Rep. Liz Cheney

Leaders of the Park County Republican Party voted overwhelmingly to “fire” U.S. Rep. Liz Cheney on Thursday, telling Cheney in a letter that they will no longer recognize her as “the official Republican Congressional representative.”

Party members approved the letter knowing it will not remove Cheney from office, but aiming to send a message that she is not representing them.

“We want to say to the world, ‘Wyoming is fed up with this,’” said precinct committeeman Bob Berry of Cody.

Many Republicans in the state were incensed by Cheney’s vote to impeach then-President Donald Trump following the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol. Out of the 23 county Republican parties, 20 of them — including Park County’s GOP — censured Cheney for her impeachment vote. Cheney has since stirred further anger among Republicans by doubling down on her criticism of Trump’s actions and by accepting an invitation from Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi to serve on a select committee investigating the attack.

Cheney has contended that the attack on the Capitol and on the results of the 2020 presidential election posed threats to America’s democratic system.

“Our oath to the Constitution, our commitment to the rule of law, and the preservation of the peaceful transfer of power must always be above partisan politics,” she said in accepting the appointment to the select committee.

However, the Park County Republican Party sees things differently, charging in Thursday’s letter that Cheney has “chosen to no longer fulfill [her] duties, obligations, and [her] oath of office to the Wyoming and United States Constitutions” and has shown “continued disregard for the rights and liberties of the citizens of the State of Wyoming.”

“In short, and in the immortal words of our 45th President of the United States of America, Donald J. Trump … ‘YOU’RE FIRED!’’’ the letter concludes.

Park County Republican Party Chairman Martin Kimmet of Clark said the letter wasn’t being sent out of hate, but to hold Cheney accountable.

“For those of us that have children, we don’t let our children run amok. We don’t discipline out of hatred, we discipline them out of love — and they need discipline,” Kimmet said. “In this case, many feel that Rep. Cheney needs discipline.”

Of the roughly 30 members of the party’s central committee who were present Thursday night, only one voted against sending the letter.

That dissenter, precinct committeewoman Cherie Fisher of Cody, said she agreed “100%” with the sentiment behind the document, but said she thought the language needed some work and felt it left no alternative for addressing Cheney.

“This is our only representative. And so we lose our bargaining power when we’re dismissing her and saying, ‘you don’t speak for us anymore,’” said Fisher, who unsuccessfully attempted to block the consideration of the letter via a parliamentary procedure.

However, committeeman Tim Lasseter of Cody countered that, “If you’re worried about a bargaining chip with her [Cheney], you have no bargaining chip.”

“She doesn’t care what we think,” Lasseter said. “She’s proven it time and again.”

While also supporting the overall aim, party Vice Chair Bob Ferguson of Wapiti argued the letter seemed to go against the U.S. Constitution, which says only Congress has the power to remove its members.

However, in introducing the document to the body, precinct committeeman Troy Bray of Powell said that, “all power is inherent in we the people, and we would like our representatives to remember that.”

Other speakers stressed that the letter wasn’t an actual attempt to remove Cheney from office.

“It’s not going to get her fired; we don’t expect that to happen,” said committeeman Berry. “What we expect is a drip, drip, drip of antacid in her stomach. Not to be mean, not to be ugly, but she is the one being ugly.”

Berry said that “Elizabeth [Cheney] is acting like a petulant child,” specifically mentioning her role on the Pelosi-led select committee investigating the Capitol attacks.

As initially presented, the letter addressed Cheney as “Elizabeth,” but it was changed to “Ms. Cheney” at the suggestion of committeewoman Sheila Leach of Cody, who said it seemed “overly familiar.” After others objected, Leach offered to switch back to Elizabeth, but Fisher forced the group to stay with “Ms. Cheney.”

When Bray later shared a version of the letter on Facebook, he referred to Cheney as “the Lizzard.”

Cheney has been taking heavy criticism from Republicans not only in Wyoming, but from former President Trump and House GOP leaders — who have floated the idea of stripping her of her committee assignments. However, she has not strayed from her contention that the Jan. 6 attack and the thinking that surrounded it pose a threat to both the country and her party.

“We need a Republican Party that can win elections based on ideas and substance, but we cannot be a party that embraces insurrection, and we cannot be a party that embraces the Big Lie. We have to tell our voters the truth, and we have to stand for principles and substance and engage in those battles that way,” Cheney said in a July 27 appearance on CBS This Morning.

“You know, the partisan attacks that are coming right now, they’re really childish,” she said, addressing accusations that she is a “Pelosi Republican” for serving on the committee, “and they really do reflect either a lack of understanding or an attempt to cover up what happened that day and why it’s so important for us to get to the bottom of it.”

The letter approved Thursday originated with the Park County Republican Men’s Club, but chairman Kimmet said leaders from other county parties have been requesting copies. On Saturday, the Carbon County Republican Party endorsed Park County’s “courageous” letter, called upon House Republicans to remove her from the party’s caucus and asked Cheney to switch her affiliation to a different political party.