We need a return of old-fashioned establishment Republicans like Rep. Liz Cheney

Rep. Liz Cheney represents a dying breed of American conservatism. Her willingness to sacrifice her political future for the future of transparency and democracy in America deserves the utmost attention and respect.

As a lifelong Democrat, I have never agreed with GOP politics, but the challenges facing establishment conservatives like Cheney is bad for everyone in this country, Democrats included.

Since Donald Trump took control of the Republican Party during his run for executive office in 2016, few party members have been willing to stand up to the man and his supporters trying to undo hundreds of years of democratic institution building.

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The participation of only two Republicans, Cheney and Rep. Adam Kinzinger, in the ongoing Jan. 6 committee hearings, and the venom they've received from members of their own party for participating in the investigation is hard to understand.

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Trolls dominate today's GOP. The new heroes of the party are those with the least amount of professional preparation, and the least respect for the institution and people they serve.

My least favorites are:

►GOP Rep. Lauren Boebert of my home state of Colorado, who is under investigation on allegations of misappropriating campaign funds, and has been constantly in the news for embarrassing herself and the institution she represents. Advising locals not to vote for her, The Durango Herald said, "The woman is an embarrassment – to her district and her party."

►Georgia Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene is another of the GOP's leading sinkholes of conspiracy theories, public confrontations and was recently subpoenaed to testify on her possible involvement in the attack on the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

► Arizona Rep. Paul Gosar, a dentist with alleged ties to white supremacist, pro-Nazi groups who was censured by the House for circulating a violent video on social media depicting attacks on President Joe Biden and New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez.

►And then there's Florida Rep. Matt Gaetz, reportedly under investigation by the Department of Justice on sex-trafficking a 17-year-old in 2017.

These are just a few that are still in office. Dark-MAGA follower Madison Cawthorn recently lost his bid for House reelection in North Carolina after voters there had enough.

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Things get better with the establishment GOP, but not by much. Sens. Mitch McConnell and Rep. Kevin McCarthy got caught saying what they really thought about the insurrection but attempted to walk those comments back later to save face with Trump. Sens. Lindsey Graham, Ted Cruz and Chuck Grassley have similarly walked back statements condemning the Jan. 6 attack.

And in spite of the socialist takeover Republicans warned of, the disrupters on the far left (Sen. Bernie Sanders and "The Squad") have not once behaved in a way that is anywhere near comparable. Instead, they settled into the ways of Washington like any other reasonable politician before them, regardless of party affiliation.

An ode to old-school conservativsm

Republicans used to look a lot more like Cheney, Kinzinger, Sen. Mitt Romney and the late Sen. John McCain – members of Congress who showed pragmatism, decorum, preparation for their responsibilities and solemnity for the office they are privileged to hold.

For younger people reading this, you may not know what I am talking about. Perhaps you're too young to remember a time when Republicans weren't sending Christmas cards where they posed with assault rifles, or the protagonists of embarrassing outbursts during the president's State of the Union address.

I was born in the mid-1980s, when state and national politicians were more or less normal, behaved decently in public and could work across the aisle to get the job done. For instance, when I was 8, Roe v. Wade was reaffirmed by a conservative court in a 5-4 decision in Planned Parenthood v. Casey. I was 10 when, in 1994, then-President Bill Clinton signed the assault weapons ban with bipartisan support.

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The conservatives I grew up with in the '80s, '90s and even 2000s were able to comport themselves in a way that was worthy of the institution they were elected to serve in. Back then, Republicans were not a threat to our democracy. They were not an embarrassment, or a liability, to the country.

I miss those conservatives.

Carli Pierson is an attorney, former professor of human rights, writer and member of USA TODAY's Editorial Board. You can follow her on Twitter: @CarliPiersonEsq

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Republicans like Liz Cheney are the GOP outliers against Trump