Sally Quinn: A GOP Plan To Oust Cheney

[kskiska]

The big question right now among Republicans is how to remove Vice President Cheney from office. Even before this week's blockbuster series in The Post, discontent in Republican ranks was rising.

As the reputed architect of the war in Iraq, Cheney is viewed as toxic, and as the administration's leading proponent of an attack on Iran, he is seen as dangerous. As long as he remains vice president, according to this thinking, he has the potential to drag down every member of the party -- including the presidential nominee -- in next year's elections.

Removing a sitting vice president is not easy, but this may be the moment. I remember Barry Goldwater sitting in my parents' living room in 1973, in the last days of Watergate, debating whether to lead a group of senior Republicans to the White House to tell President Nixon he had to go. His hesitation was that he felt loyalty to the president and the party. But in the end he felt a greater loyalty to his country, and he went to the White House.

(snip)

For such a plan to work, however, they would need a ready replacement. Until recently, there hasn't been an acceptable alternative to Cheney -- nor has there been a persuasive argument to convince President Bush to make a change. Now there is.

The idea is to install a vice president who could beat the Democratic nominee in 2008. It's unlikely that any of the top three Republican candidates -- former New York Mayor Rudolph Giuliani, Sen. John McCain of Arizona or former Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney -- would want the job, for fear that association with Bush's war would be the kiss of death.

more…
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/06/25/AR2007062501038.html

[illinoisprogressive]

1. if some of the gop want to remove cheney, why can't the dems proceed against him.

[AlGore-08.com]

7. Because impeachment would require proof - - telling Cheney to hit the bricks

Only requires a group of GOPers who think Cheney is a political liability to do an intervention. That could happen even if Cheney had done nothing impeachable - - history is full of politicians forcing other politicians out of office for political reasons.

[librechik]

2. is Sally Quinn on crack? Fred Thompson cast as Gerald Ford?

and what sterling patriots the Pukkkes are--putting America in jeopardy from the madeness of Kings while they search for a veep who can beat a Dem at the polls in 08.


:puke:

[KoKo]

23. Sally Quinn must have been sent out to Sound the Alert! The Big Guns want Cheney gone!

Her hubby (former WaPo/Watergate) Ben Bradlee and Jon Meacham from Newsweek are saying the Bilderbergers and the Gang of 100 have given us "THE WORD."

Wait until DC get the treat of Thompson's Lady....the one of the bountifully endowed who loves to show off her endowments in the sleekest of nightgowns. :eyes:

[defendandprotect]

27. Gerald Ford covering up JFK coup . . . and Nixon crimes . . . as "healer" !!!!

Sally Quinn is delusional or really stupid --

But high interests in pushing Thompson very hard -- they want him IN.

Think the Cheney secrecy being revealed -- and gawd knows what he's hiding -- put some danger in the way of stuff falling out like Nixon tapes.

They don't want any such hard evidence to be floating around again --

Would Cheney need a pardon?


Meanwhile . . . anyone hearing about Bush's actual behavior in the White House, traveling, etc -- drinking, drugs?

[Old and In the Way]

3. A problem turns into an opportunity?

If the media was 1/1000 as critical of Republicans as they are of Democrats, they'd be demanding this war-profiteering war-monger be hauled off in chains to the Hague.

Maybe they are beginning to see how truly deranged this guy is.....ultimately not good for business not connected with the war industry.

[Fridays Child]

4. WTF! She's sure that Cheney wants to "spend more time with his family?"

The man is a ruthless megalomaniac, and he will never willingly give up his power. Today, Tweety said that Cheney is perceived as a moderate and, now, this from Sally Quinn. How can these people be so deluded?

[Canuckistanian]

26. Cheney a moderate? In what universe?

The only thing 'moderate' about Cheney is his tendency NOT to use heavy-handed tactics.

[TwilightGardener]

5. LOL! Who is this dumbass? Why does she think that

Congress will approve ANY of the GOP prez candidates for replacement VP? Can I make up fantasies too, and get paid by the Washington Post? Honestly, you'll hear Repugs like this arsewipe try to come up with ANYTHING to keep the GOP in power--"Yeah, let's just get rid of Cheney, AND give the GOP the advantage in 2008!" Sorry, GOPers, he's all yours! Wear him proudly!

[pnwmom]

8. Why? Tradition. History.

Presidents always get to choose their own vice presidents, and Congress almost always approves one of its own members -- and Thompson did not retire in disgrace.

There would be little likelihood of the Senate not consenting to the President's choice of a former Senator who has no particular baggage, other than being one more Republican jerk.

