Cheney: (Current) Spats dwarfed by Watergate

[sabra]

Source: ChicagoTrib Swamp Politics Blog


Vice President Dick Cheney, who has served four presidents in his time, looks at the controversy surrounding this administration and suggests, this is nothing.

Cheney, who spoke at the National Press Club today, was asked about the new book by the former White House press secretary, Scott McClellan, who has written of the Bush White House and Washington's "culture of deception.''

"I haven't read Scott McClellan's book,'' Cheney said. "I don't plan to read Scott McClellan's book any time soon.

"There's a lot made of how difficult it is to opearte in Washington, how partisan it gets at times, how tough the battles get,'' said the vice president, who made his first White House tour of duty with President Richard Nixon.

"One of the things... if you go back and you look, have the perspective of time and have the benefit of being a student of history, as difficult as it may be now in terms of a partisan standpoint... I can remember the Watergate years... Certainly I would say, in terms of trying to match up the degree of partisan dialog and disputes we have now with that period in time, this doesn't look nearly as tough.''

Read more: http://weblogs.baltimoresun.com/news/politics/blog/2008/06/cheney_spats_dwarfed_by_waterg.html

[gratuitous]

1. Sure it's not nearly as tough

This time around, Cheney has the major media outlets in his hip pocket. So naturally it's a lot easier failing to install a dictatorship this time around. If the media were as adversarial now as they were then, Dick would be hunting through the Yellow Pages for a reliable cleaning service that could handle separating feathers from tar.

[Richardo]

2. Yeah, a 410-4 vote is really partisan........ Dick

On February 6, 1974, the House of Representatives passed House Resolution 803 by 410-4 to authorise the Judiciary Committee to consider impeachment proceedings against Nixon.

[bill for obama]

16. OT - your "icon"

That is Clemente's card - 68 or 69???

How did you get the picture as your icon? Very cool.

Can one get others??

[Richardo]

19. Just googled Clemente images and reduced the one I liked to 80x80

(or whatever the limit is).

You can upload them from your PC in the 'OPtions' section.

[bill for obama]

20. Thank you.

[TheDebbieDee]

3. No, Mr. Cheney. The deaths of more than 4,000 soldiers,

tens of thousands of Iraqis, hundreds of civilians in the attacks of 9/11 and hundreds/thousands of dead/displaced/traumatized civilians in New Orleans, etc., etc., etc., are NOT dwarfed by Watergate......

But you WISH they could be, don't you?

[Canuckistanian]

24. Nobody died during Watergate

Nor did anyone die in Clinton's scandals.

THAT's what makes it the worst, you fucking baby-eating neocon.

(not you, TheDebbieDee) :hi:

[Stuart G]

34. My thoughts exactly..

I am glad that Darth said this. It just shows everyone what a self centered lying clown he is... People will see him for the truth..not this lie..
...I recall Watergate very well. While the Watergate crowd was arrogant, lying and felt that they were above the law, they did answer to the law. This group, answers to no one..
...Nixon's crowd did not deliberately create the mess in Viet Nam. Bush's crowd deliberately created Iraq,
...... and perhaps as many as 200,000 deaths. (perhaps 5 times that much)

Watergate is to the Spanish American War...
..as Iraq is to WWII.

[magellan]

4. He's wrong and right

In actuality it's far more partisan now than it was back then. But back then the Dems stood up to the Repubs...which made it seem worse than it was.

[BonnieJW]

6. The PRESS stood up to the repubs!

They went everywhere looking for stories. Remember Woodward and Bernstein? I do. That's when Woodward was a real reporter and not just a repub spinmeister.

[magellan]

29. The Dems did too

They were in the process of impeaching Nixon and would have if he hadn't resigned.

[Kutjara]

5. He's got a point. I mean...

...the Bush Junta has only lied the country into war, presided of the illegal deaths of thousands of servicemen and Iraqi civillians, systematically dismantled the Constitution, engaged in torture and other abuses of human rights, looted the Treasury, and handed the economy over to bandits and swindlers. Nothing wrong in that. But Nixon, oh my god, Nixon authorized a petty burglary. The horror. The horror.

