A single day's events made clear the new GOP litmus tests: Is Joe Biden the lawfully elected president, and was Jan. 6 an insurrection?
Why it matters: The correct answer is often "no" to both if you want to win a contested GOP primary or make a serious 2024 play. A full-throated "yes" gets you censured or defeated.
Driving the news: The following was said and done on Friday:
- The Republican National Committee censured GOP Reps. Liz Cheney (R-Wyo.) — once considered among the most conservative members in all of Congress — and Adam Kinzinger (R-Ill.) for their membership on the House committee probing the Jan. 6 violence at the U.S. Capitol.
- Sen. Mitt Romney (R-Utah) thundered on Twitter: "Shame falls on a party that would censure persons of conscience, who seek truth in the face of vitriol."
- Former Vice President Mike Pence rebuked former President Trump, saying he was "wrong" to claim the VP had power and obligation to overturn the election results certified by the states.
- Trump put out his own statement hours later, rebuking Pence for rebuking him, and closed with his take on the state of America: "[O]ur Country is going to hell!"