[TwilightGardener]

9. There would be GREAT likelihood of a Democratic-controlled Senate

NOT approving a Repub candidate for the WH. Besides, Thompson's a FORMER Senator--he's been out for years. Why would he be chosen, and not McCain--someone who was actually ELECTED by somebody for something? Or Lugar, or any number of current GOP Senators? This is somebody's fantasy football gone awry.

[pnwmom]

12. Bush would choose whoever he wanted, and the Senate,

barring a serious blot in the person's background -- other than being a Republican -- would consent.

If you think otherwise, give me an example of when any appointee who was a former or current member of Congress -- without skeletons in his closet -- was not approved by the Senate.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

16. He'd probably choose Jeb

Hey, he's done a lot crazier things, like lying us into a war...

[pnwmom]

22. And that IS a very scary possibility.

Scarier than picking Thompson, IMHO.

[badgerpup]

30. This isn't an appointment...

that Bush can sneak in the back door make during a recess, is it?

He's made quite a habit of doing that...Bolton and Fox come to mind immediately.
If it is, then Congress had better not go on recess until it's settled.
:grr::argh:

[kskiska]

28. Her husband is Ben Bradlee

He used to be editor of the Washington Post, especially during the Watergate era. He enabled Woodward and Bernstein to investigate the Watergate scandal.

[napi21]

6. The ONL:Y way I could see that happen is if the Dems pushed Impeachment

and enough Pubs joined in. Bush will NEVER go along with it, and Cheney would NEVER EVER concede!

[ClassWarrior]

25. The only way I can see THAT happen is if WE push IMPEACHMENT...

...to the Dems. So call and call and call again. Toll-free numbers below.

NGU.

[saltpoint]

10. Lizards have no sense of propriety, protocol, decency, or self-respect,

and thus Dick Cheney remains in office.

Absent a critical mass in both houses, or some medical emergency unforeseen, he's likely to stay in place despite all the grumbling and growling by GOP members up for re-election.

If he were to step down, or be shoved off the train, it would be fun to speculate on his replacement. Kindasleazy Rice, or maybe Haley Barbour. Agree with others upthread that the top three GOP candidates now won't touch the job even if it were offered. Well, Romney might, and then deny later that he accepted the position.

Or perhaps Pete Rose. At first pass that sounds like an outlandish proposal, but this is an administration that appointed Harriet Miers as a nominee to the U.S. Supreme Court and a pro-torture lawyer to head the Justice Department. So Pete Rose for Bush's veep really is in keeping with the administration's usual surreal logic.

[PSPS]

11. This is a trial balloon

This is how they guage the potential result for a considered scenario -- get one of their media enablers to plant a story like this and see how it plays out.

Of course, they throw in the potential talking points that would be used to spin the setup. "Greater loyalty to his country" my ass. These guys would induce a fatal heart attack for Cheney if they thought it would help them politically. The GOP in Goldwater's day wasn't the giant criminal enterprise it is today.

I'll admit that Fred Thompson is the likely nominee. He's Rove's pick as the best chance they have. The MSM is already promoting him in every way imaginable, using coordinated talking points on the same day, every day, blast-faxed straight from Rove's office to the MSM propaganda outlet near you.

[aquart]

15. Looks like a water balloon to me.

[melody]

13. Goldwater was a man of principles ... these guys are vipers

It's never about doing what's right for the country for these guys. They wouldn't have backed
BushCo as long as they have, if they cared about the nation. All they care about is the continuation of their petty
political futures.

[aquart]

14. POPCORN!

If they keep Cheney, they all go down...for maybe a decade or so? If they dump Cheney they can give the impression of caring more for country than party...maybe.

The problem is this fixation on keeping the presidency. Let it go, sweeties. The next one in has the war and the debt and the mess. Let it go. Let the Dems die off in the quaqmire you made, and return later all cleansed from wandering in the wilderness.

The big problem is that Bush KNOWS that Nixon lost his Veep first. Then he lost the presidency. Cheney is his employment insurance. Georgie ain't letting Cheney go.

See, once Dick is gone, the Republicans are assuming things will get better. They won't.

Really, there isn't enough popcorn on the planet for this show.

[Kahuna]

17. Old Sally is just blowing smoke.

Hag!!!! :puke:

[Demeter]

18. The GOP Should Have Done This Before

It's too late now. They can throw both Cheney and Bush off the bridge, and the GOP is STILL toast.
As are all the little GOPpers and Bushbots and Enablers. The Criminals, esp. those Convicted, will simply go under, never to be seen again.