Seriously, though, the only reason Watergate was "tougher" than the current situation is because the current crop of opposition politicians and journalists are invertebrates. The criminals have been given a free pass by the very organs of state that should have been hauling them onto the mat every day for the past seven years.

These days, unfortunately, even Woodward and Bernstein are no Woodward and Bernstein.

[blm]

15. Because Bush's allies spent the 80s and 90s buying control of broadcast media and made sure

that the far larger crimes against the constitution of IranContra, Iraqgate, BCCI and CIA drugrunning would never get to the point of being fully revealed let alone used for impeachment, and Bushprotecting Closed Government Democrats like Bill Clinton made sure of it by continuing to protect the secrecy and privilege of all those powerful elite who were involved in Poppy Bush's illegal operations.

[Kutjara]

17. Very true. What many people fail to realize...

...is that the "left" vs. "right" struggle is, for those at the top, just window-dressing for the real contest: power vs. powerlessness. Sure, they'll pay lip service to "justice," "freedom," "opportunity," "equality" or whatever the populist buzzword du jour happens to be, but when it comes to the crunch, the elite is lined up over there and the rest of us are over here. Regardless of party or platform, the powerful all have a vested interest in the status quo, because it's the status quo that preserves and protects their power. Real change never comes from vested interests.

[Art_from_Ark]

35. What could Clinton do?

bu$h 1 pardoned the Iran-contra players a month before Clinton took office.

[blm]

37. So did Bill. But he doesn't want you to know that. Marc Rich was named in IranContra and BCCI

And CIA drugrunning revelations came out in 1996 - why did Bill continue to protect Poppy Bush and mount the takedown of the Pulitzer Prize winning reporter who dared reveal the illegal operation of Poppy Bush's?

What could Bill do? How about allow the outstanding matters in IranContra, in Iraqgate, in BCCI and in CIA Drugrunning to get COOPERATION from the current Dem president instead of the continued siding with secrecy and privilege of Bush and his powerful cronies?

What could Bill do? How about not shill for Jackson Stephens and GHWBush and their fascist friends as he protected them from accountability throughout the 90s.

What could Bill do? If he didn't know HOW to do the right thing then he should never have been in the position to do the wrong thing over and over again, leading to the STRENGTHENING of BushInc in the 90s, Bush2, 9-11 and this Iraq war.

And now he's been taking tens of millions of dollars from the very thugs he protected on BCCI matters while he was president.

What could Bill do? He could have done the right thing to preserve the accuracy of this nation's governmental record - but he didn't CARE ABOUT YOUR CITIZENSHIP enough or your right to an open government accountable to the people - he knew he could charm you into believing you didn't deserve that right. And now you're here excusing his wrongness and his complicity with the Bushes.

[Art_from_Ark]

39. I'm excusing his wrongness?

Excuse me, but bu$h 1 pardoned the Iran-contra conspirators. Before Clinton took office. It would be like someone trying to go after Nixon after he had been pardoned by Ford.

[blm]

40. BCCI report was HANDED to Bill when he took office. He PARDONED ANOTHER IranContra figure FOR

Poppy Bush when he left office. Didn't you read a gawddam word in the last post? There were many OUTSTANDING MATTERS , in IranContra, in BCCI, in Iraqgate, in CIA drugrunning exposed in 1996. He chose EVERY SINGLE TIME TO PROTECT BUSH and his cronies. EVERY single time.


What could he do? THINK ABOUT IT. It wasn't just IranContra, there were MANY outstanding matters and especially in BCCI. If he HAD chosen to do the right thing and allow follow through there would never have BEEN a growing global terrorism problem. There never would have BEEN a 9-11 event. We would NOT be in Iraq. We would not be HEADING into Iran. There would be no way any Bush would have been allowed even NEAR the WH ever again, let alone sleeping in it.

What could he do? If he was INCAPABLE of taking all that information and doing the right thing then he had no business being in that WH as a Democrat.

[Art_from_Ark]

41. So if Clinton was busy protecting bu$h and his cronies

why did they make his life so miserable for his 8 years?

[blm]

42. It's called a dog and pony show. It kept media and both bases busy while BushInc grew stronger

and its illegal operations continued with no Dem majority in DC to continue any scrutiny. Perfect to set up the return of Bush2.

