A conservative super PAC has begun airing statewide television ads in Wyoming attacking Liz Cheney (pictured) for her stance on gay marriage. According to the ad, Cheney has been palling around with too many MSNBC liberals and is simply not homophobic enough to represent the good people of Wyoming.
Cheney, who is the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, is currently challenging three-term incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi in a Republican primary for Wyoming’s U.S. Senate seat.
The ad features Cheney in a 2009 appearance on MSNBC (referred to in the ad as “the go-to network for Barack Obama and Washington’s liberal elites”) in which she opposed a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage and supported the State Department’s decision to “extend benefits to same-sex partners.”
“In Wyoming, Cheney campaigns as a conservative,” a husky-voiced narrator says in the 30-second ad. “In Washington, she appears on MSNBC to campaign against a marriage amendment and support government benefits for gay couples.”
But here’s the not-so-surprising kicker: The ad is misleading. Cheney may have supported a marriage amendment in 2009, but it’s 2013 now and, like any true conservative, her views have since devolved.
This summer, she released a statement that said she is “not pro-gay marriage.”
Shortly after that, Cheney’s younger sister, Mary, who is openly gay and married her longtime partner in D.C. last year, responded with the following Facebook post: “For the record, I love my sister. But she is dead wrong on the marriage issue.”
A spokesperson for Cheney’s campaign released a statement in response to the attack ad saying: “This is a dishonest smear by an out-of-state super PAC. The people of Wyoming deserve better.”
The irony, of course, is that Cheney herself is an out-of-state candidate.
Well, sort of.
Her father grew up in and represented Wyoming for many years, but Liz, who has been dubbed as “The Virginian,” spent most of her life in Wisconsin and around D.C., spending very little time in Wyoming. She owns property there — she also owes several months’ worth of back property taxes — but many local residents say she’s not a true Wyomingite.
“I don’t think this is about the Wyoming senate seat in any way,” Republican strategist Liz Brimmer told PolicyMic in August. “I think this is really about 2020, and it’s about a Cheney for president.”
Wyoming Democratic Senator Chris Rothfuss also expressed suspicion over Cheney’s intentions, saying: “The reason that Liz Cheney is running out of Wyoming rather than what in effect would be her home state of Virginia is because we’re basically seen as a much cheaper option in trying to obtain a Senate seat. Obviously, it’s an attempt to leverage her name recognition.”
If that’s the case, then Liz has got her work cut out for her. The name “Cheney” is not one many people associate with anything good.
Check out the anti-Liz Cheney ad below.
Photo credit: Politico.
2eo
Yeah, get them more bibles and guns, that’s proven a great tactic for keeping people safe and sane over the centuries.
the other Greg
Yippee Ti Yi Yo, get along little dogies
It’s your misfortune and none of my own
Yippee Ti Yi Yo, get along little dogies
You know that Wyoming will be your NEW home! (Where your property taxes are overdue!)
“For the record, I love my sister. But she is dead wrong on the marriage issue.” Just once, I’d like to hear someone like Mary Cheney say: “For the record, I never much liked my sister, and we never talk, even at Thanksgiving!”
bmwblonde
Poor Lynne. Imagine having a father whose entire COUNTENANCE is one of totally stuck rage, paranoia and hatred. Everything black and white, and his grotesque soul-imbalance so “heartless” that his own heart has tried to leave THAT twisted body-and-soul, countless times. So how does a lesbian daughter cope with THAT? All I see here is issues, issues, issues. Can practically guarantee she’s running for office trying to finally “earn” approval from that heartless, psycho dick. Wish we would webcam HIS next incarnation. He REALLY has a pile of karma to work off.