GOP Not Happy with Cheney's Attempt to Unseat Enzi

After announcing her run for Wyoming's U.S. Senate on Tuesday against veteran Senator Mike Enzi (in a YouTube video, nonetheless), Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, is making waves in the Republican party and beyond.

Political commentators and Republicans are criticizing Cheney for challenging Enzi before he chooses to retire, and have even called her a carpetbagger, since she's only lived in the state for a year. Check out how Cheney is stacking up against Enzi, according to the commentators.

• In a piece from Talking Points Memo, writer Brian Beutler explains how Cheney is actually more Liberal than Enzi, and if elected, would make the state less conservative. Beutler highlights Enzi's conservative career, in which he has a "zero percent NARAL rating, a 93 percent lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union and an 86 percent lifetime rating from the Club for Growth." Although voters may associate Cheney with her father, Beutler says that may not be the case. Cheney is more liberal when it comes to social issues and says marriage issues should be left to the states. The takeaway from Beutler's piece is that Wyoming is "so deep red" that voters may not take to Cheney's more liberal stances.

• The Atlantic analyzes how Cheney's name could help or hurt her by linking her actions to dad Dick Cheney and criticizes her for her low blows to President Obama. "Republicans aren't thrilled about this primary challenge in part because of the nature of the Cheney brand... There is, as well, the public's distaste for political dynasties, due to the reasonable suspicion that the younger members wouldn't be where they are without inside-the-Beltway nepotism, and the carpetbagger vibe of her brief residence in the state prior to declaring her run," Conor Friedersdorf wrote. However, Friedersdorf isn't supportive of the view that Cheney should wait her turn. "Politicos are often overly invested in dues paying, obsess over perceived slights, fetishize tribal loyalty, and exhibit entitlement on a scale that used to be considered sinful. The Republicans who oppose Cheney for those reasons should get over themselves," he writes. From this, it's sure to be a bitter race within the party.

• Cheney's biggest negative coming into the race, according to the Washington Post? Her Carpetbagger status. Cheney's opponents may be able to make a case for that. Cheney has been a Wyoming resident since 2012, and previously lived in Virginia and Colorado. In the piece Sean Sullivan analyzes how "the carpetbagger label doesn’t necessarily have to be a deadly political blow." Sullivan presents Hillary Clinton's run for New York's Senator as a successful example of this. "What makes Cheney’s challenge different, though, is that Wyoming is a small state with a unique culture where retail politics matter and face time is worth its weight in gold," Sullivan says. Enzi, the longtime senator with a near perfect record, will no doubt be a tough match up for Cheney. One thing is clear, however: "If she allows the carpetbagger question to linger in the campaign, it will be hard to hang in."