Wow check out this excerpt from Chafee's book - IT IS CHILLING

[proud2BlibKansan]

Books
Excerpt: 'Against the Tide'

by Lincoln Chafee

'Against the Tide' cover



NPR.org, April 16, 2008 · Early in December 2000, Senator Specter asked Richard Cheney, our Republican vice presidential candidate, to have lunch with us on Wednesday, December 13. The vote-counting fiasco in Florida was under way and no one knew whether Texas Governor George W. Bush or Vice President Al Gore had been elected the nation's 43rd president. Then, the night before we were to meet with Mr. Cheney, the news broke: the U.S. Supreme Court had declared the Florida recount unconstitutional. The Court authorized Katharine Harris, Florida's Republican secretary of state, to declare Bush and Cheney victorious.

We Republicans had won the presidency by a single vote in the Electoral College and a single vote in the Supreme Court. In the executive branch, winning by a whisker is as good as winning in a landslide, but not so in the Senate. For the first time in a century we had a Senate split down the middle, 50-50, with a Republican vice president available to break a tie in our favor. That whisker-thin margin of victory had real consequences to my way of thinking.

It meant that our small club of five moderate Republican votes would be vital to President-elect Bush if he had any hope of getting his legislative initiatives through.

That was why Vice President-elect Richard Cheney came to our lunch that day: Not to say he needed us, but to tell us that he and George W. Bush were in charge and no one else.

In steady, quiet tones, the Vice President-elect laid out a shockingly divisive political agenda for the new Bush administration, glossing over nearly every pledge the Republican ticket had made to the American voter. President-elect Bush had promised that healing, but now we moderate Republicans were hearing Richard Cheney articulate the real agenda: A clashist approach on every issue, big and small, and any attempt at consensus would be a sign of weakness. We would seek confrontation on every front. He said nothing about education or the environment or health care; it was all about these new issues that were rarely, if ever, touted in the campaign. The new administration would divide Americans into red and blue, and divide nations into those who stand with us or against us. I knew that what the Vice President-elect was saying would rip the closely divided Congress apart. We moderates had often voted with President Clinton on things that powerful Republican constituencies didn't like: an increase in the minimum wage, a patients' bill of rights, and campaign finance reform. Mr. Cheney knew this, but he ticked off the issues at the top of his agenda and did it fearlessly. It made no difference to him that we were potential adversaries; he was going down his to-do list and checking off Confrontation Number 1.

Senator Arlen Specter spoke first. As the most junior member, I would have my say last, if at all. I could hardly sit still as I waited to hear my respected friend wade into this outrageous manifesto.

And then, in a moment I can only describe as infuriating, Senator Specter took no leadership role in representing the moderate point of view. He acquiesced, and others followed his example.

As each of my colleagues spoke in turn, I waited for one of them to push back. Surely one of them would have the presence of mind to say, Whoa! Time out! What are you talking about, Mister Vice President? You weren't elected to scrap international agreements. You never said to the voters: Elect us and we promise to bring back deficit spending and drive the next generation into debt.

But no one resisted. We sat there and listened as Mr. Cheney made divisive pronouncements of policy that would come as a complete surprise to many of the Americans who had voted to elect the Bush/Cheney ticket. I stopped waiting for someone to challenge Mr. Cheney when I saw my Republican friends around the table nodding in agreement as he held forth.

I was at a loss to explain my colleagues' compliant behavior then. I remain so now. It may have been an all-too-human response to the circumstances of the time. Anxious weeks of uncertainty were finally over. Now we knew the outcome of the election. The bitterness of the Florida recount was behind us. My colleagues seemed happy and relieved just to know who was in charge. And they seemed a little awestruck. This is the Vice President of the United States.

The contentious and destructive agenda that Mr. Cheney dropped on us was troubling enough, but what really unnerved me was his attitude. He welcomed conflict. We Republicans had promised America exactly the opposite. In the presidential debates, moderator Jim Lehrer asked Governor Bush to describe the foreign policy he would adopt, if elected. Candidate Bush said he would be humble in foreign affairs; that if we were arrogant, other countries would resent us. Now his running mate was telling us the new administration would make a point of being arrogant and divisive. Mr. Cheney was brazen in his pronouncements. A humble foreign policy? His attitude was anything but humble. He said that the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign. And he pronounced this deception with no emotion or window dressing of any kind. He was fearless, matter of fact, and smug.

