On Cheney
The funny thing is that Liz Cheney really oughta have been Senator. Lurking below the surface of this 2014 article on her dismal run and flame-out is the sense that Enzi was set to retire — signs along the lines of lack of fund-raising pointed to it — until Cheney wounded his pride by noisally jumping in with her primary bid.
Her Congressional career saw an immediate opportunity to jump to the Senate, but for Republican House lobbying.
Some Republicans tell POLITICO privately that Cheney is their preferred messenger — even more so than House Minority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.) — at what feels like a low point for the party after a brutal midterm election cycle that decimated their ranks of female lawmakers in the House. Others say they can envision her becoming Speaker Cheney one day.
That’s why it would sting to lose Cheney to the Senate. And the blow to the House GOP would come sooner than 2020; Cheney would have to step down from her leadership post if she seeks higher office because of new party rules that took effect this year. […]
While climbing the House leadership ladder could be an attractive option for Cheney, a high-profile Senate seat would put her in the national spotlight — potentially catapulting her to become a future secretary of Defense or even president.
Today we run into the line of thought by Republicans now dropping her from her “3rd Most Powerful Republican in the House” position. A “we’re not obsessed with Trump — you’re the one obsessed with Trump” line shows up. And for the political purposes of winning seats in 2022, they are probably correct. As against Cheney, and the mass of media positioning and opinion meistering — and the idea that you can’t sweep Jan 6 away and place it on ignore — Trump no longer has a Facebook or Twitter page, but he does have a sparkling new blog!