CHENEY EXPECTED TO RETIRE AFTER MIDTERM ELECTIONS (Insight Mag)

[BadGimp]

Vice President Dick Cheney is expected to retire within a year.

Senior GOP sources envision the retirement of Mr. Cheney in 2007, months after the congressional elections. The sources said Mr. Cheney would be persuaded to step down as he becomes an increasing political liability to President Bush.

The sources reported a growing rift between the president and vice president as well as their staffs. They cited Mr. Cheney's failure to immediately tell the president of the accidental shooting of the vice president's hunting colleague earlier this month. The White House didn't learn of the incident until 18 hours later.

Mr. Cheney's next crisis could take place by the end of the year, the sources said. They said the White House was expecting Mr. Cheney to defend himself against charges from his former chief of staff, Lewis Libby, that the vice president ordered him to relay classified information. Such a charge could lead to a congressional investigation and even impeachment proceedings.

"Nothing will happen until after the congressional elections," a GOP source said. "After that, there will be significant changes in the administration and Cheney will probably be part of that."

http://www.insightmag.com/Media/MediaManager/cheney3.htm

end..........................

Now we get to see who the power brokers want as Bush's successor? Is that who they get Bush to pick as a successor?

[yellowcanine]

1. Moony magazine alert. Add a dollop of salt and mix well.

[Historic NY]

16. Yup so is the Washington Times & who do they write about......

this is more like a gossip hotsheet collections of rumors and statements jumbled to speculate Dicks motives.

[Tandalayo_Scheisskopf]

21. Do dollops...

Get measured by the hundredweight? ;-)

[yellowcanine]

24. You got it.

[MADem]

35. That tidbit was FED to them, like a mama bird chewing up the baby bird's

food and puking it into the little tyke's mouth. The only question is, who was doing the chewing and puking????

Quick, dust for prints!! It's got ROVE's all over it!!!

[yellowcanine]

36. Ogreat. Now I have this mental image of Karl Rove puking into the

mouth of Rev. Moon.

[Nutmegger]

2. Timed out

Can you post some snippets please?


Edit: thanks for the snips.:hi:

[ChairmanAgnostic]

3. thanks. not a surprise. Gives a chance for chimp to put his brother in

and start his legacyshit thingie.

[humbled_opinion]

15. OMG...

I thought the same exact thing... After the Cheney attempted murder I thought he would step down and JEB would be brought up to be placed in line for the Throne...

Amazing.

[ShockediSay]

33. I thought he'd die in another boozy hunting accident

http://www.quailhuntingschool.com/flash.php

[Lorien]

30. I don't think so.I believe there's an "anti-kingmaker" law from the

1700s that states that a President may not chose a family member as his VP.

[MADem]

37. I don't recall such a rule, it isn't in the Constitution which governs

who, how, and when we elect. The only requirement is the state thing, and they are from different states....

I think they'll go with McCain, and make HIM the incumbent, though. All that shit with Mehlman makes sense in that context.

I think what they are doing is THROWING CHENEY UNDER THE BUS. Remember all those e-mails the WH recently released? There must be some BAAAAAAAAAAAAD shit in them!

[Fridays Child]

45. Is there a link that you know of for more information on that?

I'd like to reassure myself that he can't do that. What a nightmare.

[sunnystarr]

50. I thought exactly the same thing too

Just in time for Jeb.

[UpInArms]

4. and go to live in a prison cell wearing an orange jumpsuit ... eom

[Catherine Vincent]

5. Why wait until then?

He should step down now and take the Chimp with him.

[driver8]

6. How fucked up do you have to be to be considered a "political liability"

to shrub?? Look up "political liability" and I have a feeling the first thing you would see would be Little Lord Pissy Pants face.

[LiberalFighter]

48. How can Cheney be a political liability to Bush??

If the idiot was running for prez again then cheney could be a political liability. The idiot is a lame duck..... DAMN!! DOUBLE DAMN!! Does cheney hunt ducks??

[Dhalgren]

7. This wouldn't surprise me, at all.

This would give Jeb a chance to get his foot in the door. If Jeb is named the VP, he WILL be the next President. You can take that to the bank...

[onenote]

13. it won't be JEB unless he renounces any plans to run for pres

If there is a vacancy in the VP's office (and it would surprise the hell out of me if Cheney were to resign), his replacement has to be confirmed by a majority of both Houses. The repub's majority in the House and Senate, hopefully, will be smaller (if not gone) after the 2006 elections. There are several influential senators that want to run for pres in both parties who have no interest in giving anyone a leg up.

onenote

[MADem]

38. McCain, in a walk

The Senate is a club, they'd OK him. The House would vote him in, too....

