华盛顿——众议员利兹·切尼说她反对是错误的同性恋婚姻在过去，一个曾经分裂她的家庭的立场。
切尼，共和党人的激烈批评者唐纳德·特朗普，还告诉哥伦比亚广播公司新闻“60分钟”，她认为她的连任竞选是美国最重要的众议院竞选，因为与前总统结盟的力量试图推翻她。她投票弹劾特朗普在1月6日美国国会大厦骚乱中的角色。
在周日晚上播出的采访中，切尼说她对总统没有什么好感乔·拜登她认为，随着阿富汗撤军，她已经接受了对经济和国家安全有害的政策。切尼说:“但替代者不能是一个不相信法治的人，也不能是一个违背就职誓言的人。
前副总统迪克·切尼的女儿在1月6日的骚乱之前是一名上升的共和党领导人，但她越来越多地被公众对特朗普的反对和他对共和党的控制所定义。55岁的切尼指出，她仍然每天晚上和父亲谈话，他们在拒绝特朗普的问题上有着相同的观点。
众所周知，利兹·切尼在2013年与家人决裂，在参议院竞选失败前反对同性婚姻。她的反对引起了她姐姐玛丽的不和，玛丽是一名已婚的女同性恋者。玛丽的配偶希瑟·坡在脸谱网那一年，切尼的立场令人不快，“我一直认为自由意味着每个人的自由。”
在采访中，切尼说她反对同性婚姻是被误导的，她在解释她为什么改变立场时引用了她嫂子的《脸书邮报》。
“我错了。我错了，”她说。“这是一个非常私人的问题——对我的家人来说也非常私人。我相信我爸爸是对的。我姐姐和我有过那次谈话...自由意味着每个人的自由。”
尽管这位怀俄明州的国会女议员仍然反对枪支管制、堕胎和患者保护与平价医疗法案，或“奥巴马医改”，但她发现自己在投票弹劾特朗普方面处于不利地位，因为在特朗普1月6日的集会之前，一群暴徒冲进国会大厦，希望推翻他在连任竞选中输给拜登的局面。尽管选举结果得到了各州和共和党选举官员的认证，法院驳回了数十项法律挑战，但特朗普仍继续谎称选举存在欺诈。
在投票弹劾特朗普后，切尼失去了众议院共和党会议主席的领导职位。民主党众议院议长南希·佩洛西让她加入一个九人委员会，调查1月6日的袭击事件，她担任副主席。
特朗普誓言要在明年的初选中击败切尼，支持律师、共和党人哈里特·海格曼。寻求第四个任期的切尼说，这关系到宪法的权威。
“我认为这将是2022年美国最重要的众议院选举。切尼说:“这将是一个人们有机会说‘我们要捍卫宪法’的地方。“在这场竞选中，投票反对我，投票给唐纳德·特朗普支持的任何人，就是投票给愿意延续这个弥天大谎的人，绝对愿意把对特朗普的忠诚置于对宪法的忠诚之上的人。”
这位怀俄明州的国会女议员批评众议院共和党领袖加州的凯文·麦卡锡在袭击国会大厦后坚持特朗普。
“他所做的就是拥抱唐纳德·特朗普，”她说。“如果我在做他正在做的事情，我会为自己感到深深的羞愧。我不知道你如何向你的孩子解释。当你处于这样一种情况，有人做了唐纳德·特朗普所做的事情，很明显他不能继续成为你拥抱的人。”
Liz Cheney: `I was wrong' in opposing gay marriage in past
WASHINGTON -- Rep. Liz Cheney says she was wrong to opposegay marriagein the past, a stand that once split her family.
Cheney, R-Wyo., a fierce critic of fellow RepublicanDonald Trump, also tells CBS News' “60 Minutes” that she views her reelection campaign as the most important House race in the nation as forces aligned with the former president try to unseat her. She voted to impeach Trump over his role in the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol.
In the interview aired Sunday night, Cheney said she had little affection for PresidentJoe Biden, who she believes has embraced harmful polices for the economy and national security with the Afghanistan withdrawal. “But the alternative cannot be a man who doesn’t believe in the rule of law, and who violated his oath of office,” Cheney said.
The daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney was an ascendant Republican leader before the Jan. 6 riot, yet she is increasingly defined by her public opposition to Trump and his hold on the GOP. Cheney, 55, noted that she still talks with her father every night and that they share the same views on rejecting Trump.
Liz Cheney famously broke with her family in 2013 by opposing gay marriage ahead of a failed Senate bid. Her objections caused a rift with her sister, Mary, a married lesbian. Mary's spouse, Heather Poe, posted onFacebookthat year that Cheney's position was offensive and that “I always thought freedom meant freedom for EVERYONE.”
In the interview, Cheney said her opposition to gay marriage was misguided and she channeled her sister-in-law's Facebook post in explaining why she changed her position.
“I was wrong. I was wrong," she said. “It’s a very personal issue — and very personal for my family. I believe that my dad was right. And my sister and I have had that conversation ... Freedom means freedom for everybody.”
While still opposed to gun control, abortion and the Affordable Care Act, or “Obamacare,” the Wyoming congresswoman finds herself on the outs for voting to impeach Trump after his Jan. 6 rally preceded a mob storming the Capitol in hopes of overturning his reelection loss to Biden. Trump continues to falsely claim election fraud in spite of results being certified by states and Republican election officials and courts rejecting dozens of legal challenges.
After voting to impeach Trump, Cheney lost her leadership post as chair of the House Republican Conference. Democratic House Speaker Nancy Pelosi put her on a nine-person committee to investigate the Jan. 6 assault and she serves as vice chair.
Trump has vowed to defeat Cheney in next year's primary election by backing Republican Harriet Hageman, an attorney. Cheney, seeking a fourth term, said nothing less than the authority of the Constitution is at stake.
“I think it’s going to be the most important House race in the country in 2022. And — and it will be one where people do have the opportunity to say, ‘We want to stand for the Constitution,’” Cheney said. “A vote against me in this race, a vote for whomever Donald Trump has endorsed, is a vote for somebody who’s willing to perpetuate the big lie, somebody who’s willing to put allegiance to Trump above allegiance to the Constitution, absolutely.”
The Wyoming congresswoman criticized House Republican leader Kevin McCarthy of California for sticking with Trump after the assault on the Capitol.
“What he’s done is embrace Donald Trump,” she said. “And if I were doing what he’s doing, I would be deeply ashamed of myself. I don’t know how you explain that to your children. When you are in a situation where you have somebody who did what Donald Trump did, it is absolutely clear he cannot continue to be somebody you embrace.”
