Liz Cheney: No more ‘go along to get along’

Liz Cheney, the former vice president’s daughter and Washington political figure who is challenging incumbent Mike Enzi for a Senate seat from her home state of Wyoming, met with reporters Wednesday for the first time as a candidate. She gave several hints about her plan to convince voters that Enzi does not deserve a shot at a fourth term in the Senate.

“I’m running because I believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate,” said Cheney, appearing at a hotel in Casper. “I’m running because I know as a mother and as a patriot that we can no longer afford simply to go along to get along.”

That was a not-so-veiled hit at Enzi’s age — he is 69 to Cheney’s 46 — and his reputation for working with Democrats. To emphasize the point, Cheney, after an extensive indictment of the Obama administration, suggested the worst thing a Republican could do is get along with the White House.

The president is “working to implant his liberal philosophy so deeply into our body politic that we are all going to be dealing with its effects long after he’s gone from office,” Cheney said. “I don’t believe it has to be this way. I know we can get our nation back on track. Instead of cutting deals with the president’s liberal allies, we should be opposing them every step of the way.”

On another occasion, Cheney said, “We’ve got a president who has laid out an agenda that is directly at odds with where most Wyomingites, where most people across the nation with common sense, know where the country should be going. So I think the key is to know when to compromise and when not to.”

Wikipedia:

Before attending law school, Cheney worked for the State Department for five years and the U.S. Agency for International Development between 1989 and 1993. After 1993, she took a job at Armitage Associates LLP, the consulting firm founded by Richard Armitage, then a former Defense Department official and Iran-Contra operative who later served as Deputy Secretary of State.

After graduating from law school, Cheney practiced law in the private sector (at the law firm of White & Case) and as an international law attorney and consultant at the International Finance Corporation, a member of the World Bank Group. She has also served as Special Assistant to the Deputy Secretary of State for Assistance to the former Soviet Union, and as a USAID officer in U.S. embassies in Budapest and Warsaw.

In 2002, Cheney was appointed to the position of Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, a pre-existing vacant post with an “economic portfolio,” which is a mandate to promote investment in the region. Amid reports, including a New York Times editorial by Paul Krugman, saying that the job was created especially for her, State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said that she had come recommended by then-Secretary of State Colin Powell. The Times (London) reported that Cheney’s appointment was “the most intriguing sign that America is getting serious about Middle East reform” and that the appointment was “a measure of the seriousness with which the administration was taking Middle East programmes for literacy, education, and reform.” The appointment followed publicized policy divisions between the Vice President’s office and the State Department on Middle East policy. In that position, she was given control of the Middle East Partnership Initiative, designed to “foster increased democracy and economic progress in a troubled region.” The program spent $29 million in 2002, increased to $129 million in the following year. Cheney’s task was to channel money to pre-screened groups, some of which were not identified publicly for fear of retaliations from extant governments they sought to undermine. For the budget year 2004, the project sought $145 million.

After two years of service, Cheney left her first State Department post in 2003 to serve in her father’s re-election campaign. Participating in the “W Stands for Women” initiative to target female voters, Cheney spoke often of how women have enlarged their scope of political issues, invoking the September 11 attacks and “security.”

In February 2005, she returned to the US State Department and was appointed the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of State For Near Eastern Affairs and Coordinator for Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiatives. In this position, Cheney supported the Assistant Secretary of State for Near Eastern Affairs, C. David Welch, and coordinated U.S. multilateral efforts to promote and support democracy, expanded education and economic opportunities in the Middle East and Northern Africa. Cheney oversaw the launch of two semi-independent foundations, the Fund of the Future (worth $100 million), to provide capital for small businesses and the Foundation of the Future (worth $55 million), to promote freedom of the press and democracy. In that capacity, Cheney endorsed a draft of a new Iraqi constitution.[15] In November 2005, Cheney was questioned by Ysemink Congar of Turkish CNN that there was “a lot of skepticism building about the U.S. advocacy for democracy and human rights, based on a recent Washington Post story on “black sites” operated by the U.S. and the CIA in some of the countries receiving MEPI support:

Congar: If you were addressing the skeptics today, directly, what would you say to them? Why should they believe that the U.S. is genuinely advocating — supporting democracy and human rights in the region? And why should they — I mean, I’m talking about the grassroots now — why should they enthusiastically endorse the Forum for the Future? Thank you.

