Who is Dick Cheney?

[BMW540I6speed]

Shivetya said:

considering approval ratings of VPs are absolutely meaningless its says alot for those who try to give them value?

tilt at windmills too?

all I see are the hysterics of our resident moonbats who figure if they put enough bad sounding stuff together it somehow becomes a magical bullet to slay THEIR self created demons.

I guess ya'll pray to St. Hillary to make Eveel Cheney not lurk under your beds?

Keep tossing spoo at the wall, it might stick. Seems the Republicans kept at it for a long time in the 90s I guess the Democrats haven't grown up either, actually the lunatic left which exhibits itself daily here (ya'll really are hilarious, my dogs get as silly as you do, but they don't eat their poo)

In other words, you really have nothing to say, other than "label" people with cute little nicknames and lament that "republicans & democrats do it too". Your giddly happy with your authoritarian figureheads & their manly man attributes.

This reminds me, Tucker Carlson had Jonah Goldberg on his show the other night. They debated which tough guy attributes run through Cheneys authoritarian mind, all the while giggling like little school children at their daddy figure worship.

Some excerpts:

"Cheney "doesn't bother talking the talk, he just walks the walk";

"he's a politician who doesn't look at the polls. . . another Harry Truman";

"love to have a beer with the guy";

"a smart, serious man in American life";

"Have you ever seen Dick Cheney give a speech? I mean, the contempt for the audience is palpable","I know, I , see, I love that. He looks like he should be eating a sandwich while he's doing it, eating lunch over the sink . . I love that";

"I can just see him yelling, hey you kids, get off my lawn. I love it."

This excerpt, especialy the last response by Goldberg emulates the prototypical authoritarian mind:

CARLSON: But I'm bothered by Cheney's, but does, Cheney's secrecy, his penchant for secrecy. I mean, this is a cliche, a stereotype, but it's rooted, apparently, in truth. The guy really is secretive to a degree we haven't seen in a while. That is -- I mean, we do have a right to know what our government is doing, don't we?

GOLDBERG: Yes, sure, although I think you would concede, even though you and I disagree about some foreign policy stuff, you and I would agree that there are some things that should be kept secret. We might disagree about what they are.

CARLSON: Right.

GOLDBERG: And you know, but I do think that what Cheney has learned after a lifetime in Washington as a power player, is that the person who holds the secrets has power. And he is using that for what I would say, or probably what he believes to be certainly good ends. A lot of people disagree on that, but he's trying to do best as he can and he sees holding onto power as a tool to do that.

People of the authoritarian bent are looking for daddies, not leaders. That was the appeal of Ronald Reagan: The congenial but tough-minded dad. This also will be the appeal of Thompson & Giuliani. Goldberg says it explicitly in the excerpt above: "I can just see him yelling, hey you kids, get off my lawn. I love it." Cheney is the cantankerous neighborhood dad who doesn't brook any misbehavior from the local kids.

Yet these people are seen in the public mind, paradoxically, as representing the tough and individualistic strain of the American psyche. In reality, they are merely soft and frightened little children looking for someone the hold their hands and reassure them as they face the scary world.

This is a sad commentary, on the state of mind of this country. The lack of critical thinking combined with the thirst for authoritarian rule by an minority does not bode well for the continuation of a liberal republic. Imagine if Bush was intelligent besides corrupt.

And the reason for the secrecy is twofold. It is not just to protect the dirty, sometimes morally repugnant, means by which these good ends are reached, it is in fact primarily to protect the Great Leaders from having their definition of "good ends" scrutinized and challenged.

The solution to authoritarianism:

Anyone who has ever held office in public service organizations or even been on a committee knows that it's a pain in the ass to have to confer with people and persuade them that you are doing the right thing.

Being in politics is no different, whether you're on a city council or the Vice President of the United States.

Transparency, though wonderful, only takes you so far. As we have seen, there are workarounds.

Thus the strong desire to "just get the job done" and to "walk the walk," even if you have the best of intentions. This is true of Dick Cheney. This was true Hillary Clinton when she formed her healthcare commission.

The answer to authoritarianism: Take the power away through strictly limited government, a watchful citizenry and by giving the government the least possible amount to do. It may be flawed, you may not like it, but it is the only way to stay free.

"Government is not reason; it is not eloquent; it is force. Like fire, it is a dangerous servant and a fearful master." -- George Washington

 

[MadRat]

BMW540I6speed-

I'm not understanding if you are criticizing the vp or just documenting his idiosyncrasies. Why should a vp have privacy? He's not protected with the same privacy of a commoner because by the nature of his job. He signed up for the duty he needs to be transparent or give up the job.