Cheney is making clear that she believes that anyone who voted for -- or supported -- the objections to the Electoral College count early this year simply cannot be seriously considered as future leaders of the party.

And that covers a WHOLE lot of people. After all, almost 150 Republicans -- 139 House Members and eight senators -- voted to object to the Electoral College certification in Pennsylvania, Arizona or both. And since Cheney specifically mentioned the senators who voted to object to the results, here they are:

• Tommy Tuberville (Alabama)
• Rick Scott (Florida)
• Roger Marshall (Kansas)
• John Kennedy (Louisiana)
• Cindy Hyde-Smith (Mississippi)
• Josh Hawley (Missouri)
• Ted Cruz (Texas)
• Cynthia Lummis (Wyoming)

Three of those eight quite clearly have 2024 ambitions: Scott, Hawley and Cruz. In fact, their opposition to the Electoral College count was almost certainly fueled by their presidential ambitions -- knowing that Trump, who continues to insist sans proof that the election was stolen from him, is still the most revered figure (by a lot) within the GOP. The easiest path to the 2024 nomination, then, is to court Trump base voters. And the way to do that is to keep saying there were major questions about the 2020 election -- even though that is simply false.

In a Quinnipiac University poll in February, 76% of self-identified Republicans agreed with the statement that there was "widespread fraud in the 2020 election."

What that proves is that Cheney is in the minority, again, within her party. While she continues to push the envelope on what January 6 meant -- and how it should be a defining moment in the history of the GOP -- others like House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (California) are actively trying to rewrite the history of that day in a way more favorable to Trump.

[cnn.com]