The conservative House Freedom Caucus is calling for the removal of Representatives Liz Cheney of Wyoming and Adam Kinzinger of Illinois from the Republican caucus in an effort to punish the pair for joining the committee investigating the January 6th attack on the U.S. Capitol.
Montanta Representative Matt Rosendale added that the pair deserve to be "eliminated" from the Republican conference, after having "surrendered" their right to participate.
South Carolina Representative Ralph Norman reportedly also shared this striking analogy: "What if you had a football game and two players, just all of a sudden, kept the same uniform and started playing for another team? That's what we got with these two members."
It came two days after Ohio Representative Jim Jordan asked, "What's the difference between Democrats and Never Trumpers?"
For starters, Kinzinger voted with Trump more than 90% of the time, and Cheney voted with Trump roughly 93% of the time.
They have simply agreed to examine the most serious attack on the U.S. Capitol since the War of 1812, at the invitation of the Speaker of the House.
That's it. That's their transgression. That's the proof that they've become members of "another team."
"What's the difference between Democrats and Never Trumpers?" Well, in the case of Cheney and Kinzinger, the difference is these two House Republicans believe in democracy, and recognize the threat the former president poses to our system of government, but on matters of policy and governing, Democrats, Kinzinger, and Cheney have very little in common.
Ronald Reagan said, "The person who agrees with you 80% of the time is a friend and an ally, not a 20% traitor." A generation later, many House Republicans have come to believe their own colleagues, who agree with them more than 90% of the time, are nevertheless traitors if they care about the facts surrounding an attack on the Capitol.
Once again, GOP lawmakers are eager to prove that Republicans are a post-policy party, and they are succeeding beautifully.