The Republican caucus in Congress has made the choice clear: Staying in the GOP leadership requires blind loyalty to former President Donald Trump, truth be damned. Rep. Liz Cheney, the third most powerful House Republican, now faces ouster from her position for choosing honesty and integrity over perpetuating Trump's tired lie that the November election was stolen from him.

The Wyoming Republican and daughter for hawkish former Vice President Dick Cheney tweeted Monday: "The 2020 presidential election was not stolen. Anyone who claims it was is spreading the BIG LIE, turning their back on the rule of law, and poisoning our democratic system." Though this newspaper strongly disagrees with the Cheneys on most issues, there's no distance between us when it comes to taking a principled stand in defense of truth over partisan loyalty.

Cheney went on to state at a closed-door conference: "We can't embrace the notion the election is stolen. It's a poison in the bloodstream of our democracy. ... We can't whitewash what happened on Jan. 6 or perpetuate Trump's Big Lie. It is a threat to democracy. What he did on Jan. 6 is a line that cannot be crossed." She reiterated the overriding importance of defending a peaceful transfer of power.

House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy of California has voiced concerns about Cheney's leadership role. "I've had it with her," he stated on a recording reviewed by the news site Axios. He is expected to call for a vote on Cheney's leadership position as soon as Wednesday.

This would be the second such vote after House Republicans voted on Feb. 3 to let Cheney keep her position after she defended her vote to impeach Trump.

In poll after poll, 70% of Republican voters say they believe the election was stolen by Democrats. McCarthy and other GOP leaders, many of whom condemned Trump for inspiring the Jan. 6 insurrection, are opting to support the stolen-election myth rather than speak truth to Trump's power.

Rep. Lance Gooden, R-Texas, said Tuesday that Cheney is "totally unaligned with the majority of our party." In other words, she is totally unaligned with perpetuating lies.

Cheney's real transgression is that she has exposed her party's hypocrisy. Sen. Mitt Romney of Utah and Rep. Adam Kinzinger of Illinois are among her few Republican defenders.

The chorus of condemnation comes in stark contrast to the uncomfortable silence the GOP caucus is observing as Rep. Matt Gaetz, R-Florida, grapples with investigations of allegations involving sex trafficking of a minor. He continues to hold his position on the Judiciary Committee, which oversees the Justice Department.

In case there's any confusion: Trump lost the election fair and square, regardless of what his base thinks. A party leadership that perpetuates myths and upholds hypocrisy deserves to be held in contempt by the jury of American public opinion.

REPRINTED FROM THE ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH

Photo credit: 12019 at Pixabay