As Cheney Seizes Spotlight, Many Republicans Wince

[liberal N proud]

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, May 14, 2009

As vice president, Richard B. Cheney famously spent much of the past eight years in undisclosed locations and offering private advice to President George W. Bush. But past was not prologue.

Today Cheney is the most visible -- and controversial -- critic of President Obama's national security policies and, to the alarm of many people in the Republican Party, the most forceful and uncompromising defender of the Bush administration's record. His running argument with the new administration has spawned a noisy side debate all its own: By leading the criticism, is Cheney doing more harm than good to the causes he has taken up and to the political well-being of his party?

His defenders believe he has sparked a discussion of vital importance to the safety of the country, and they hold up Obama's reversal of a decision to release photos of detainee abuse as a sign that Cheney is having an effect. But there is a potential political price that his party may pay in having one of the highest officials in an administration repudiated in the last election continue to argue his case long after the voters have rendered their decision.

Cheney entered the arena this winter in a politically weak position after that election. His personal favorability ratings were and are still low. A Gallup poll in late March found that 30 percent of respondents gave him a favorable rating, while 63 percent rated him unfavorably.

<snip>

Cheney has made clear that part of his motivation is to defend against possible legal action against Bush officials who authorized or carried out the controversial interrogation policies. He recently told Stephen F. Hayes of the Weekly Standard that he remembers how, during the Iran-contra scandal in the Reagan administration, senior officials often ran for cover, leaving "the little guys out to dry." He said he is determined to defend those people now. "I don't know whether anybody else will, but I sure as hell will," he told Hayes.
Cheney has filled a vacuum within the Republican Party at a time when there are few other leaders who can command such attention. Bush has chosen to stay silent during his first months out of office, as have some other high-ranking members of his administration.

Republicans who defend Cheney take issue with the argument that it is inappropriate for a former vice president to challenge an incumbent administration. They point to former vice president Al Gore, who took on Bush over the war in Iraq, and to former president Jimmy Carter, who has repeatedly challenged Republican presidents.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/05/13/AR2009051303789.html?hpid=topnews

[lamp_shade]

1. Yes. He's doing more harm than good to his party, but does anybody think he cares?

I don't. Defending the "little guys"? Bullshit. It's his ass and his ass only that he's trying to protect. Selfish little bastard.

[ejpoeta]

2. yes, cheney is out there reminding people of the past eight years.

with the lies and false wars and such. i don't think he really cares about the republican party... just himself (as if that is a surprise!) if he cared about the party he would stay in his undisclosed location and let the party try to reinvent itself... or at least reclaim itself. he's like a stalker that won't let their girlfriend leave, and when she tries he follows her and refuses to let her get on with her life.

in some ways i feel bad for the republicans. they hitched themselves to bush/cheney eight years ago. they thought these two were so great. and they hitched themselves to the christian right, who, are very loyal... but they aren't that way for nothing. they expect to get what they want.... and don't try to get away from them either. they claim to be god fearing, but they'll tear you apart faster than you can blink. i am sure the republican party will find a way to get back a part of themselves. it's painful to watch them struggling to get air. but.... they seemed to relish making a good part of this country, dem and republican alike, twist in the wind so.... maybe this time of trouble will help them see that there is more to this country than their tiny tunnel view of it.

[SpiralHawk]

3. Cheney's 5 military deferments make him a republicon hero

The republicons are wincing only because they hate having the public notice that virtually ALL of their so-called leaders are Chickenhawks, just like Cheney.

It's the embarassment of reality that bugs them.

[billybob537]

4. Keep up the good work

Everytime he opens his mouth He pushes the party further out of the mainstream. Poor Dick he see's himself as a hero for all the wrong reasons.