The GOP's Cheney Problem

In politics it's not uncommon to see numerous politicians who are real jerks, shallow politicians in way over their heads, or even corrupt politicians. Rarely, however, do you find a politician who seems to be the essence of pure evil. Dick Cheney is one such individual who strikes me as pure evil. The man seems to savor the regime of torture he helped usher in and is totally unapologetic for the disastrous mess in which he and the Chimperator left the country. Perhaps the only good thing about Cheney is that he likes to hear himself talk and is currently running his mouth to the dismay of many in the GOP who wish he'd simply disappear forever. As much as I cannot stand Cheney, I hope his ego keeps him talking and reminding the voting public about the nightmare the GOP gave to the nation over the last eight years. Here are some highlights from The Hill:

*

Congressional Republicans are telling Dick Cheney to go back to his undisclosed location and leave them alone to rebuild the Republican Party without his input. Displeased with the former vice-president's recent media appearances, Republican lawmakers say he's hurting GOP efforts to reinvent itself after back-to-back electoral drubbings.

*

The veep, who showed a penchant for secrecy during eight years in the White House,has popped up in media interviews to defend the Bush-Cheney record while suggesting that the country is not as safe under President Obama.

*
Rep. John Duncan Jr. (R-Tenn.) said, “He became so unpopular while he was in the White House that it would probably be better for us politically if he wouldn’t be so public...But he has the right to speak out since he’s a private citizen.”

*

The legislator [who requested anonymity] said Cheney, whose approval ratings were lower than President Bush’s during the last Congress, didn’t think through the political implications of going after Obama. Cheney did “House Republicans no favors,” the lawmaker said

*

Potential Illinois Senate hopeful Rep. Mark Kirk (R) told The Hill that Cheney would better shape his legacy by writing a book. “Tending a legacy is best done in a memoir,” Kirk said. “I would just encourage everybody who has left office to follow the tradition of the Founding Fathers — to write your memoirs, but to refrain from [criticizing].”

*

Rep. Zach Wamp (R-Tenn.), who is running for governor [said] . . . “With all due respect to former Vice President Cheney, he represents what’s behind us, not what’s ahead of us.”

*

During an interview on “60 Minutes” that aired on Sunday, Obama fired back at Cheney. Obama said, “I fundamentally disagree with Dick Cheney … I think that Vice President Cheney has been at the head of a movement whose notion is somehow that we can’t reconcile our core values, our Constitution, our belief that we don’t torture, with our national-security interests. I think he’s drawing the wrong lesson from history. The facts don’t bear him out.”