Harry Reid Vs the Neoconservatives

Harry Reid takes to the Senate floor to point out how neoconservatives have been wrong on Iraq.

Money quote:

Reid: Being on the wrong side of Dick Cheney is being on the right side of history.

Amen.

Dick Cheney's Iraq Greatest Hits

Will the media please stop asking Duck Cheney about his views on the current crisis in Iraq. Cheney has zero credibility on foreign policy.

Quote of the Day: Dick Cheney Edition

"When we were there, on our watch, we were always ready on 9/11, on the anniversary."

Dick Cheney, former Vice-President

Someone needs to remind Dick Cheney on who was Vice-President on the day of September 11, 2001. Perhaps the President's Daily Brief "Bin Ladin Determined To Strike in US" that was given to President Bush on August 6, 2001. From the PDB.

Nevertheless, FBI information since that time indicates patterns of suspicious activity in this country consistent with preparations for hijackings or other types of attacks including recent surveillance of federal buildings in New York.

The PDB also stated that al-Qaeda operatives have been living in the United States. Condoleezza Rice flat-out lied to the 9/11 Commission about the contents of the PDB.

And I said, at one point, that this was a historical memo, that it was -- it was not based on new threat information. And I said, "No one could have imagined them taking a plane, slamming it into the Pentagon" -- I'm paraphrasing now -- "into the World Trade Center, using planes as a missile."

Dick Cheney is delusional if he thinks the Bush administration was ready on September 11, 2001.

Quote of the Day

"I like Governor Palin. I've met her. I know her. She - attractive candidate. But based on her background, she'd only been governor for, what, two years. I don't think she passed that test…of being ready to take over. And I think that was a mistake."

Dick Cheney, on why it was a mistake for John McCain to pick Sarah Palin as his running mate. >p>

Cheney has been advising the Romney campaign on who to pick as the VP candidate. I'm looking forward to the moment when Cheney recommends himself.

Teresa Strasser Vs David Frum

Teresa Strasser takes David Frum to the woodshed for Dick Cheney for waterboarding. Frum served in the Bush administration as a speechwriter.

Cheney Gives Obama A Thumbs Up On National Security

There is no more evidence that President Barack Obama was not committed to change then Dick Cheney giving praise for continuing President Bush's anti-terrorism policies.

I was concerned that the counter-terrorism policies that we put in place after 9-11 that kept the nation safe for over 7 years were being rapidly discarded. He was going to attempt to discard things like enhanced interrogation techniques. The terrorist surveillance program. I think he's also... I think he's also been through the fires of becoming president and having to make decisions and live with the consequences. I think he's learned what we did was far more appropriate then he ever gave us credit for while he was a candidate.

It has been well documented how the Bush administration bungled pre-9-11 intelligence and cherry-picked intelligence in order to justify an invasion of Iraq. Obama receiving Cheney's endorsement is the equivalent to convicted Enron CEO Jeffery Skilling praising Ben Bernake's money management skills.

Quote of the Day

"The study itself (which suffers from some unfortunate biases, including its assumption that members of the military should be more supportive of torture) suggests that Dick Cheney’s pro-torture media blitz might explain why torture became more popular once a purportedly anti-torture President took power."

"There may be some truth to that. I wouldn’t endorse it unquestioningly without some evidence to support it. But if it is true, it would serve as a lesson about the Obama Administration strategy to avoid fighting for anything it believes in. That is, the study raises the possibility that–by ceding the field to PapaDick’s relentless pro-torture campaign–the Administration served to make its own stated policy less popular."

Marcy Wheeler, aka Emptywheel of Firedoglake.

Cambridge Journals looked at the major polls, during the Bush years, on torture. There was never public approval for torture. The numbers change in 2009. There was a steady increase in approval for torture. The Obama administration's fear of being labeled not centrist has hampered their ability to close Gitmo. Prosecuting Bush officials for torture isn't going to cost the White House Republican Senate votes. Obama never had Republican Senate support for his policies.

The White House is obsessed with the out-of-date neoliberal playbook of the 90s. The White House is talking deficit reduction when the smart polical and policy position would be job creation. Even David Brooks and Paul Krugman agree that unemployment benefits should be extended.

