Libertarians, Neocons Face Off in Wyoming GOP Senate Primary
Freedom vs. not so much
The Republican primary for the U.S. Senate race in Wyoming could erupt into a proxy war in the battle between the libertarian and conservative wings of the party over national security, with Sen. Rand Paul supporting Sen. Michael B. Enzi in his re-election bid against the eldest daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney.
Liz Cheney is a political novice but served in the State Department under President George W. Bush. She is a steadfast supporter of her father, who has been a lightning rod for debates over military adventurism and civil liberties since the onset of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Republicans skeptical of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars say the costs and resulting federal budget deficits helped fuel the tea party movement that powered Mr. Paul to victory in the 2010 U.S. Senate race in Kentucky. Indeed, Mr. Paul had to overcome opposition from Mr. Cheney, who called primary opponent Trey Grayson the "real conservative" in the race.
"If that is the case that Rand Paul is supporting Enzi, it seems to me to be a proxy war between the neocons and the realist-slash-libertarians when it comes to foreign policy," said Niger Innis, head of TheTeaParty.net.
Hide Comments (0)
Editor's Note: As of February 29, 2024, commenting privileges on reason.com posts are limited to Reason Plus subscribers. Past commenters are grandfathered in for a temporary period. Subscribe here to preserve your ability to comment. Your Reason Plus subscription also gives you an ad-free version of reason.com, along with full access to the digital edition and archives of Reason magazine. We request that comments be civil and on-topic. We do not moderate or assume any responsibility for comments, which are owned by the readers who post them. Comments do not represent the views of reason.com or Reason Foundation. We reserve the right to delete any comment and ban commenters for any reason at any time. Comments may only be edited within 5 minutes of posting. Report abuses.
Please
to post commentsMute this user?
Ban this user?
Un-ban this user?
Nuke this user?
Un-nuke this user?
Flag this comment?
Un-flag this comment?