Liz Cheney: Another tea party run at a Republican senator?
Liz Cheney鈥檚 ambush of US Sen. Mike Enzi (R) of Wyoming has its unique elements, starting with her ex-VP father Dick Cheney 鈥� her 鈥渂est weapon,鈥� according to Politico.com.
But Ms. Cheney鈥檚 challenging a long-time and very conservative Republican incumbent is part of a recent pattern within the GOP. Just ask ousted senators Bob Bennett of Utah and Dick Lugar of Indiana. To many in the party鈥檚 tea party-tinged wing, the US Senate needs more rhetorical bomb-throwers like freshman Sen. Ted Cruz from Texas.
鈥淭here are no indispensable men,鈥� writes conservative blogger Eric Erickson, editor-in-chief of RedState.com.
鈥淢ike Enzi is a fine Republican, but he is not putting points on the board for conservatives. We need more like Ted Cruz and less like 鈥� well 鈥� Mike Enzi,鈥� writes Erickson. 鈥淲e need less rudderless Republicans who shuffle around at the direction of their leadership and lobbyist friends.鈥�
Yet at this point, the path to victory in a party primary fight with Sen. Enzi appears steep and rocky for Cheney.
Quickly lining up behind Enzi were Wyoming鈥檚 other senator, John Barrasso, and the state's lone US Representative, Cynthia Lummis, as well as the National Republican Senatorial Committee led by Sen. Jerry Moran, (R) of Kansas.
Speaking on Bloomberg Television Friday night, Sen. John McCain endorsed Enzi as well.
鈥淚鈥檒l tell you, he鈥檚 one of these solid guys,鈥澨齅r. McCain said.听鈥淚 know nothing that Mike Enzi would do that didn鈥檛 deserve re-election.鈥�
More to the point, many Wyoming voters seem to have their doubts about Cheney鈥檚 run at Enzi as well.
In a mock primary election conducted by the Republican Harper Polling firm, Enzi wallops Cheney 55-21 percent. Enzi鈥檚 favorable/unfavorable rating (76-6) and his job approval rating (73-9) are a politician鈥檚 dream.
But there are warning signs for Enzi in the poll numbers as well.
Asked if he deserves reelection, just 48 percent say 鈥測es鈥�. Large minorities are unsure (24 percent) or say it鈥檚 time for someone new (28 percent).
A plurality (44 percent) say they 鈥渟upport the goals and ideals of the Tea Party,鈥� and the same percentage describe themselves as 鈥渧ery conservative.鈥�
Dick Cheney may be Darth Vader to many Americans (a jibe he seems proud of), but in Wyoming he鈥檚 revered.
鈥淒isliked as Dick Cheney is nationally after his controversial tenure as vice president, he remains an esteemed figure in the state he represented three decades ago in the House of Representatives,鈥� writes John Hohmann of Politico.
At the same time, James King, the chairman of the political science department at the University of Wyoming, tells Politico, 鈥淏y now you鈥檝e got a whole lot of voters who never had a chance to vote for Dick Cheney for congressman.鈥�
鈥淭here鈥檚 some residual Cheney support, but I鈥檓 not sure it鈥檚 something that will drill deeply,鈥� he said. 鈥淭he challenge she has is that you don鈥檛 have an extremely vulnerable incumbent.鈥�
But many political experts were surprised to see ex-Sen. Bob Bennett bumped off in Utah.
For now, Liz Cheney is working hard to fight off the carpet-bagger label.
She may have lived in Wyoming for a few years when she was a young girl, but she鈥檚 spent her adult and professional life in and around Washington. Only last year did she establish residency in what she now calls her home state.
听
听So far, Cheney has not gone after popular incumbent Enzi.
But on campaign stops this week, she did say, "Instead of cutting deals with the president's allies in Congress, we can be opposing them every step of the way." 鈥� essentially the point made by RedState鈥檚 Erickson.
As to the 鈥渃arpet-bagger鈥� label, Liz Cheney would never mention it but she has a successful model in the woman who moved to New York and won a US Senate seat: Hillary Rodham Clinton.
