Upon announcing her U.S. Senate candidacy in July, Liz Cheney proclaimed it was "time for a new generation." Four months later, Cheney would not directly say that her next-generation run falls under the tea party label.
In an interview with KGWN-TV Monday evening, Cheney was asked point blank: "Are you a tea party candidate?" She did not go so far as a straight "yes," instead saying that she was a "supporter" of the movement's "important service."
"They've really sent a message that the people we elect need to make sure they remember that they work for the people who sent them to Washington," Cheney said. "And so I think the tea party has done a lot of good for us."
Cheney's comments mirror those made three weeks earlier by her father and former vice president, Dick Cheney. In a late October interview with NBC's "Today," he called the tea party the "new wave" in Washington, just like his daughter. But he did not directly call her a tea party candidate.
"My own daughter is running for the U.S. Senate in Wyoming partly motivated by the concern that Washington's not working, that the system is breaking down and that it's time for new leadership," Cheney said.
As for the GOP on the whole, Liz Cheney told KGWN that it's "going through a period of turmoil," citing two straight presidential election losses. But she called this a "healthy process," adding that if there wasn't "internal soul-searching" going on right now, she'd be "worried about it."
"It helps bring a new generation to the fore and we just need to get ourselves unified and moving in the right direction together before we get to 2016," Cheney said.
Back in July, some were critical of Cheney's decision to challenge incumbent Sen. Mike Enzi (R-Wyo.), calling it the epitome of partisan problems. National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) said "our support will be there for Mike." Wyoming state Sen. Chris Rothfuss (D) charged that Cheney was running because his state is seen as a "much cheaper option" than her home turf of Virginia.
"Mike's being attacked in this election because he's been traditionally willing to compromise and reach across the aisle in a manner that's unpopular with the partisan culture," Rothfuss told the Associated Press.
Cheney dismissed those accusations at the time, calling Wyoming her home turf.
"My sense is, as far the carpetbagger charge, is it's from people who don't want to talk about substance, don't want to talk about the issues," she told the AP.
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