BHC Republicans vote to censure Rep. Cheney

Big Horn County Republican Party leaders voted unanimously on Monday night to join a number of other Wyoming counties in censuring U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney for her recent vote in favor of the impeachment of President Donald Trump.

The resolution from the Central Committee of the Big Horn County Republican Party has since been forwarded to the State Central Committee, which meets Friday and Saturday in Rawlins, according to Scott Brown.  A resident of Lovell, Brown serves as Big Horn County’s state central committeeman, where he’s joined as a voting member by his wife who is state committeewoman and BHC Republican Party Chairman Gary Welch.

The approval of the censure came during an “emergency” Zoom session which Brown described as being “probably the most well attended meeting we’ve had since the convention last spring,” with about 16 people listening in and participating.

“Of the people who commented — I think there were nine of them — all were very much in favor of the resolution,” he said.  He acknowledged that there was one non-voting Republican who asked that the committee hold off until Cheney has had a chance to tell her side of the story.  Brown said he and other Big Horn County GOPers have tried reaching out to Cheney, but have not received a response.

The two-page resolution states contends “an extremely vocal majority of Wyoming Republicans recognize that there was significant irregularities in the election process in several states across the country” and that the Articles of Impeachment against the president “were filed and voted on by members of the U.S. House of Representatives with no formal hearings held, no quantifiable evidence presented, no witnesses sworn to give testimony and no right to cross-examine the accusers provided.”

Cheney “ignored and violated caucus rules” by announcing her intent to vote in favor of the impeachment “prior to having any evidence presented to the body.”

The resolution goes on to state that “no evidence exists that President Trump has ever called for a violent response to political opposition” and that “ample video evidence suggests the riot at the U.S. Capitol was instigated by Antifa and BLM radicals” and that the FBI has uncovered “evidence the incursion was planned weeks in advance of the Jan. 6 rally and President Trump’s speech.

By taking the action that she did, Cheney “violated the trust of her voters, failed to faithfully represent a very large majority of motivated Wyoming voters and neglected her duty to represent the party and the will of the people who elected her to represent them.

“The consequences of Rep. Cheney’s actions have resulted in numerous Republicans in Big Horn County and across Wyoming indicating that they will either no longer actively participate in the Republican party, are stepping down from precinct representative positions within the party or have already changed their voter registration and left the party entirely (because of, or as long as) Rep. Cheney holds office.”

Brown said the resolution coming out of Big Horn County, as well as other counties, includes an invitation to Rep. Cheney to “explain her actions” at the spring meeting of the state central committee.

Brown said if Cheney would have waited to get all of the evidence, she might have reached a different conclusion on whether to impeach the president. He acknowledged the possibility that people who listened to Trump’s speech eventually made it over to the Capitol and barged their way in, but doesn’t believe they weren’t the ones who initially breached it.

He left no doubt about where he stands on Cheney’s bid for re-election in 2022, saying, “I and everyone I’ve talked to except for one person will be making sure that she does not go back to Washington.”