Liz Cheney Eyes Wyoming Politics

Liz Cheney, the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has been hitting the GOP dinner circuit in Wyoming this year, spawning conjecture that the former State Department official may be weighing a return to the state her father represented during his tour in the U.S. House of Representatives, according to a report by Politico.

Cheney, still officially a resident of McLean, Va., has attended four county Lincoln Day Dinners and keynoted the dinner following the recent Wyoming GOP convention. She also stood beside her father at the state convention when he made his first public appearance following his heart transplant.

But it’s not only the appearances that have pundits talking about her possible political ambitions in Wyoming; it’s what she is saying, notes Politico. Comments such as:

● “Let me tell you why Wyoming’s style of politics is so important,” Cheney said last month at the Park County Republican Lincoln Day Dinner, according to the Cody Enterprise. “There is a personal touch here that gets amazing people into office.”

● In an interview with local radio station KGOS-KERM, Cheney confided that her father was most proud of his days representing Wyoming. “He has said to me that there is no title that he felt prouder of professionally than when he was called ‘The Gentleman from Wyoming.’”

● Cheney even demurred like a politician when asked about her ambitions. “Right now, I’m focused on the presidential campaign and getting Mitt Romney elected,” she told the Cody Enterprise.

“She’s running up a lot of asphalt,” said Shawn Whitman, a Laramie native and former chief of staff for two Wyoming senators, of Cheney’s schedule. “This is planting seeds of thought in people’s minds. There’s nobody I know that goes to those events unless they have a position in the party or they’re trying to run for office.”

“She’s putting herself in a position now so she can eventually do it,” said one fellow Washington Republican.