If Rep. Liz Cheney thought the “strange new respect” she garnered from the left-wing media over the last several months would be long-lasting, she’s learning quickly that’s not the case. Apparently, simply being anti-Trump doesn’t mean much if you choose to not toe the line on every single issue.

With that said, I regret to inform all of you that the honeymoon is over.

Liz Cheney refuses to link Trump’s false election claims and GOP’s push for new voting restrictions https://t.co/lweJRFnz20

— The Washington Post (@washingtonpost) May 24, 2021

Who could have possibly foreseen this except everyone paying attention? This is the problem with seeking backslaps from Chuck Todd, Jake Tapper, The Washington Post, and the rest of the mainstream media. As a Republican, you are always just a tool for them to advance their left-wing narrative. To the extent that you may play into that, they will laud you. The moment you step out of line on any policy issue, though, the knives will come out. These people were never going to love you.

Cheney, despite being virulently anti-Trump and having terrible foreign policy views, is not a liberal. I know it’s easy to think in those kinds of absolutes, but Cheney’s big problem wasn’t her voting record. It was her inability to put her personal wants and ambitions aside to lead the party she was ostensibly serving. Because of that, it was always a forgone conclusion that she would say something that would rile the left-wing media to the point where they would throw her overboard.

Even the Post’s framing is nonsense. None of the new laws, including in Georgia, “restrict” voting. They simply put in place safeguards and mandate procedures (such as how many drop boxes they’ll be, deadlines for returns, etc.) that had been more or less developed on the fly during the pandemic last year. Cheney recognizes that and isn’t willing to burn what little credibility she has left by going full Adam Kinzinger. To that extent, I suppose she deserves at least a modicum of credit.

Don’t be fooled, though. The press isn’t going to stop using Cheney as a proxy to hammer Republicans with because of her stance on this issue. While the honeymoon is over, they’ll be right back to booking her on their shows this weekend – but they’ll be keeping her on the topics that give them the fodder they need. It’d be nice if she’d realize she was being used and stop purposely harming her own party (and subsequently helping the Democrats), but that doesn’t look likely to happen. Cheney understands that her political career is nearing its end, and she has to plan a path forward. That path will likely end up somewhere on K Street or as a contributor on CNN. After all, it’s not like she wants to go to Wyoming.