Opinion: If Sarasota Republicans never gave award to Liz Cheney, then what's on her shelf?

It began with an emailed question to Sarasota GOP Chairman Jack Brill: "I was wondering if Liz Cheney is still being recognized as the 'Stateswoman of the Year' in 2017?"

Here is the beginning of his response: "Liz Cheney never was recognized as a Stateswoman of the Year award winner. There is no confusion on this point by people familiar with facts."

He went on to add, "She never won and never had the award. Ever. Any column trying to undercut First Lady Casey DeSantis as our first Stateswoman of the Year winner is materially wrong and will be seen by the majority of the community as just another reason why trust in the media is bouncing along at all-time lows."

I bounced along and wrote a column last week calling out Brill and the Republican Party of Sarasota County for being liars. That accusation was based on the press release Brill put out in 2017 saying Liz Cheney would be honored as RPOSC's first "Stateswoman of the Year" at a dinner. After the dinner, the Herald-Tribune ran a photo of the large banner on the stage that indeed recognized Liz Cheney.

The former Wyoming Congresswoman was unable to attend the banquet, however, because she was in Washington D.C. The federal government was on the verge of a shutdown, according to a Herald-Tribune story, something of far greater importance. Her father, former Vice President Dick Cheney, was named the "Statesman of the Year" in 2017. He was able to attend the dinner.

After my column ran, I spoke with a source close to Liz Cheney who sent me a rather interesting photo. It was on a shelf inside Liz Cheney's office. On the shelf, next to a piece of the Berlin Wall, a "Profiles in Courage" book written by John F. Kennedy, and a bust of Ronald Reagan, there was an award.

And on this particular award was the following inscription:

The Republican Party of Sarasota County.

2017 Stateswoman of the Year.

Elizabeth "Liz" Cheney.

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Next up: Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis to receive Sarasota GOP stateswoman award

I would now like to take this opportunity to apologize to Brill and the Republican Party of Sarasota County. As a card-carrying member of the Fake News liberal media, I am wrong.

I think my source deceived me and the photo sent to me – the one seen in this column – was indeed a fraud.

I think my source woke up one day and called Dick Cheney in Wyoming, who then emailed a photo of his "Statesman of the Year" award for reference. Then my source drove to Trophy Mart, located at 5701 General Washington Drive, Suite N, in Alexandria, Va. – a fine choice, I might add, because Trophy Mart has proudly been serving the Washington D.C. area since 1951, according to the website – and had the shop make an exact replica. Darned if they didn’t do a bang-up job too. I don't know how they made the glass eagle look so authentic, but if Joe Biden can steal a presidential election from Donald Trump, don't think for one minute that someone can't pull the old switch-a-roo with an RPOSC trophy.

I mean, the trophy just has to be fake. There is no other explanation. Remember, Liz Cheney was never given that award. Brill even said it. Right there in his statement, and who is he to lie? There is no confusion on this point by people with the facts, he said, and you should believe him. The man does have the facts.

Me? I'm with Brill too. I blame the Fake News liberal media for lies like this, and I am embarrassed to say I am not only a member of this disgusting kettle of drooling vultures, but a willing participant who has kept our paper's dirty little secret from the community for far too long. It's time someone spoke out.

I have been at the Herald-Tribune for 33 years, and I can't tell you how many morning budget meetings I've sat in on where editors plan out the daily lies we've been feeding you saps for decades.

Editor A: "We need something really fake for 1A tomorrow. Does anyone have anything? I see Riverview is playing Sarasota in high school football tonight."

Editor B: "How about if we write a story saying they found some of Trump's classified documents concerning nuclear warheads inside the Riverview Kiltie Marching Band's tuba at halftime and that Hunter Biden was seen standing suspiciously near the concession stand wearing the mascot suit with a giant ram head?"

Editor A: "Brilliant! Put Anderson on it."

I mean, we've even fooled the Pulitzer Prize Committee. Twice! No, wait, 10 times! That's how good at this whole lyin’ thing we are.

In all seriousness, this is what really happened: The Sarasota GOP named Florida First Lady Casey DeSantis as its “first Stateswoman of the Year" for 2023 last April and a dinner in her honor will be held this month. She was named around the time her husband, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, announced he was running for president. This was simply a sham to kiss up to the person who was seen as a strong challenger to Trump at the time, though clearly that plan has backfired.

Meanwhile, the Sarasota GOP's reason for disavowing Liz Cheney is as sad as it is simple. Despite receiving death threats, she stood up against Trump's crackpot election fraud claims before the entire nation, and we can't have that now, can we?

The Sarasota GOP named Trump its "Statesman of the Year" twice, in 2011 and 2015, and is standing by it. The organization would rather honor a twice-impeached former president facing 91 felonies for various alleged crimes than a person who won the 2022 John F. Kennedy Profile in Courage award for her "consistent and courageous voice in defense of democracy."

And that, sorry to say, is the real truth.

This article originally appeared on Sarasota Herald-Tribune: If the Sarasota GOP didn't honor Liz Cheney, then what's on her shelf?