Cheney: I’ll go first. You know, this is a question that I think has come up ever since we first began supporting democratic activities in the region back in 2002. And what I would say is judge us by our actions, you know. Judge us by the extent to which we really are standing with the people who are working for freedom. Judge us by the extent to which we are supporting NGOs with our money and with our back, you know, with our technical assistance. Judge us by the extent to which, you know, our Secretary of State goes to Cairo and makes a speech in Cairo in the heart of the broader Middle East about the importance of freedom and the importance of people being able to express their own wills and desires.So, you know, yes, I think there is skepticism. I think that there is disagreement about policies. I think some of that comes from a misunderstanding of American policies. But at the end of the day, I think that the idea of skepticism is, frankly, a little bit overblown. I mean, my sense is that it’s become conventional wisdom among elites that there are skeptics. There certainly are some skeptics, but there are certainly millions and millions of people across the broader Middle East who are participating with us in projects, that are providing training and skills and how you operate in a political — in a democratic environment. And who very much appreciate and feel protected by the fact that the United States is standing with them, you know.So there will always be skeptics, but I would watch what we do and watch also what we say about these issues.

At the same briefing, Cheney was asked by Tarek Rashad of the Middle East News Agency about the “paradox” of the MEPI funding NGO’s supporting democracy and human rights would be “rallying in fact against the regimes and the governments in the region. Cheney answered that contributions to the Foundation had come from governments, but the foundation would not include government officers on its board or as its chairman, that “no government entities will be in either position.”

Elizabeth Cheney also headed the Iran Syria Policy and Operations Group (ISOG), established in March 2006, a unit within the State Department’s Bureau of Near Eastern Affairs.

In April 2006, The New York Times published a story critical of Cheney’s work, particularly with respect to Iran. Of particular scrutiny was a grants program administered by Elizabeth Cheney’s unit, in collaboration with a Republican-affiliated foundation, the International Republican Institute. The Times maintained that when the group became controversial, with critics saying that it was plotting covert actions that could escalate into war with Iran and Syria, the group was disbanded, by May 2006. Shortly before the ISOG group was dissolved, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice initiated a major effort to engage Iran and Syria in efforts to stabilize Iraq. As late as April 11, 2009, Iranian officials investigating “cyber-crimes” cited Cheney’s efforts in the daily newspaper Iran, specifically the “Democracy Program” [sic] initiative as parallel to a Netherlands-funded push for a “velvet revolution” accomplished by a media campaign to polarize the country, “despite the 1981 Algiers Accords signed between the U.S. and Iran in the aftermath of the U.S. embassy takeover in Tehran.” Her controversial business relationship with American-Iranian oil trader and millionaire Navid Khiabani, Which led to approving export license by European Union for Austrian Arm manufacturer Steyr Mannlicher to export Steyr High Caliber Anti material Steyr HS .50 to Iran caused media attention during 2005 and 2006.

Cheney signed on in June 2007 to serve as one of three national co-chairs for Fred Thompson’s 2008 presidential campaign. The other co-chairs were Spencer Abraham and George Allen. In a press release issued at the beginning of his campaign, Thompson said he was “very pleased to announce that former Senators Abraham and Allen, as well as Liz Cheney, will serve as co-chairs of my national leadership team.” Thompson added: “These distinguished individuals bring wise counsel and invaluable experience to my campaign leadership team, and they will play a critical role in helping spread my consistent conservative message across America.” After Thompson dropped out of the race, Cheney announced on January 27, 2008 that she would work for Mitt Romney’s presidential campaign, serving as a senior foreign policy advisor.

Keep America Safe

In October 2009 Liz Cheney, William Kristol, and Deborah Burlingame launched, as board members, a non-profit 501(c)4 organization, Keep America Safe. The group’s stated purpose is to “provide information for concerned Americans about critical national security issues”.

In January 2012 Cheney was hired as a contributor for Fox News, providing analysis for the Republican primaries and serving as substitute host of some of Fox News’ programs including Hannity and Fox News Sunday. She worked at Fox News for 18 months until her contract was terminated by the station in July 2013 after she announced her intention to mount a 2014 bid for the Senate.

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