Student Voices: Watching History Happen at Sanford

By Abigail Bergan (PPS'26)

Only at Duke University can a Wednesday evening bring you face-to-face with one of the most influential political figures in recent American history. Last week, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to learn from former U.S. Representative Liz Cheney in a wide-ranging conversation as part of the Terry Sanford Distinguished Lecture Series.

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Perhaps one of the best moments of the evening came when Professor Feaver posed Representative Cheney the question about who she would be voting for in November. “Do you want to make history tonight?” he asked playfully, teeing her up to discuss the value of swing state voters and imploring them not to waste their vote on a write-in candidate.

“Not only am I not voting for Donald Trump, but I will be voting for Kamala Harris,” Cheney declared.

The room erupted – people leapt to their feet and filled Page Auditorium with deafening applause. Phones were suddenly omnipresent as people spread the news to the world outside the auditorium doors – one of the most coveted endorsements of the entire campaign process had been cemented right in front of us, and it was electrifying. When the Cheney family’s endorsements were mentioned on the debate stage last night, the watch party I was attending buzzed with students nudging each other and saying, “I watched that happen!”

After the standing ovation dissipated, Cheney got right back to business. Some things, she argued, should transcend political disagreement; the integrity of the Constitution is one such thing. The Constitution and all that it entails is at the heart of our republic’s existence. Our two-party system may intentionally thrive upon disagreement, but such discourse does not and should not extend to the Constitution.

Characteristically blunt on the topic of her Republican former colleagues who had lost sight of the Constitution in pursuit of blind loyalty to the former President, Cheney described their behavior with one word: “cowardice.” As for the former President's action (or lack thereof) on January 6th, she summed it up as “pure depravity.” Smiting them with her words, Cheney refused to acquiesce to her former party’s complicity in and incitement of an insurrection. Some things are unforgivable and outside the bounds of politics; violence is one such thing.

Throughout her conversation with Professor Feaver, Representative Cheney advocated clearly for making civil discourse great again. In her ideal world, substantive and vociferous policy debate would be revitalized, absent the unceasing demonization of the other side that pervades today’s political climate. This goes beyond the hallowed halls of Congress, trickling down to the respect with which we should treat our fellow Americans, regardless of their political alignment in relation to our own. Can we bring civility back? Can we take a step back and understand that this 2024 election is not about policy, but rather about the future of the American experiment?

Haunted by a sadness about what the Republican Party has shifted to since the days of her father, but nonetheless resiliently optimistic, Cheney prompted the wheels to turn on these questions with a clear-eyed view toward incentivizing young people to run for office. It was clear that within the audience, she saw a group of people willing and able to have the courage of their convictions and act as honorable stewards of public trust; to build public service back into a culture of respect, duty, and decency.

Part of that incentive comes from a source of Cheney’s courage: the idea that standing up for truth honors “all those who gave all.” We as a nation owe a debt to those who have made the ultimate sacrifice generation after generation. Such remarks resonate particularly with me as I finish this piece on the anniversary of the September 11 attacks. For the entire time that the United States has existed, people have sacrificed and stepped forth in times of immense darkness, bearing the torches of democracy and freedom at the cost of their own lives. As ordinary Americans, the least we can do is go to the polls in November and perform the basest of our civic duties.

As I moved with a smaller group of people to a post-talk dinner at the Washington Duke, I couldn’t help but reflect on my gratitude for the opportunity to talk to one of the bipartisan beacons of hope for our country at this moment in time. What a gift it is to be at an institution where student journalism breaks a national headline about a crucial presidential endorsement; where discourse is sparked with linchpin figures; above all, where I am surrounded by peers who can and will strive to create a better civic future.

Walking into dinner, the woman next to me turned, smiled warmly, and extended her hand. “Hi,” she said. “I’m Liz. Thanks for being here.” What a beginning to a phenomenal dinner! Cheney fielded questions about anything and everything – the humanitarian crisis in Sudan, media literacy, development in the Middle East, to name a few. A consummate politician, Cheney made the conversation nuanced and engaging, bringing everyone in the room into her fold.

“Ma’am, you made the New York Times breaking news,” I told the woman sitting next to me as the dinner came to an end. Congresswoman Cheney smiled and gave me a hug. “Thank you for telling me!”

Abigail Bergan is a third-year undergraduate at Duke University majoring in Public Policy and minoring in Arabic & Theater Studies. She is involved with the Duke Program in American Grand Strategy, conducts research within the Department of Political Science, and has spent time studying and working across the Middle East.