Whitewater was the EXCUSE for Bushies to get INTO Rose Law Firm and scrub Jackson Stephens' files clean. Jackson Stephens was Rose's biggest client and as the man who brought BCCI into this country, and arranged alot of the dealings with Chinese financiers and industrialists for WalMart and other Bush allies, he needed those files scrubbed.


Dog and pony show - in exchange for the WH the Clintons could endure some of the hysteria directed at them from the base.


You think the fact that nothing ever came of Stephens bringing BCCI into this country might give you a clue that Clinton was TAPPED to follow and protect BushInc and his cronies?

[Zorra]

7. Whistling past the graveyard. It's off to the Big House for you, Dick. n/t

[Dogtown]

8. Cheney et al

*learned* from the Nixon debacle:

Don't keep records (e-mail).

Own the press.

STAY ON THE OFFENSIVE!!

[rasputin1952]

9. "I can remember the Watergate years..." Yeah...

he certainly didn't learn anything from those years did he?

"I haven't read Scott McClellan's book,'' Cheney said. "I don't plan to read Scott McClellan's book any time soon."

I'd like to know what the last book he read was...maybe it was one the Hardy Boys mysteries, or maybe "Frankenstein"...when it was hot off the press!...:D

[Teaser]

10. Cheney: Back then, we kicked it old school.

.

[truthisfreedom]

11. As if that's going to distract us from our mission of retaking the country from this mafia.

Hey cheney... go fuck yourself.

[fascisthunter]

12. I Would Love to Tatoo a D*ck Hole on the Top of His Head

the man would then be complete.

[BrotherBuzz]

13. No Cheney, this doesn't look nearly as tough until...

all the Bush* administration lies and secrets are exposed to sunshine. What are you afraid of, chickenhawk?

[LynnTheDem]

14. And we'll be greeted as liberators! Six days...six weeks...I doubt six months!

There is no doubt Iraq has nuclear weapons.

:rofl:

[VP505]

18. HEY, LOOK OVER THERE!!!

Never mind what's happening today, everything is "just ducky" lets talk about how bad things were when Nixon was President.

[damntexdem]

21. Yeah, then Congress took its duties seriously, even some Republicans, and the MSM actually reported.

Now, though the crimes are much worse, it's much easier for the WH felons to evade the law.

[daleo]

22. This is code for "we will all get a pardon"

Just like they all did after Watergate (and Reagan).

[ann_american2004]

23. the walk of shame that was Nixon's path

is waiting for *. If Congress does not impeach in light of this new Scoot M. book then they are truly worthless.

[tanyev]

25. Student of history, huh? I guess he had to study something to get his five draft deferments.

I don't think he was paying very close aattention, though.

[MasonJar]

26. Does Cheney really think anybody believes him anymore or even

cares what he thinks?

[Jefferson23]

27. So

[santamargarita]

28. Truth: Watergate dwarfed by Bush Crime Family!

Fascist Pigs!

[Phred42]

30. Just another BS attempt to FRAME the subject - You Loose DICK

Go to Jail- Do not pass GO

[liam_laddie]

31. Clearly proves that Richard Bruce Cheney

has not ONE iota of ethical, moral or or even rational capability in his head; it's well-known that he has no heart.

[greiner3]

32. "Cheney: (Current) Spats dwarfed by Watergate"

Somewhere, pat buchanan's head exploded!

[Frisbee]

33. If only that were actually true! n/t

[lonestarnot]

36. Go can a friend you freak. Oh. You don't have any well, can your wife.

[tom_paine]

38. Another Bushie Big Lie. He has to keep covering up, he has to keep the sheep asleep.

At least until they get away with their stolent loot.

There is always the possibility that they don't want to get away, besides, it's quite clear they have nothing to fear in a Lawless Rogue nation with a population too cowardlky or apathetic to care about bringing arch-criminals to justice.

I mean, how would Hitler and Himmler's "retirement" looked if they dared not hold their tyrannical positions for more than 8 years, like BushCheney?

[Supersedeas]

43. ie. we haven't been caught breaking into our opponents headquarters--if so,

then maybe