"Whether the stone hits the pitcher, or the pitcher hits the stone, it's going to be bad for the pitcher" Sancho Panza told Don Quixote.

The GOP is that little clay vessel, (not just clay feet in their case), and there's no saving it.


What is much more important, and even more fragile, is the country and her people, who have been taking a beating for nigh 40 years now from the GOP, and are worn out and destitute in every sense. How to save the country from sliding further into 3rd world status?

The best shot in the arm would be a thorough repudiation of the GOP abuses of the past 5 GOP presidential reigns with IMPEACHMENTS of everyone that was or is a prime mover. Impeach Reagan and Nixon from the grave, even. Make it clear was is and isn't acceptable.

[muriel_volestrangler]

19. There's no logic to her suggestion at all; she's in a fairy tale

She thinks the current Repub candidaates wouldn't take the VP job "for fear that association with Bush's war would be the kiss of death". Well, yes, I could see that. But then why would Thompson? He has the least association with the war of any Republican (apart from Paul, I suppose) - and thus the most to lose by getting involved with the current regime.

She goes on to describe Thompson as some magical avuncular figure with the Midas touch - everything will turn to sweetness and light when he's around. I mean - "the healing qualities of Gerald Ford and the movie-star appeal of Ronald Reagan" - "He could be just the partner to bring out Bush's better nature" - "Thompson would give the Republicans a platform for running for the presidency -- and the president a way out of Iraq without looking like he's backing down. Bush would be left in better shape on the war and be able to concentrate on AIDS and the environment in hopes of salvaging his legacy". Jesus, the woman's delusional. Somehow, the post described as "not worth a bucket of warm piss" (to which should now be added "but a great place to launch an attack on the US constitution from") is, in her imagination, a position where the people around him will just absorb his beautiful thoughts, and end up with a healed soul and love for puppies. And that will somehow transform the political landscape so that Bush can completely change his Iraq policy without seeming to, and then turn into Bono. Apart from not being Cheney, what the hell can Thompson do with Iraq? How can she possibly think Bush is a philanthropist who's just been inconveniently detained by this messy Middle East stuff?

She seems to think Thompson makes Aragorn look like a low-life chancer with a communicable disease. Thompson has the divine healing touch Given Only To Kings. Thompson has the power to Save The World ("For God's sake, do not push that button!"). Thompson Leaves Your Home Smelling Spring Fresh. Thompson will fight his way through the impenetrable thicket, kiss the sleeping Republican princess, and awaken her, so she find this nasty episode in Iraq was just a dream, when she was in a slumber cast upon her by the Evil Sorcerer Cheney. The kingdom shall be healed, and Fisher King Dubya will live to a ripe old age, with his new son-in-law Fred to inherit the love of the people at the appointed time.

WTF is this doing in a newspaper? I thought Harlequin was responsible for publishing this kind of pap in the USA.

[TwilightGardener]

21. Good points--that's what I got out of it. She's in fantasy land--

she also took the opportunity to unnecessarily rehash the reasons why Rudy McRomney shouldn't win the nomination, aside from the VP mess--even taking the chance to SLAM Romney for Mormonism. This is clearly just a promotion piece for Fred, disguised as an analysis of the Cheney situation. I do take exception with your point Fred not having association with the war--He voted for it, and he's as big a cheerleader for it (and for taking on Iran) as McCain. Romney, or Huckabee, would have the least association with it.

[muriel_volestrangler]

24. My bad - I thought he was out of the Senate by then

but of course the vote was in time to force Democrats' hands in the 2002 election, wasn't it.

[GeorgeGist]

20. Give me a friggin break ...

I imagine Cheney's response to Warner would be identical to his response to Leahy.

[jazzjunkysue]

29. Add this to the NBC story about Dick, and it looks like the chimp has

decided: The puppetier has to go.

I guess we can finally say that the Boy King is scared.
:popcorn:

[Martin Eden]

31. so Bush could concentrate on the ENVIRONMENT???!!!

quote:
"Not only that, Thompson would give the Republicans a platform for running for the presidency -- and the president a way out of Iraq without looking like he's backing down. Bush would be left in better shape on the war and be able to concentrate on AIDS and the environment in hopes of salvaging his legacy."

PUH-LEEEZE, don't let Bush concentrate on the environment. He's done too much damage there already.

And who in their right mind actually thinks Bush wants "a way out of Iraq"?

The idea of replacing Cheney with Thompson is politically intriguing, but Sally Quinn demonstrates she is delusional with some of her assessments of the Bush presidency.