“Remaining silent and ignoring the lie emboldens the liar. I will not sit back and watch in silence while others lead our party down a path that abandons the rule of law and joins the former president’s crusade to undermine our democracy.” So said Liz Cheney on Tuesday night, hours before being ousted from her GOP leadership position. She was right that the lie emboldens, but she should have said liars, plural. The adherence to the big election lie and the choosing of authoritarianism over democracy is hardly restricted to a single liar at this point. This movement is broader than ever, and after today’s move against Cheney, more dangerous than ever.

+ Peter Wehner, who served in three Republican administrations, in the NYT: “Liz Cheney understands that only a decisive break with Mr. Trump will stop the continuing moral ruination of the Republican Party. But her break with the former president, while courageous, came too late to change anything. She is trying to rally an army that doesn’t exist … Declaring fealty to a lie has become the single most important test of loyalty in today’s Republican Party. Everyone recognizes this, but from time to time we need to stop to register its true significance.”

+ Jeff Flake in WaPo: In today’s Republican Party, there is no greater offense than honesty.

+ How bad is it? Here’s Rep. Andrew Clyde of Georgia explaining that there was no insurrection and January 6th basically looked like any other tourist day at the Capitol.

+ Today, the GOP traded conservatism, democracy, and truth for this Tweet from party up and comer Madison Cawthorn. “Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey, goodbye Liz Cheney.” (He’s one “hey” short of reality. For these guys, being truthful and accurate is like finding a needle in a hey stack.)