Joe and Eileen Bailey are the people [some] Democrats think will be charmed by Liz Cheney, but won't be. They voted for a Democrat for president precisely once - Obama 2008 - and never will again.
If you have to pick between someone who fits the mold of "NPR centrism" and someone who is more likely to elicit a response of "I don't always agree with him/her, but I like that s/he has principles, knows where s/he stands, and that s/he's on the side of people like me," I am sure it is mostly the latter.
As James Carville argued, when he was pushing Clinton against Obama, "[Hillary is] the candidate you want on your side in a knife fight."
You can argue this is tone and style more than substance, that voters really do love moderate policies, and that your "knife fighter" shouldn't be promising full communism. Fine. Now is the perfect opportunity for those centrist ass kickers! Come on out! There has never been a more perfect time for a full-throated defense of the status quo!