Bill Clinton lowered the deficit so the Obama people feel that takes precedence over the lack of new job creation. Clinton was able to balance the budget because new jobs created created tax revenue to balance the budget. The Obama team has not made extending unemployment benefits a rallying cry or politically made the Republicans pay. Instead, Obama's bipartisan deficit commission has refused to have open meetings. Reports are that military spending is off-the-table. I have a hard time taking a commission with Alan Simpson as co-chair seriously.

The Obama strategy on torture and economics seems to be making grand gestures to Republican voters who were never support them. Bush won two elections and I don't ever remember Bush courting Russ Feingold for his vote or worried about the deficit.

Dick Cheney in the Hospital

This is the public statement from Dick Cheney's office.

“Former Vice President Cheney was not feeling well and was seen this afternoon by his doctors in their offices at George Washington University. On the advice of his physicians, he was admitted to the hospital for further testing. He is expected to remain in the hospital over the weekend.”

Write A Caption: Marco Rubio and Dick Cheney

Dick Cheney has endorsed Marco Rubio. Tas tweeted me this question about Cheney's endorsement.

Was fire breathing out of his mouth while he throttled a puppy and gave the endorsement?

Dick Cheney Endorses Marco Rubio

If I was Kendrick Meek or Charlie Crist, I was run ads of Dick Cheney endorsing Marco Rubio.

more about "Cheney Endorses Rubio for Senate", posted with vodpod

Draft Dick Cheney Web Site

Conservative bloggers are salivating at the possibility of Dick Cheney running for President in 2012.

The noise is made from the rapid release of air that occupies the space where brains should have been. Heh.

As a progressive, I am so in fear of Cheney that I literally laughed when a read the Jawa Report blog post. Cheney wasn't invited to the 2008 Republican National Convention because of his political radioactivity. The embarrassment caught on with the media and Cheney was suddenly suppose to speak at the convention. There was never an announcement of when Cheney was scheduled to make his speech. Cheney later cancelled because of Hurricane Gustav. The McCain campaign did not mourn the loss of Cheney's oratory skills.

The Draft Dick Cheney web site is a hoot.

We hope that you will join our effort to convince former Vice President Richard Cheney to run for President of the United States in 2012. No other Republican leader has the stature or experience of Dick Cheney. He alone can lead the Republican coalition to victory in 2012!

Cheney's approval rating increased to a less than stellar 37 percent in May of 2009. CNN Polling Director Keating Holland said Cheney's approval ratings have little to do with his opposition with Obama's policies. People like Cheney more that he is not in office.

“Is Cheney’s uptick due to his visibility as one of the most outspoken critics of the Obama administration? Almost certainly not,” Holland told CNN. “Former President George W. Bush’s favorable rating rose 6 points in that same time period, and Bush has not given a single public speech since he left office,” Holland said.

There aren't enough conservative bloggers to get Cheney elected.

Cheney in 2012?

On Fox News Sunday, the panel made a pointless controversy on President Barack Obama Emperor of Japan. It is called paying respect to a foreign nation's customs. The panel noted that Dick Cheney did not bow to the Emperior. Liz Cheney floated the of her father running for President.

You could also look at the comparison and think, Cheney 2012.

I'm sure the White House would love to see Dick Cheney as the GOP nominee.

Cheney didn't bow because he is famous for his rudeness. Ron Reagan describes how Cheney treated his mother during his father's funeral. Nancy Reagan is frail and has difficulty walking.

How did your mother feel about being ushered to her seat by President Bush?

REAGAN:Well, he did a better job than Dick Cheney did when he came to the rotunda. I felt so bad. Cheney brought my mother up to the casket, so she could pay her respects. She is in her 80's, and she has glaucoma and has trouble seeing. There were steps, and he left her there. He just stood there, letting her flounder. I don't think he's a mindful human being. That's probably the nicest way I can put it.

How serious is your mother's glaucoma?

REAGAN: I don't know the specifics. She can still see. You may have noticed that she was wearing large glasses at one point.

Cheney created national embarrassment by wearing a parka and hiking boots to the 60th anniversary of the liberation of Auschwitz. Jews were senselessly slaughtered and Cheney dressed like a South Park character. Wearing a formal black jacket or bowing doesn't show weakness. Cheney's actions illustrate a lack of empathy. Apparently, behaving like an asshole is a quality conservatives seek in a presidential candidate.

