Posted on 07/17/2013 1:17:16 PM PDT by cotton1706
Michael Steele on Wednesday said Liz Cheney’s decision to challenge fellow Republican Sen. Mike Enzi for his Wyoming Senate seat will be disastrous and split the party.
The former Republican National Committee chairman told MSNBC’s Alex Wagner that he thinks former Sen. Alan Simpson was right to call the situation a “disaster.”
“I think he’s right, I think it’s going to open a lot of fissures in the party. I think this is an insurgent move by Cheney,” Steele said Wednesday on “Now with Alex Wagner.”
Steele criticized Cheney’s comments that Enzi has compromised too much and “gone along to get along.”
“When have people gone along to get along in Washington in the last four or five years?” Steele said. “This is clearly more of a personal opportunity to, thinking there’s an opening here, and, you know, it’s going to be tough.”
Agreeing with fellow panelist E.J. Dionne, Steele said he hopes race is a chance for rank and file Republicans to fight back against a Washington tea party.
“I hope they do. I hope the Enzi team really come prepared with a strong A game, because this could be a seminal moment for a longer conversation,” Steele said.
That's higher than Olympia Snowe's or Dick Lugar's.
It's higher than Dick Cheney's.
Of course, Liz Cheney's running against a Republican incumbent would be divisive and bad for the party.
Dick Cheney's always had his own agenda and aggressively pursued it, and it's only loosely connected with what most people take for conservatism.
I can't see getting enthusiastic about his daughter's political ambitions.
I find Michael Steele to be divisive,
And let’s also not forget the opposite situation. When the time rolls around Michael Steele, Alan Simpson and their ilk will not be saying: why Rand Paul has been a great senator. I oppose him being challenged by a more moderate candidate. Or, I’ve got Ted Cruz’s back against his moderate challenger.
Quite the contrary, they’ll be putting up the moderates to take out the conservatives. Remember the Murkowski election?? Who did the RNC support?? The republican nominee or the republican incumbent running as an independent? I think we all remember the answer.
Because nobody in politics is very ambitious and looking to move up?
Good to know.
ACU ratings are crap!
http://www.redstate.com/2013/02/22/the-american-conservative-unions-embarrassing-scorecard/
Enzi’s Heritage action rating is 67% and his Club for Growth rating for the last four years has been 99%, 86%, 84% then 71%. Like that trend??
Mike Enzi, you too can be a John McCain. Let’s give you one more term!
Liz Cheney would support homosexual marriage along with her homosexual sister Mary. She’s no improvement.
Club for Growth is free trade and was strongly in favor of increased immigration for a long time. Enzi lost ground with them for voting for the farm bill and the sugar subsidy and against unlimited deposit insurance. Those aren’t make or break issues for most Republicans, especially in farm states. Do you really think DC Liz would go out of her way to risk reelection by voting against agricultural subsidies?
She also favored the repeal of Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell.
http://thinkprogress.org/lgbt/2010/12/07/177165/cheney-dadt/
She’d be worse than Enzi, I think. Enzi is very strongly anti-illegal immigration, whereas Cheney’s dad, at least, is a big supporter of Rubio’s amnesty bill.
She’s much more of a military interventionalist than is Enzi, and she’s a strong supporter of the NSA spying on citizens.
If you think sex deviates should be treated the same as normally-adjusted MORAL humans, then you are not a Conservative promoting the Family Values this country has lost.
I’m not advocating for Liz Cheney. I’m advocating for the removal of Mike Enzi, a three term incumbent. And Cheney has stood up to take him out. And I’m demonstrating with this post the “protect the incumbent” attitude of the republican establishment types. Which is how we got Jim Jeffords and Arlen Specter and Lincoln Chafee and Lisa Murkowski, and how we almost got Mike Castle and Charlie Crist.
Frankly, after the Supreme Court decision, I don’t think senators can do a thing to protect marriage anymore, except vote for judges who would protect it. And that ship has apparently sailed. And if you think Enzi wouldn’t all of a sudden be for gay marriage to get votes like Lisa Murkowski and the other senators who “changed their tune” when the political winds changed, you’re kidding yourself.
“...it’s going to open a lot of fissures in the party.”
Looking at the Republican Party, how could anyone tell the difference?
Cheney seems as much a beltway name to me as good old RINO Senator Alan Simpson.
What’s the difference?????
Cheney and Enzi are beltway.
Maybe a third real conservative should run in the GOP primary....
Challenging a respected incumbent in a primary is divisive.
It has nothing to do with being conservative or liberal.
“Is this the “loser” Michael Steele who couldn’t win in MD “
Republicans have not won an MD senate seat since 1980 and no that was not due to Reagan. It was Charles Mathais first elected in 1968 and retiring in 1987.
And if Saint Sarah Palin ran in MD, she might get 20% of the vote if she were lucky.
I give a Fluck what you think Michael?
You were a disaster as RNC chief.
Except for raising money, you sucked at everything
“Cheney seems as much a beltway name to me as good old RINO Senator Alan Simpson.
What’s the difference?????”
Then Michael Steele shouldn’t be all that upset, should he?
“Don’t forget Murkowski”
I am not forgetting Murkowski. She ran as a write in candidate and beat the republican/tea party candidate in the general election.
That made her the third write in candidate in history to win a US senate seat.
The other two were Knowland and Strom Thurmond.
“Remember the Murkowski election?? Who did the RNC support?? “
I believe the RNC may have supported the incumbent sitting US Senator Murkowski against the republican primary winner Miller.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.