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Posted on 08/10/2013 3:06:59 PM PDT by Nervous Tick
The way D.C. political operatives are reacting to the news that Liz Cheney is challenging Sen. Mike Enzi in the Wyoming GOP primary, you’d think the Republican Party had another Sharron Angle on their hands — someone so much more conservative and rhetorically unrestrained than the incumbent or establishment candidate that she wins the primary only to lose a winnable general election race by a wide margin.
Well, Cheney is famously unrestrained. But that’s about where the similarities end. Wyoming is so deep red that the winner of the GOP primary will sail through the general, no matter who it is. And though no one doubts her conservatism, there’s a decent argument to make that Sen. Liz Cheney would actually move Wyoming and the Senate to the left.
Enzi has been an extraordinarily conservative senator, in the tradition of the Mountain West. He has a zero percent NARAL rating, a 93 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union and an 86 percent lifetime rating from the Club for Growth.
Enzi’s track record alone would make it difficult for anyone to outflank him on the right, let alone build a Senate record that is as or more conservative. But in Cheney’s case, despite all her bombast and her famous last name, her previous public positions already show she is less absolutist on social issues than Enzi and no more conservative than him on a range of fiscal and governance issues.
Enzi has strayed occasionally. He angered anti-tax absolutists in his party by supporting parochial legislation to allow states to collect sales taxes for online purchases. And he joined with all but the very most conservative members of the Senate GOP conference to vote for fiscal cliff legislation, which made most of the Bush tax cuts permanent, but allowed them to expire for income above $400,000.
Cheney can attack him from the right on the former, but will eat her own words on the latter. “I think that the potential damage done by going off the fiscal cliff is so significant, that I would hope that even in the town that is very divided right now, people will be able to come together to avoid it,” she said on Fox News in November of last year.
Beyond that, though, it’s hard to find daylight between the two, except on the issues where Cheney appears to be more liberal.
Enzi voted against both tranches of disaster relief for victims of Hurricane Sandy. He voted against legislation to suspend the debt limit earlier this year.
But he’s also voted against social legislation touching on issues where Cheney has staked out fairly liberal views.
He voted against reauthorizing a more expansive Violence Against Women Act, which extended its protections to immigrants, tribal communities, and same sex partners. He voted against repealing Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell. Recently, as a senior member and former chairman of the Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, he voted against the Employment Non-Discrimination Act, which cleared the panel on a bipartisan basis.
Cheney by contrast has said gay marriage should be left to the states, and that “freedom means freedom for everyone,” suggesting she personally supports it. Her views on abortion are unclear.
All of which suggests Republicans in Washington are annoyed by something other than Cheney’s hyper-conservatism. It may be loyalty to Enzi. Or the desire to avoid an ugly primary fight involving a candidate with the last name Cheney. Perhaps it’s her penchant for engaging in extreme rhetoric.
But though her rhetoric might make her seem farther right than the soft-spoken Enzi, there are decent reasons to think she’s actually more liberal than he is.
The fact that TPM is a liberal rag, and seems to prefer Cheney over Enzi, really hammers home the point that Liz Cheney is at best an enigma, and at worst, an empty pantsuit with money, name recognition, ambition -- and some disturbing leftist tendencies.
Possibly of interest to you.
It would make Thanksgiving awkward, but her father should come out against her and endorse her opponent. Yes, she’s very, very liberal.
How many terms is a politician entitled to?
I say a maximum of two. They get too entrenched after that.
>> How many terms is a politician entitled to?
Entitled to? Zero. That applies to Cheney, too, you know.
Do you consider a national internet sales tax leftist? TPM is just engaging in a little psyops here. Sowing division amongst conservatives.
Like McConnell, Enzi is an old school beltway dealmaker ready to sell out Main Street if the price is right. It’s best for conservatives to get off that train ASAP. The beltway GOP needs to earn our support. They can do that by engaging the Dems and vigorously opposing the Dem agenda. Until red state Senators step up and do that they do not deserve our support. Primary them all.
It would make Thanksgiving awkward, but her father should come out against her and endorse her opponent. Yes, she’s very, very liberal.
Dick Cheney is a first class RINO/Globalist. He’d endorse her in a New World Order minute.
Looks like Enzi can breathe a little easier. He has the endorsement of two prominent conservative Republicans, Susan Collins and John McCain.
Two terms - one in office and one in penitentiary.
No more Nepotism. I’m not voting for anymore relatives, descendants , in laws of any political family. We must get rid of this trend , we’re headed down the path of the late Roman Republic, where only a handful of patrician families could be Consul.
*ping*
Is there nobody else to take down Enzi? Preferably not a carpet-bagger? The guy’s fundraising has been terrible. He shouldn’t be too hard to bring down.
She might be another Scott Brown
We must get rid of this trend , we’re headed down the path of the late Roman Republic, where only a handful of patrician families could be Consul.
We’re already there. But today we’re in a Fascist Oligarchy/Soviet style Nomenklatura. Elites run the show and it’s now all a big game to keep fooling the masses of fools. New World Order is the name of the game and they’re knocking down the USA to implement it. The US military is now a tool to protect the special interests who are implementing the NWO.
Now they just need to invite the barbarians in to finish us like the Romans
Si, Senor! Eso es que estan haciendo.
For years this radical has supported and promoted the homosexual agenda, yet never revealed a pro-life position.
Liz has supported homosexualizing the military and State department, gay marriage, is against a constitutional amendment to protect marriage, while also opposing DOMA and rejoicing at the end of DADT.
This Romney supporting chick was clear on her gay agenda, while never revealing a pro-life position.
************************
Agreed.
Liz needs to be dropped into Syria to help the po’ Free Syrians gain some of that good old NeoCon Democracy, then she should run for office in VA!
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