Quote of the Day

"It’s up to all of us to say these arguments advanced by Cheney and his acolytes are nonsense and that really what they’re doing is undermining our national security by delaying the date at which Guantanamo is closed."

Retired Brig. Gen. James Cullen

Hat tip to GottaLaff.

Quote of the Day

"I'm not entirely sure that Dick Cheney's predictions on foreign policy have borne a whole lot of fruit over the last eight years in a way that has been either positive or, to the best of my recollection, very correct."

Robert Gibbs, White House Press Sec.

Bush Dumped GM Problem On Obama

Dick Cheney parses his words carefully. What is clear was the Bush admistration knew General Motors was in financial trouble. Rather than act, President George W. Bush decided to have the Obama team deal with GM.

“These are big issues and [Bush] wouldn't be there through the process of managing it, but in effect, would have sort of pulled the plug on GM,” Cheney said, adding that he and Bush wanted to allow Obama’s team to “decide what they wanted to do.”

The Decider decided he wanted to punt. A true profile in courage.

Cheney: 9/11 All the Time

Dick Cheney is never going to stop using 9/11 to justify every horrible decision he made. Air America's Ron Kuby provides the audio commentary.

Quote of the Day

"I think the vice president did a great job for President Bush."

Charlie Crist, on former Vice-President Dick Cheney's job performance.

Hopefully, Crist will take National Republican Senatorial Committee Chairman John Cornyn's advice and have Cheney stumped for him.

How Republicans Plan to Win in 2010

Republicans need to get Michael Steele's and Bobby Jindal's "off-the-hook" message more television time. Bristol Palin is helping spread the social conservative message that abstinence-only sex education is the only solution. If we learned anything, is that teenagers will always obey adults when told not to have sex.

What makes the Republican Party stronger than Democrats is when Republicans point out the political shortcomings of their 2012 presidential candidates.

"Remember, it was the base that rejected Mitt because of his switch on pro-life, from pro-choice to pro-life," Steele told the caller. "It was the base that rejected Mitt because it had issues with Mormonism. It was the base that rejected Mitt because they thought he was back and forth and waffling on those very economic issues you're talking about."

"So, I mean, I hear what you're saying, but before we even got to a primary vote, the base had made very clear they had issues with Mitt because if they didn't, he would have defeated John McCain in those primaries in which he lost," Steele concluded.

It helps the RNC Chairman's credibility to recant his statement on Romney.

"Chairman Steele regrets the way his comments have been interpreted," Republican National Committee spokeswoman Gail Gitcho said in a statement.

"Chairman Steele believes Mitt Romney is a respected and influential voice in the Republican Party and looks to his leadership and ideas to help move our party and our nation in the right direction."

Scientific theories can be tested to be proven or disproven. Religious and philosophical theories can not be proven in laboratory settings. Republican Bobby Jindal understands the best way to educate children and keep America a competitive industrial nation is to promote intelligent design as science. It matters not how many scientific organizations have rejected intelligent design as a science.



Republicans continue to comprehend that their support for Dick Cheney and torture policies will help the future of the party. Cheney's soaring 13 percent approval rating and people skills. It is common knowledge it is more productive to defend a no-longer-serving Vice-President of potential criminal offensives than to make attempts at crafting policy. It is better to be the Party Playing Political Defense than the Party of Ideas.

Quote of the Day

"If, as Dick Cheney's daughter says, Cheney's torture crusade is like Al Gore global warming activism, can't he hurry up and form his pro-torture organization and shoot his movie?"

Josh Marshall

Robert Gibbs: Happy to Leave Cheney to His Devices

White House Press Sec. Robert Gibbs told the White House press corp he is more than happy with where Dick Cheney wants to lead the Republican Party.

MR. GIBBS: I'll check on where that is. I've been struck, Ed, in watching the former President and the former Vice President take markedly different views to their lives post their administration. I think many have. And I think the answer that he gave to the future of the Republican Party picking Rush Limbaugh over Colin Powell was an illuminating answer about what you're going to see going forward.

Q How so?

MR. GIBBS: Well, I think that -- I think you've got a series of ideas and a series of thoughts that in many ways the last election was about and the last election rejected. I think going forward -- they're essentially going forward by looking backward. And if the Vice President believes that's a way of growing and expanding the Republican Party, then we're happy to leave him to those devices.