[onenote]

47. frist and allen are in that same club not everyone loves McCain

McCain is not well loved by his fellow repub senators.

onenote

[Historic NY]

8. Mid-term indictments..............

a good reason to disappear......into a hospital ward for cardiac care.

[onenote]

9. I'd bet against it -- too many pretenders to the throne

If it does happen (and I really think its unlikely), my bet is that a "caretaker" would be chosen. There are too many repubs that think they might be the nominee in 2008 (McCain, Allen, Frist, to name three) to allow someone with a shot at the nomination to get a leg up.

onenote

[LiberalEsto]

10. Revv up the Impeachment effort!

This is how the Nixon impeachment effort started moving.
Having Spiro Agnew, his VP, as president was unthinkable. First they got him to resign after hepleaded guilty to corruption charges in Maryland. Then, once Ford was in place as VP, it was open season in Nixon over Watergate.

[Patsy Stone]

11. Are these the same people who say that

Hillary is unbeatable? Sounds like wishful BS to me.

[LiberalFighter]

49. The only way Hillary wins is if her opponent is another Senator...

that does not have any major military background.

That is the only way ANY Senator can win!!!

[Seen the light]

12. It's taking an hour to load even on broadband, so I doubt its accuracy

No offense, but I've never even heard of this source either. How is its accuracy?

[NYCGirl]

17. It's an extreme right-wing publication. NT

[MADem]

44. Everyone is looking at it--here's the rest, more or less

INSIGHT is owned by REV MOON, who was, as we know, a huge supporter of Poppy, as well as other shining turds in the GOP:

...Already, senators expect Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald to investigate whether Mr. Cheney authorized Mr. Libby to divulge classified material. Mr. Libby has told a grand jury that unnamed "superiors" directed him to relay the content of a National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq in July 2003. "I don't think anybody should be releasing classified information, period, whether in the Congress, executive branch or some underling in some bureaucracy," said Sen. George Allen, Virginia Republican.

The sources said the accidental shooting highlighted the lack of communications between Bush and Cheney staffers. They said at one point, the president held what was termed a private conversation with Mr. Cheney regarding the Feb. 11 incident. Hours later, Mr. Cheney, who kept away from reporters, explained the incident in an interview with Fox News on Feb. 15.
"Nobody on the president's staff could get to Cheney, let alone tell him what to do," the source said. "At that point, the president picked up the phone and suggested that Cheney get his story out fast."

The sources said Mr. Cheney, 65, has been struggling with the departure of his closest aides. In addition to Mr. Libby, Mr. Cheney's media adviser, Steve Schmidt, has left to manage the re-election campaign of California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.
Mr. Bush, the sources said, has rejected the advice from circles close to his father, the former president, to dismiss Mr. Cheney. They say Mr. Bush has long regarded Mr. Cheney as the experienced hand in national security, as well as being trusted by the conservative wing of the Republican Party.

"The Libby case is far more lethal than the hunting accident," another GOP source said. "If the heat gets too much, Cheney might say his health requires him to leave office. Whatever happens, the president will make sure it's handled delicately."

[onenote]

14. PUTTING SOMETHING IN ALL CAPS DOESN'T MAKE IT TRUE

[ChairmanAgnostic]

52. so your comment in the subject line is then . . . . .?

[Tight_rope]

18. I'm sure...Now that Cheney's pockets runneth over!

[wakeme2008]

19. Jebbie is OUT OF WORK in the first part of Jan...

just a sidenote to all pro/cons here that he could be picked.

[ronnykmarshall]

34. Well that might not fly.

If we take over congress, a Jebbie nod for Veep would go down faster than Paris Hilton in the back seat of a limo.

[The Doctor.]

20. Well why not...

He has a $2.5 million a year consulting/lobbying job waiting for him at Halliburton with a $10 million signing bonus.

[The Witch]

22. Which means we need to use him during the midterm elections.

Because he'll be a greater and greater liability as time goes on.

[DoYouEverWonder]

23. Unless of course, he gets indicted

then Cheney will be retiring sooner rather then later.

[closeupready]

25. I seriously doubt this will happen.

Cheney is credited with being the smarts in the administration. He will not want to give up the VP under any circumstances that I can see. But I could be wrong.

[eppur_se_muova]

54. "Cheney is credited with being the smarts in the administration."

I know it's true, but God how pathetic ...

Not a deep bench, either.

[Scooter24]

26. He is probably freeing his spot...

so that Bush can get someone into the position that has a strong possibility of winning the Presidency in 2008.

It wouldn't surprise me if we see Frist as the nomination if Cheney should retire.

[gordianot]

27. Kitty Cat Bill now there is a dynamic personality. He has Diebold

to fall back on.

