Why Liz Cheney Dropped Out of the Wyoming Senate Race?

Dear Commons Community,

One of the more surprising political stories in this New Year was the decision of Dick Cheney’s daughter, Liz, to drop out of the Senate Republican Party primary in the state of Wyoming.  After all, Cheney had a famous name, a high-profile media presence, an impressive CV, plenty of money, and  the incumbent, Mike Enzi, was expected to retire. As reported in The New Republic

“Most political pros would have had an easy time gaming out the next few moves: First, meet Enzi to divine his intentions… Then sit back and let him do the right thing. When it’s done, offer some gracious praise on the occasion of his retirement. And then await a coronation.”

However, the article goes on to analyze Cheney as having made a series of “Palinesque” moves:

“Cheney was trailing badly in early polls and having trouble finding a Washington firm to set up a super PAC. Which all added to the aborted campaign’s central mystery: Why did this well-prepared, well-connected, well-known political figure put on such an amateurish performance when she finally ran for office on her own?

Cheney’s campaign was marked by a Palinesque series of news stories involving ham-handed politics and small-time personal dramas: There was the kerfuffle over whether her dad was an old fly-fishing buddy of Enzi. There was the time her mom told former Senator Alan Simpson to shut up when he announced his support for Enzi. There was a $220 fine for in-state residential claims on her fishing license application. (Cheney hadn’t lived in Wyoming long enough to avoid the out-of-towner fee.) And, when that was reported in the local press, there was a controversy over whether she had wished death on the state’s well-loved small-town papers.”

There was also a much more serious break between Cheney and her sister over gay marriage. Candidate Cheney’s position was that states should decide for themselves. But she also said that she believes marriage is only between a man and a woman. That drew Facebook rebukes from Mary Cheney, who has two daughters with her wife. The whole tableau, transpiring on social media, had a touch of Jerry Springer about it.”

The article also goes on to compare Liz to her father, who had a good deal of political savvy as a Washington insider and Vice President under George W. Bush even though he lied to the entire country on Iraq’s possession of weapons of mass destruction.  It concludes that she needs to grow up a bit and wait a few years.  We will see!

Tony

 

One comment

  1. I was curious when I read about this – great insights! Thanks for the enlightenment.