I wondered, where does Cheney get the confidence to say these things a few hours after the Court established him as our Vice President-elect? Where did he get the authority to make this radical departure from the President-elect's own campaign rhetoric?

I had supported Governor George W. Bush over Senator John McCain in the 2000 Rhode Island presidential primary. I met the Texas Governor for the first time in 1999, when he came to Rhode Island to raise money. I contributed and sincerely applauded his remarks to supporters at the Providence Convention Center. He had good campaign patter, and I was impressed. He said all the right things. I thought he could win on his pledge to bring a new, unifying atmosphere to Washington, and that he might even be as good and decent a president as his father had been. He seemed moderate enough to win support from all sides, and he had the Bush name. After the bitter partisan atmosphere of the Clinton impeachment, voters looked back with affection at the governor's father.

I liked that the governor had worked cooperatively with Democrats in the Texas Legislature. If leaders in both parties could rally around him, he was just what the country needed. America stood at the summit of power, emerging from the Cold War as an economic, cultural and military force without equal. We had wasted valuable years in partisan bickering, but our moment in history was still at hand. What a tremendous opportunity and responsibility to do good things in the world.

Then came that devastating first day after George W. Bush and Richard Cheney prevailed in the Supreme Court. If we were to believe Mr. Cheney, the President-elect would not only reignite the partisanship of the Clinton-Gingrich era but would make it even more toxic. Mr. Cheney tore our best campaign promises to shreds and the moderates acquiesced instead of pelting him with outrage. It was clear to me then that there would be no key bloc of moderate votes helping to shape legislation and reunite America over the next four years. In any event, Cheney was not asking for support – he was ordering us to provide it. The President-elect had his agenda; we were just along for the ride.

My heart sank as my colleagues peeled away, one by one. It was the most demoralizing moment of my seven-year tenure in the Senate.

When it was my turn to speak, I made the case that our five votes would be crucially important in a 50-50 Senate. I chose my words carefully, and probably stammered with the effort to contain my fury. We were on the cusp of a new millennium that held enormous promise for American leadership in the world, and what I had just heard was petty, arrogant and irresponsible. It threatened to lead in exactly the wrong direction.

I spoke in the perhaps too-optimistic hope that I might yet rally the moderates to seriously apprehend the implications of the new agenda. When I told Mr. Cheney, "Our votes at this table are important," he could hardly be bothered. He gave me the back of his hand with a truism: "Every vote is important."

There was no support to be had, and lunch was over.

Excerpted from Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President, by Lincoln Chafee, with permission from Thomas Dunne Books. Copyright (c) 2008 by Lincoln Chafee. All rights reserved.

http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=89689567

[Richard Steele]

1. K&R

[babylonsister]

2. Wow, and we've thought the Dems were spineless? nt

[Tangerine LaBamba]

3. Chlling

But no surprise, except for the bald-faced brazenness that Cheney demonstrated. The cowardice of the Senators is what's even more repugnant.

Thank you for this. I do believe I'll buy this man's book......

[SharonAnn]

122. Sometimes one has to stay low and live to fight another day. Cheney would've annhilated

anyone who objected to what he said. So, they may have decided that the place for confrontation with him was elsewhere.

In any case, it was a bad decision. Bullies need to be stopped right away, before they and others get into the mindset that the bullying behavior is somehow acceptable or at least expected.

[Phred42]

132. The TIme to KILL A CANCER is as soon as it is detected

Their cowardice has brought this country to a ruined fascist police state.

No one who was around then is exempt.

[Juche]

4. Who are the GOP moderates

I always considered Specter a moderate, and Chafee was the only GOP to vote against the Iraq war but I didn't know there were more than 1 or 2 moderates in the senate. Who are the other 3 moderates? Was he including Jeffords when this happened since he switched in 2001?

