There was never a universe in which I thought that Dick Cheney and I would be actively supporting the same person for president, but here we are.

As much as I disagree with him about almost every issue, I am extremely impressed with his commitment to our country over party and policy. His sense of patriotism is commendable as he acknowledges the existential threat to our democracy and the cause of freedom caused by the actions of a man who refused to accept the results of a free and fair election and who continues to beat the drum of fear with a threats of violence and  retribution before any ballots are cast.

If you, too, are a lifelong Republican who struggles with the idea of supporting someone you may disagree with vehemently but you don’t want to vote for a convicted felon who committed fraud and tax fraud and was civilly convicted of sexual assault that would be categorized as rape in almost every other state, consider the actions of people of integrity like the Cheneys. They recognize that they won’t agree with the Harris/Walz ticket on many topics, but the core causes of democracy and decency are more important than anything else on the ballot.

This is the only way back to a time when we can vehemently disagree about issues but not vilify and demonize the other or question the results of a clear electoral victory.

Donald Trump said he would be a dictator for one day and Project 2025 makes clear a path for more control than that — even one day of making that a goal is one too many days for those who died to secure and protect our freedom from tyrants and autocrats.