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Who Cares What You Think? Not Dick
By Jaime O'Neill
Created Mar 27 2008 - 10:07am
In a rare recent interview with a news outlet not owned by Rupert Murdoch,
Vice President Dick Cheney revealed just how indifferent he is to the will
of the people. Here's a little piece of Cheney's interview with ABC's Martha
Raddatz..
CHENEY: "On the security front, I think there's a general consensus that
we've made major progress, that the surge has worked. That's been a major
success."
RADDATZ: "Two-third of Americans say it's not worth fighting."
CHENEY: "So?"
RADDATZ "So? You don't care what the American people think?"
CHENEY: "No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in
the public opinion polls."
That little film clip will not be seen very often, and most Americans will
probably never see it at all. It won't be played and replayed thousands of
times, as was the little clip of Barack Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright, in
which he called down hell and damnation for our nation's sins.
But, a man who actually is complicit in committing some of those sins will
be largely ignored by the news media when he expresses arrogant indifference
to the majority opinion of the people of this nation. True patriots should
be appalled by such disdain for democracy, such imperial indifference to
popular opinion. We are not vassals or serfs, and we are not the subjects of
kings. Still, we sit quiet while Cheney behaves as though he had the
infallibility once claimed by popes, and the power once wielded by
Machiaevellian princes. Wearing his characteristic reptilian smirk, Vice
President Cheney showed once again that he considers himself answerable to
no one.
In a democracy, Cheney's reply to Martha Raddatz's question reveals a degree
of arrogance that would have made a Caesar look humble, that would have made
a Czar seem sensitive.
Cheney cavalierly waves off the opinion of two-thirds of the nation. He does
so on the fifth anniversary of an invasion he predicted would be greeted by
cheering Iraqis who would hail us as liberators. Just before the invasion,
Cheney also said that the war would be brief, that we would be out in no
time. He was wrong about that.
"So?"
After he finished his interview with ABC News, Cheney took off fishing on a
yacht loaned to him by the Sultan of Oman, one of the VP's old oil pals.
Some people thought it a little inappropriate of him to observe the fifth
anniversary of the war that has taken the lives of 4,000 young Americans in
this manner, and that going out to play on the yacht of a wealthy Arab oil
baron might be a little unseemly in view of the suspicions that the war in
Iraq was all about oil profits in the first place.
"So?"
Some people might think Cheney's fondness for war is a little odd
considering how persistent he was in avoiding service back when he was
young. Some will even remember that when asked why, if he supported that old
war back when he was eligible to wear a uniform, he didn't serve. Cheney
said he had "other priorities." If that seems a little high handed or
hypocritical to you, Cheney has an answer for that, too.
"So?" is his answer.
Eight thousand U.S. parents of slain military men and women lost their
children unnecessarily to the current war in Iraq, a loss from which they
will never recover.
"So?" Cheney says.
Uncounted Iraqis died during and after our invasion, people who had
committed no offense against the U.S., most of them merely having the great
misfortune of being under roofs where the bombs fell. They died without ever
knowing why.
"So?" says Cheney.
The invasion was launched, we were told, because Saddam was part of an axis
of evil. Evildoers could not be permitted to have weapons of mass
destruction. Iraq had such weapons, we were told, and the possibility that
Iraq would use those weapons against us was imminent, we were told, and so
an invasion was imperative. No such weapons were ever found.
"So," Cheney says.
Dick Cheney doesn't care what you think. If you're one of the baying pack of
right wingers who still support the Bush administration, Dick Cheney doesn't
much care what you think, any more than he cares what the limp-wristed
liberals think. He doesn't have to care what you think. It is a matter of no
concern to him whatsoever.
"So?"
Many Americans still resent the obscene profits made by Halliburton,
Cheney's old company, and a chief beneficiary of the war in Iraq.
Halliburton has garnered billions in no-bid contracts for doing jobs in Iraq
the military used to do for itself. Additional billions have turned out to
be overcharges, and still other billions have been unaccounted for entirely.
"So?"
Cheney and his titular boss took over the executive branch in one of the
most clouded elections in the nation's history. They continued to hold
office after a second election gave them a razor-thin margin of victory, and
yet they've governed as though they were riding a wave of popular acclaim,
snatching unprecedented powers for the office of the presidency in ways that
have compromised our system of checks and balances. If you don't like it,
Cheney has an answer for you.
"So?" he says.
In the first two months of the Bush administration, Cheney met with
executives of the major oil companies and energy corporations to discuss an
energy policy that would be acceptable to those titans of power. What was
decided in those meetings, and who attended those meetings has never been
made public. The public had no right to know. It was none of our business,
and if you don't like it, Cheney has a response for you.
"So?" he says, a verbal middle finger to the people of America.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson
By Jaime O'Neill
Created Mar 27 2008 - 10:07am
In a rare recent interview with a news outlet not owned by Rupert Murdoch,
Vice President Dick Cheney revealed just how indifferent he is to the will
of the people. Here's a little piece of Cheney's interview with ABC's Martha
Raddatz..
CHENEY: "On the security front, I think there's a general consensus that
we've made major progress, that the surge has worked. That's been a major
success."