[eallen]

20. Jim Jeffords was a moderate Republican at the time. He switched parties in 2001...

Giving the Senate to the Democrats for a year. He also voted against the Iraq war authorization. Americans owe him for his resistance to the Bush administration.

:hippie:

[happydreams]

30. ....until the Bushboys murdered Wellstone shortly before the

2002 elections.

[truedelphi]

149. Sadly they not only took out Wellstone,

But his wife, daughter, two staffers, and two pilots

A veritable massacre.

[happydreams]

150. Yep, they didn't want a repeat of Callahan 2000 whose wife took

his place.

[proud2BlibKansan]

157. Do you mean Carnahan?

The MO governor who was running against Ashcroft for Senate?

[happydreams]

167. Yea, that's him. There's another guy who died going for that seat .....(more)

There was another Democrat who died in his bid for that seat. It was in 1976. Congressman Jerry Litton. Litton and his entire family were killed when the plane taking them to their victory party in Kansas City crashed on take off in Chillicothe, Missouri. His death led to Repukey Danforth getting the seat. Danforth had been State AG and guess who took his place? Why Ashcroft of course.

I wonder why Repugs don't die so often in these crashes??

[proud2BlibKansan]

169. I remember that well

Jerry Litton was a wonderful man and a great politician.

[happydreams]

178. The Wikepedia take on him is very positive.

[lovuian]

176. Yep when you look back these deaths were significant

and allowed them to steal the election

[tblue37]

38. Olympia Snowe might be one. n/t

[Liberty Belle]

82. Olympia Snow of Maine would probably be considered one.

[orleans]

84. olympia snowe, susan collins, arlen specter, jim jeffords & lincoln chaffee. n/t

[Juche]

111. Thanks. All new englanders too

If you consider Pennsylvania part of new england at least.

[Hayduke Lives]

144. That's the Yankee mentality...contrarian and independent

It's good to see that sentiment is still alive. We've certainly sent some losers to Washington over the years, but they tend to be short-lived (...nod to Rick Santorum).

[LeftishBrit]

174. They're the ones who voted against the Clinton impeachment, aren't they?

[rox63]

92. Olympia Snowe of Maine would qualify as a moderate Republican n/t

[stellanoir]

5. He was my Senator

He is now an independent.

Choosing to vote for his opponent Sheldon Whitehouse was the most painstaking vote of my life.

I admire them both equally.

They are good friends.

He was the ONLY Repub to vote against IWR.

He is extremely principled though entirely eccentric in an absolutely delightful way.

Majority in the Senate was the singular reason I voted against him.

It was not pleasant.

I wish him well.

[Mz Pip]

17. He always seemed a decent sort

I wonder if he would have been re-elected had he left the GOP and run as an Independent. Water over the bridge now.

[Tinksrival]

18. He seems very happy.

Your post sounded sad so I wanted to tell you that I heard him on Ring of Fire. Bobby Kennedy Jr. interveiwed him.
U.S. Sen. Lincoln Chafee has accepted an appointment as a distinguished visiting fellow at Brown University’s Thomas J. Watson Jr. Institute for International Studies.
He seemed very happy to be where he is.

[murielm99]

73. I heard him interviewed, too.

He was also on NPR. They read this part of the book and discussed it on the air.

[KoKo]

59. Yes....Chafee voted Against Iraq War Resolution...so it gives his statement in his book

a lot of credibility.

--------------
UNITED STATES SENATE

In the Senate, the 21 Democrats, one Republican and one Independent who courageously voted their consciences in 2002 against the War in Iraq were:

* Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii)
* Jeff Bingaman (D-New Mexico)
* Barbara Boxer (D-California)
* Robert Byrd (D-West Virginia)
* Lincoln Chaffee (R-Rhode Island)
* Kent Conrad (D-North Dakota)
* Jon Corzine (D-New Jersey)
* Mark Dayton (D-Minnesota)
* Dick Durbin (D-Illinois)
* Russ Feingold (D-Wisconsin)
* Bob Graham (D-Florida)
* Daniel Inouye (D-Hawaii)
* Jim Jeffords (I-Vermont)
* Ted Kennedy (D-Massachusetts)
* Patrick Leahy (D-Vermont)
* Carl Levin (D-Michigan)
* Barbara Mikulski (D-Maryland)
* Patty Murray (D-Washington)
* Jack Reed (D-Rhode Island)
* Paul Sarbanes (D-Maryland)
* Debbie Stabenow (D-Michigan)
* The late Paul Wellstone (D-Minnesota)
* Ron Wyden (D-Oregon)

