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Liz Cheney Throws Sister Under the Bus to Pander to Bigoted GOP Primary Voters

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On Friday, Wyoming US Senate candidate Liz Cheney publicly stated “I am not pro-gay marriage. I believe the issue of marriage must be decided by the states, and by the people in the states, not by judges and not even by legislators, but by the people themselves.” Her statement put her at odds with her sister Mary Cheney, who is a lesbian and is married to her same-sex spouse, Heather Poe. Mary stated that her sister was “dead wrong on the issue of marriage” and added that the issue “should not be decided by a show of hands.”

By coming out against gay marriage, Liz Cheney missed an opportunity to distance herself from her opponent, incumbent Senator Mike Enzi, who also opposes same sex marriages. Cheney could have taken a bold stance in favor of freedom to marry and aligned her campaign with conservative values such as support for liberty, which is often given lip service among Wyoming’s libertarian leaning Republicans. Young voters in particular might have found such a position attractive. Instead, however Cheney chose the path of political cowardice and pandered to religious conservatives and homophobes rather than giving voice to redefining the party for the 21st century.

In a state made infamous by the brutal murder of University of Wyoming college student Matthew Shepherd in 1998, a stance in favor of same-sex marriage would have been just the kind of courageous political decision that could have put Liz Cheney in a position to offer a less bigoted, yet fiscally conservative alternative to Mike Enzi. Sure taking such a position would have been politically risky, but it would have been the right thing to do. Instead, Cheney opted to mimic Enzi’s opposition to the freedom to marry.

No doubt she is aware that while gay marriage is gaining support nationally, it is still unpopular in Wyoming and wildly unpopular with Republican voters in the state. A Public Policy Polling (PPP) survey in July of 2013 found that only 17 percent of Wyoming Republicans favored allowing same-sex marriages to be legal. Worse yet, just three percent of Wyoming voters who identified themselves as very conservative, supported allowing same sex marriages, while 73 percent were opposed. Since very conservative voters are among the most likely to vote in Republican primary elections, Cheney is probably angling for their support.

A July PPP poll found Cheney trailing Enzi 54-26 in a hypothetical GOP primary. Among moderate Republicans, the same poll found her getting absolutely destroyed by Enzi 68-14. However, instead of shoring up her support to be more competitive with moderates, a group who in Wyoming supports allowing same sex marriages by a 45-36 margin, Cheney instead has decided to try to run to the right of Mike Enzi. With so little space to run in, Cheney will likely find that her strategy is destined for political failure. In her efforts to placate the most extreme elements of the Republican base, Liz Cheney tossed her sister under the bus. In her bid to unseat Senator Mike Enzi in the GOP primary, voters will likely toss her under the bus, despite her best efforts to pander to the bigotry of Wyoming’s most conservative primary voters.

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Keith Brekhus

Keith Brekhus is a progressive American who currently resides in Red Lodge, Montana. He is co-host for the Liberal Fix radio show. He holds a Master's Degree in Sociology from the University of Missouri. In 2002, he ran for Congress as a Green Party candidate in the state of Missouri. In 2014, he worked as a field organizer for Democrat Ann Kirkpatrick's successful re-election bid in Arizona's 1st Congressional District. He can be followed on Twitter @keithbrekhus or on Facebook.