[Virginia Dare]

28. You can bet there is already a plan in place for the next

ascension to power, too much is at stake here.

[lovuian]

29. These guys are trying to budge Cheney out but alas GOP

Cheny is the president so he's not going anywhere... I have heard people calling for him to be the next prez after Bush...:rofl:

they have a dilemna....

[henslee]

31. Wants to go hunting full time.

[brooklynite]

32. I think it would be hard at that point...

to appoint a new VP who would also serve as the prospective Republican Presidential candidate. Too many ambitous R's will at that point be fighting for their own political futures, and won't be amenable to signing off on W's choice.

[mzmolly]

39. This way they can position a "viable" VP to run for office.

:eyes:

[Raine]

43. EXACTLY!!

:puke:

[IA_Seth]

40. Sleazy Condoleezy

I would put my bets on Lando Condoreezian being named to the Veep spot should Cheney step down (I don't think he will).

This would give bush his legacy by appointing the first female, and first african-american VP. This may also soften up some voters towards him.

[MadMaddie]

41. This is another Rovien tactic...

floating the idea to see what kind of response he gets....and see what names pop up that the people would support!!

[Raine]

42. They would love to jump start

someone like Frist so that he can run for prez and already be an incumbent as V. Prez. x(

[Khaotic]

46. All Part of the Plan

Cheney is a pawn just like Shrub.

If Cheney steps down then look for his replacement to be the person that the powers that be want to be the next president.

Who knows who this will be? I think it will be someone we don't suspect. Someone with little political baggage, but someone who will be a seemless transition for the people backing Bush now.

The Christian Reich thing has been waaaaaaaaaaay too effective to let go. It's proven very effective and it's surprising how many sheeple can be manipulated by it. Look for yet another person with tendrals into the Christian Reich.

Unlike those on this board who are optimistic about the upcoming elections, I'm not. Look for the GOP via Diebold to GAIN seats in BOTH houses of Congress. But Cheney to step down because of health concerns. All part of the plan for the next person to head up the PNAC Empire.

Cheney is used up. This kind of stumbling and ineptness makes their whole show look bad. Time for a new collection of smoke and mirrors to fool everyone into voting for different people, but who serve the same masters.

Different puppets, same puppet masters.

[goforit]

51. Cheney relinguish his power?

I don't think so.

[ChairmanAgnostic]

53. One basic error exists in the posts re: cheney and power.

First, power does not inherently reside in a title, no matter what office and no matter whether one is elected by the people or a supreme court. Power exists where one's decisions are followed through and actual result in change. Jimmy Carter had a title, and did little with it. Nixon had the title and created a whole slew of social programs, far greater than Clinton with his triangulation policies. Even today, people equate Nixon with unbridled power. I suspect that Nixon's ghost will be replaced by Cheney's in future generations of history texts.

Cheney has had power for decades, whether he was in office or not. Part of it was due to authority granted him in prior administrations. But even then, he collected, gathered, amassed, - call it what you want - connections and the ability to control or make changes. As Haliburton's chairman, we would be deluding ourselves if we ignored the kind of power that organization wields. Money, ownership, contracts, connections with military and civilian execs, connections with administration folks and just as important, connections with our enemies. How do you think Cheney made millions from his business dealings with Iraq and Iran BEFORE Bush was elected? He had entire subsidiaries doing illegal work in Sudan, Nigeria, Iran, and other countries. The fact that he was not prosecuted gives you a hint of just how powerful he was before he was put in charge of all foreign affairs of this country.

Now that he has even more power, does anyone honestly think that he will give it up after he loses his title? I don't think so. It may take a different form, it may be hidden from the public, but he will never allow it to disappear.

That is why I fear what will happen in November and fear even more about events in 2008. He is an evil, scary and power-hungry man. HIs only interest is in his own welfare and he has no fear in destroying careers and lives of those in his way. Even Nixon worried about his personality defects and cut-throat attitudes. Now, that is saying a lot.

[eppur_se_muova]

55. I'm picturing a scene from a "Simpsons" episode...

Homer and family are touring the Olde Cider Mill when they run into Ned Flanders. Ned recites a little poem* he uses as a mnemonic device to remember the difference between juice and cider. Homer's brain says, "That's it, I am outta here." and exits stage right. Homer's inert body then collapses onto the floor.

I think ** would perform about as well if Cheney bailed out.


*(If it's clear and yellow, that's juice there, fella! But if it's cloudy and brown, you're in Cidertown!) (IIRC)

[yurbud]

56. Will it be someone presentable like McCain or embarrassing puppet

like Condi, or nuts Frist or Santorum?

Or maybe Arnold to rescue him after defeat here.