Liz Cheney: I'm Not a Go-Along Gal

Former Vice President Dick Cheney’s daughter, Elizabeth Cheney, who is challenging incumbent Mike Enzi for his Wyoming Senate seat, had her first meeting with reporters on Wednesday. 

Cheney is trying to distinguish her agenda from Enzi’s by portraying him as a Republican too eager to work with Democrats. However, in 2012, Enzi received a 92 percent rating from the American Conservative Union; in 2010, he earned a 96 percent ACU rating.

Regardless, Cheney said she will refuse to “go along to get along.”

I’m running because I believe it is necessary for a new generation of leaders to step up to the plate.  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… 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.

Although Enzi has been at odds with the Obama Administration for years, two conservative strategists told the Washington Examiner that Cheney might be able to portray herself as more conservative than Enzi. “It’s a well-known name with an unknown agenda vs. a mediocre right-leaning senator who’s been virtually invisible,” one explained. “But conservatives should be cheering for any primary of sitting Republicans. It forces incumbents to make their case to the people. No one is owed a free ride to reelection.” 

“If she just runs as a younger version of her opponent and doesn’t offer voters anything different on the issues, then conservatives won’t get excited,” the strategist warned.

“If she runs on a conservative platform and speaks out against the GOP establishment, she could earn a lot of support,” the other strategist said. “We welcome primary challengers because we believe these intra-party debates are healthy and make the party stronger.” 

“Nobody is entitled to office so every senator should be prepared to make their case to Republican voters,” they said. “We don’t know her true policy convictions yet. If she proves to be a rock solid conservative willing to fight the establishment in Washington, this will be an exciting race for conservatives across the nation. But right now, that’s a big IF.”