RADDATZ: "Two-third of Americans say it's not worth fighting."
CHENEY: "So?"
RADDATZ "So? You don't care what the American people think?"
CHENEY: "No. I think you cannot be blown off course by the fluctuations in
the public opinion polls."
That little film clip will not be seen very often, and most Americans will
probably never see it at all. It won't be played and replayed thousands of
times, as was the little clip of Barack Obama's pastor, Jeremiah Wright, in
which he called down hell and damnation for our nation's sins.
But, a man who actually is complicit in committing some of those sins will
be largely ignored by the news media when he expresses arrogant indifference
to the majority opinion of the people of this nation. True patriots should
be appalled by such disdain for democracy, such imperial indifference to
popular opinion. We are not vassals or serfs, and we are not the subjects of
kings. Still, we sit quiet while Cheney behaves as though he had the
infallibility once claimed by popes, and the power once wielded by
Machiaevellian princes. Wearing his characteristic reptilian smirk, Vice
President Cheney showed once again that he considers himself answerable to
no one.
In a democracy, Cheney's reply to Martha Raddatz's question reveals a degree
of arrogance that would have made a Caesar look humble, that would have made
a Czar seem sensitive.
Cheney cavalierly waves off the opinion of two-thirds of the nation. He does
so on the fifth anniversary of an invasion he predicted would be greeted by
cheering Iraqis who would hail us as liberators. Just before the invasion,
Cheney also said that the war would be brief, that we would be out in no
time. He was wrong about that.
"So?"
After he finished his interview with ABC News, Cheney took off fishing on a
yacht loaned to him by the Sultan of Oman, one of the VP's old oil pals.
Some people thought it a little inappropriate of him to observe the fifth
anniversary of the war that has taken the lives of 4,000 young Americans in
this manner, and that going out to play on the yacht of a wealthy Arab oil
baron might be a little unseemly in view of the suspicions that the war in
Iraq was all about oil profits in the first place.
"So?"
Some people might think Cheney's fondness for war is a little odd
considering how persistent he was in avoiding service back when he was
young. Some will even remember that when asked why, if he supported that old
war back when he was eligible to wear a uniform, he didn't serve. Cheney
said he had "other priorities." If that seems a little high handed or
hypocritical to you, Cheney has an answer for that, too.
"So?" is his answer.
Eight thousand U.S. parents of slain military men and women lost their
children unnecessarily to the current war in Iraq, a loss from which they
will never recover.
"So?" Cheney says.
Uncounted Iraqis died during and after our invasion, people who had
committed no offense against the U.S., most of them merely having the great
misfortune of being under roofs where the bombs fell. They died without ever
knowing why.
"So?" says Cheney.
The invasion was launched, we were told, because Saddam was part of an axis
of evil. Evildoers could not be permitted to have weapons of mass
destruction. Iraq had such weapons, we were told, and the possibility that
Iraq would use those weapons against us was imminent, we were told, and so
an invasion was imperative. No such weapons were ever found.
"So," Cheney says.
Dick Cheney doesn't care what you think. If you're one of the baying pack of
right wingers who still support the Bush administration, Dick Cheney doesn't
much care what you think, any more than he cares what the limp-wristed
liberals think. He doesn't have to care what you think. It is a matter of no
concern to him whatsoever.
"So?"
Many Americans still resent the obscene profits made by Halliburton,
Cheney's old company, and a chief beneficiary of the war in Iraq.
Halliburton has garnered billions in no-bid contracts for doing jobs in Iraq
the military used to do for itself. Additional billions have turned out to
be overcharges, and still other billions have been unaccounted for entirely.
"So?"
Cheney and his titular boss took over the executive branch in one of the
most clouded elections in the nation's history. They continued to hold
office after a second election gave them a razor-thin margin of victory, and
yet they've governed as though they were riding a wave of popular acclaim,
snatching unprecedented powers for the office of the presidency in ways that
have compromised our system of checks and balances. If you don't like it,
Cheney has an answer for you.
"So?" he says.
In the first two months of the Bush administration, Cheney met with
executives of the major oil companies and energy corporations to discuss an
energy policy that would be acceptable to those titans of power. What was
decided in those meetings, and who attended those meetings has never been
made public. The public had no right to know. It was none of our business,
and if you don't like it, Cheney has a response for you.
"So?" he says, a verbal middle finger to the people of America.
--
NOTICE: This post contains copyrighted material the use of which has not
always been authorized by the copyright owner. I am making such material
available to advance understanding of
political, human rights, democracy, scientific, and social justice issues. I
believe this constitutes a 'fair use' of such copyrighted material as
provided for in section 107 of the US Copyright
Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107
"A little patience and we shall see the reign of witches pass over, their
spells dissolve, and the people recovering their true sight, restore their
government to its true principles. It is true that in the meantime we are
suffering deeply in spirit,
and incurring the horrors of a war and long oppressions of enormous public
debt. But if the game runs sometimes against us at home we must have
patience till luck turns, and then we shall have an opportunity of winning
back the principles we have lost, for this is a game where principles are at
stake."
-Thomas Jefferson