[1776Forever]

146. Thanks for the list - I always wondered who had the guts to vote NO!

:headbang:

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

91. Whitehouse has impressed me since the first time I saw him in committee and continues to.

In my book, he's a rockstar.

[bdamomma]

113. Whitehouse does his homework

I am sure Leahy respects him alot also. I'll never forget when Whitehouse pulled out that chart at one of those committee hearings showing how those government departments are intertwined with the WH. Leahy was amazed.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

124. Whitehouse is brilliant and thinks outside of the proverbial box. :)

[barbtries]

142. he's one of my favorites

when he's on C-span i have a better time watching.

[OmmmSweetOmmm]

153. Same here!

[shrike]

137. I met his father a few times

Liked him very much. One of the last of the northeast liberal-leaning Republican Senators, as I recall.

[melody]

6. BushCo kills people who don't work with them ... no one wanted to die

I'm not surprised they wimped out ... especially being GOP anyway.

[barbtries]

70. nonetheless

i often wonder how they sleep at night

[melody]

80. Would any of us be any more brave than they are?

I can't say I would be.

[barbtries]

81. i don't know

i don't hold office, and i say what i think. i haven't been directly threatened. i don't know the answer. at some point someone, a lot of someones, have got to be brave.

[melody]

87. I'd like to think I would be. But until we're in that place, I don't think any of us know n/t

[calimary]

160. The thing that bothers me, here, is about the "being threatened" part. WHY, if that

happened to some wavering Senator, WHY did he or she not go find the closest camera, microphone, and clutch of reporters, and scream about it at the top of their lungs ??!?!?! Make a big public stink about it! And NAME NAMES. WHO is trying to bully you? WHO threatened you? What did he/she say to you? When did this happen?

But no... everybody had to be quiet and keep their heads down and their powder dry and behave themselves so these bastards could run roughshod over our country, our resources, our poor, our needy, our social safety net, our treasury, our LIVES! FOUR THOUSAND-PLUS LIVES lost in Iraq - and that's just American lives. That doesn't even factor in all the other lives from the Coalition of the Wilting. You shine a light on the cockroaches and they frantically run and hide. You don't turn more lights off to give them free reign! AT LEAST whoever was threatened or bullied or intimidated could have hijacked the news cycle, done a whole lot of interviews, maybe emboldened someone else in the House or Senate who also had been treated like that, and maybe a third person, or fourth - and all start talking about this in the open and verifying each other's stories. People would have been compelled to cover that, even just a little, and start asking the perpetrators about it. And it would have turned into "when did you stop beating your wife?" MAKE THEM DENY IT, and thereby keep it in the news cycle as a second-day lead - the basic story STILL being covered.

FOR PETE'S SAKE!!!!!!!! I do NOT get it. WHY didn't SOMEBODY speak up? Lincoln Chafee was uniquely positioned to be able to do this with some clout, and you know the other Dems would have embraced him and had his back. He could conceivably have changed the entire complexion of the debate, emboldening others among the hesitant and the intimidated to come forward and blow the whistle and speak out. It would have made this an issue and brought it out into the public discourse, and perhaps changed some of the outcomes.

I was inclined to give this guy the benefit of the doubt, but the more I think about it, the angrier I get, and the more pissed off I become - specifically at people like HIM. WHERE WERE YOU WHEN WE NEEDED YOU, Mr. Chafee? It isn't good enough to write this sniveling apologia WAY AFTER the fact to try and excuse yourself and avoid blame. If anything, people like him are worse offenders than bush/cheney. He could have spoken up. He could have made himself a public martyr to this and gained all kinds of publicity and shed all kinds of light on the evil that was being perpetrated. And he would have been nearly sainted by the Dems, embraced completely, and given all kinds of important positions of clout. He would have been the darling of the "Meet the Press" circuit and the front pages EVERYWHERE. But no... he had to shut up and go along to get along... And he made his bed all by himself, and he freely chose his bedmates. And they fucked him, alright.

