European media about how plummeting birth rates in China could be one of the communist party’s “gravest and social and economic challenges.”

Xinhua quoted a foreign ministry spokesperson, saying China’s population continues to grow and that it is still the world’s most populous nation.

Spokesperson Hua Chunying noted that China has more people than the US and Europe combined. “I don’t know how the relevant reporters turned into demographers and sociologists, or how they came to the conclusion that China is facing a population crisis,” said Hua.

Note to Hua, the NYT based its story on figures released May 11 by China’s National Bureau of Statistics.

Hua said the western media is hellbent on attacking China at every stage of its development. “I hope those who are keen on concocting various arguments about China can live as healthy and happy as the Chinese people, and welcome and witness the realization of the Chinese dream together.”

Hua should ask Tibetans and the Muslim Uyghurs living in Xinjiang province how that Chinese dream is working out for them.

Former first son-in-law Jared Kushner launched the Abraham Accords Institute on May 4 to promote trade, tourism and people-to-people exchanges between Israel and Arab countries.

Talk about bum timing.

The Institute’s debut came just ahead of the resumption of hostilities between Israel and the Palestinians, which UN envoy Ton Wennesland fears could lead to a “full-scale war.”

The current Middle East carnage underscores the weakness of the Abraham Accords, an agreement that normalized relations between Israel, Bahrain and the UAE—a trio that was not at war.

The Abraham Accords ignored the Palestinians and their quest for an independent state.

The Palestinians, in fact, had no clue about the negotiations leading up Kushner’s treaty.

What did the Abraham Accords give the Palestinians?

They got a promise from Israel prime minister Benjamin Netanyahu to halt rather than abandon the annexation of the West Bank. That is territory that would make up the land of a Palestinian nation.

President Trump hailed the Abraham Accords as a deal “to change the course of history” that will serve as “the foundation for a comprehensive peace across the entire region.”

Those were empty words.

The Abraham Accords may have been a PR win for Trump and his embattled buddy Netanyahu but there won’t be a lasting peace in the Middle East until there is peace between the Israelis and Palestinians.

Jared should put his Institute on hold until the Abraham Accords can be extended to cover the Palestinians and their independent state.