Liz Cheney speaks at UB

Before we left Clarence, we regularly attended the University at Buffalo’s Distinguished Speaker Series. We never really went back after Covid.

Wes Moore before he was governor. Sen. Mark Kelly when he was just an astronaut. Liz Murray who went from homeless to Harvard. It was almost always rewarding.

Last night was a return to that Liz Cheney, former Wyoming Congressperson and Republican caucus leader in the House has been a consistent target for our President and his followers because she stood up as a Republican over January 6, an act that ultimately became her downfall because who still has morals, ethics and a spine.

UB President Carolyn Attardo Genco introduced Cheney. Genco has a cool last name but is not related to this writer. Cheney thanked Dr. Genco but pronounced her name with a hard G, a common mistake.

The sold out crowd seemed mostly there to grasp some sense of normalcy from from the chaos of the current Washington environment.

Cheney hit directly at the establishment, from bringing applause with a “how about those election results” to sharing reverence for the Capital Rotunda, which feels almost like a sacred cathedral and has murals by John Trumble.

She spoke of two specifically, one depicting George Washington resigning his commission rather than continuing as leader, because he didn’t want to be a king, the other depicted signers of the Constitution.

She spoke about creeping authoritarianism and wannabe autocrats in the White House hurting our nation.

“I am a Conservative,” Cheney said, “I believe the private sector is the engine of growth in our economy.”

There are two main issues she sees with the current state of affairs, 1) The current administration messing with state control of elections and 2) The office of President being held by someone who advances personal interests over doing what they think is best for the country, a significant departure from Presidents Biden and Obama.

She also sees real questions not being asked, for example, if we are getting billions from selling  Venezuelan oil, where are they? Why is it OK to import beef when our farmers are hurting?

After she spoke, Cheney took questions from the audience as well as a moderator Claudine Ewing of WGRZ who was not introduced.

Cheney said one change she would like to see in the House would be a Constitutional boot camp for new representatives because of how much ignorance there is with our founding document.

She also refused to answer whether she would run for President. There remains a chance. Her candidacy would be a return to traditional Conservative roots and away from fascism.

She offered three ideas to fix Democracy, two serious: 1) Elect a new President and 2) Establish guardrails for the 2028 election so that whomever is elected understands the importance of respecting the Constitution and separation of powers. 3) Peel off all the gold crap.

As for monetary policy, Cheney said she advocates for equality of opportunity, not income. She did not answer my question about uncapping the House so our bicameral legislature more accurately reflects the vision of our founders. Right now, states like Wyoming have an excessive voice in the House or Representatives while more populous states like Illinois, Texas and Florida are underrepresented.