[puebloknot]

165. Yes! When I hear the excuse that our Congresspersons were concerned...

...about their personal safety, I remember that when my father and his comrades raised their hands and took the oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America, just before hitting the beaches at Normandy and elsewhere, they took that oath with full understanding that they were dedicating their very lives to the salvation of this country.

When the founders signed their names to the Declaration of Independence, they dedicated their lives and their sacred honor to creating a free nation.

And now our elected officials hold hearings, and stall, and make excuses, and play the waiting game for the next Dem President to save their sorry asses.

Stirs the blood, don't it??????

[tomp]

98. fear of death is not a suitable excuse...

...for failing to defend your country.

but make sure you wear your flag pin.

[melody]

100. It's very easy to criticize someone else's actions when you never have to face their choices

Easy for us to be cocky ... reality might find us acting differently.

[tomp]

175. reality might find YOU acting differently

actions should match words. "...I...swear...to uphold and defend the constitution...", etc. only the courageous shold enter the arena. did our politicians think they were joining a clubhouse? we all, but these people in particular, have a sacred obligation to pursue justice. at the very least there should be disclosures for politicians..."I do/do not intend to fulfill my oath of office and defend the constitution of the united states against all enemies foreign or domestic." see how many votes that gets them.

if i haven't convinced you, please do not respond. i will be less polite.

[liberal N proud]

7. It will be no different should a McCain regime prevail

[natrat]

62. yea and if he prevails it is just more testament that most americans are beyond stupid

[Nostradammit]

88. Or that the election process is corrupt.

[tularetom]

8. How naive is Mr Chafee? There were plenty of hints during the campaign

that bushchenney were going to take an autocratic approach to government and democracy would have no place in their approach. The first clue should have been the boy king allowing cheney to muscle his way onto the ticket.

The story is chilling but this IS the dick we're talking about here. He should not have been surprised. Cheney's opinions on executive v. legislative power should have been no surprise to him. Neither should the fact that cheney was really the one running things.

[proud2BlibKansan]

9. I was reminded just yesterday of how Cheney got the VP slot

The RNC formed a committee to explore possible candidates. Cheney was the chair of the committee. He chose himself.

[TomInTib]

11. And he had to "move" to Wyoming to pull it off.

But that was the plan, all along.

[OzarkDem]

109. Let's hope young Dems remember this

Was anyone surprised by that one?

Dems need to resist the temptation to forget the GOP Bush/Cheney nightmare in the years ahead.

We have to keep the memories of all those sordid strategies and acts as fresh as if they happened yesterday.

Why? So we can learn from them and keep them as reminders of how NOT to govern. And so the younger generation of Democrats will not be somehow convinced that there was nothing wrong with the Bush/Cheney years.

Younger Dems are already buying into the GOP meme that the Clinton years were "bad" for the country.

Obama touts Reagan and his ideas as "good".

We need to keep shoving this stuff in their faces to educate them what works and what doesn't. Its one of the main reasons I don't support Obama. This kind of thing could be easily adapted by his administration.

[milkyway]

140. Yep, this passage from Chafee's book shows we can't vote for Obama.

"We need to keep shoving this stuff in their faces to educate them"? Who's "we" and who's "they"?

I knew somebody would find a way to twist this thread into a campaign pitch.

[bdamomma]

116. yup, cheney had the whole scheme pre organized.

he needs to be impeached, evil criminal.

[SujiwanKenobee]

10. The part that gets me is the matter of fact...

"He said that the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign."

Whenever we hear about, for example, the asides to NAFTA/Canada from Hilary or Obama I think of something like this. How do we get away from what is said to pander to certain constituencies to the real and most likely action of the candidate if elected. Where is reality to be uncovered beforehand?

Yes, gotta get this book...

