During a panel discussion on CNN Thursday, Republican strategist Alice Stewart was confronted by former Ted Cruz staffer Amanda Carpenter over the GOP’s effort to purge Rep. Liz Cheney (R-WY) from House leadership for her defiance of the former president’s election lies.
During the discussion, Stewart insisted that “the conference deserves someone who is going to unite the conference and help them win back the House in 2022.”
Carpenter fired back, saying: “This is the dumb, stupid, tribalism that got us into this mess,” “The dumb, stupid tribalism where people can say, I will support Donald Trump no matter what because red team, yeah, blue team, bad. I mean, this is why we have to break this up. And Liz Cheney is not going to sacrifice an ounce of her conservative policy beliefs because she knows how to put country first. National security, democracy, our institutions are what unite us as a country, as Americans. Not getting behind a big lie and covering up for an insurrection because we wear a red hat.”
“I’ve said this from election night on. The election was free and fair,” said Stewart. “And when Donald Trump lost and Joe Biden won, he is the free and fair winner. I applauded him. I support him. He is our president of the United States. Why more Republicans don’t acknowledge that, I don’t know. But what is big and dumb and stupid, Amanda, is for republicans to go back and continue to relitigate the past instead of unite … the midterm elections need to be about policy and not the past.”
“I think protecting our institutions is a policy,” said Carpenter. “I think when it comes to telling lies where people get into the voting booth, that’s a policy. I think when people rant back voting rights based on big lies, that’s a policy. And I don’t agree with those policies. Maybe you do.”
Watch the exchange below, via CNN.