[Jade Fox]

134. What amazes me.....

is how rarely it is brought up that Bush/Cheney hasn't kept the promises they made in 2004 either. Remember the debates? Bush went on about his plan for health care. What plan? That was forgotten instantly.

[magellan]

12. Is Chafee the one who often stands with Ron Paul on the Iraq issue?

If so, I'll say this about the moderate Repubs and Libertarians: they've got more spine than the Dems.

K&R

[proud2BlibKansan]

31. Yes that's Chafee

[Raven]

13. So I guess the deal is let the Republic go to shit, don't resign in protest,

don't do a goddamned thing and then write a book about it excusing yourself???

[proud2BlibKansan]

32. Oh I think he tried

It's pretty hard to stand up to these evil folks.

[calimary]

55. I tend to want to go easy on this guy - but then again... he could have switched parties.

Jim Jeffords did. Became an independent. Wouldn't join the Dems outright but did start caucusing with them. Chafee could easily have done that. I wish he would have. I, too, have felt driven by these schmucks to look at it as a very with-us-or-ag'in-us world. If you weren't with us, Lincoln, you were by definition against us.

The other reason I find this intriguing is regarding the prediction I made awhile ago (well, for my own satisfaction more than anything else) that you'd start seeing these mea-culpa books or the I-didn't-do-it books or the they-made-me-do-it books or the I-couldn't-help-it books or, in this case I suppose, the I-tried,-well-kinda books - or perhaps better - the I-didn't-really-think-it-was-right-but-I-gave-in-anyway-and-didn't-try-to-stop-it books.

If just a few of these would have done the OTHER thing, and stood up and said NO!, maybe - MAYBE we might have slowed these bastards a little in the agenda they drove so heartlessly and aggressively. Maybe. If only SOMEONE had spoken up. Back then, of course, not even Al Gore sided with, or encouraged, the Congressional Black Caucus - incredulously. AND four years later, how many people did we get doing that the next time blacks and others got screwed at the voting precincts? ONE. Barbara Boxer. After all that. Where was he then?

I'd like to have a little sympathy for Lincoln Chafee. Not being a Rhode Islander, I certainly can't speak about him with any credibility, but those who went along in my opinion are still every bit as culpable as the perpetrators whom they should have been trying to stop. Where were you when we needed you, Mr. Chafee?

Granted, he was a little less horrible than some. But I must tell you that I will never, ever be able to look at ANY of these quislings the same way again. And I have one of my own in there, too - the DREADFUL cavewoman-extraordinaire, dianne feinstein. I will NEVER be able to look at these people the same way again. Same thing for the other so-called "moderates" like Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins. If they were moderate, they should have gone their own way. Instead, they caved, and caved, and caved, and caved, and caved, and caved, and caved, and caved some more.

Where were you when we needed you - hell, we needed SOMEBODY, ANYBODY, to stand up to these bastards? Where were you? Every one of the lost souls from Iraq - ours and everyone else's - and their loved ones, are owed an answer to that one, also. WHERE WERE YOU??? I hope it caused you a lot of sleepless nights and a lot of bottles of Maalox. And I hope that part of it isn't near over.

I apologize. This last seven-and-some years has left me a little hard-hearted. Maybe bitter or something.

[calimary]

68. I just looked it up in my journal - March 9th among other things.

You just watch. There'll be more. MANY more.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=3217188&mesg_id

I'm not trying to toot my own horn here. I just strongly believe this is coming, as we edge farther and farther away from this awful era, and justice MAY start to be pursued against at least some of these bastards, and the rest of them scramble to disassociate themselves from all the many ways they collaborated, actively helped, passively sat by and did nothing, gave up too soon, went along out of fear (or politics or brazen machiavellianism or because they could or because they were lulled into believing the lies or because they thought they just might get away with it this time).

NO sympathy. NO pity.

The truth was out there. We tried like hell to bring it to everyone we could. We were ignored, laughed at, scorned, demonized, vilified, marginalized, insulted, threatened, bullied, in some cases fired, demoted, stalked, physically or verbally intimidated or assaulted once-removed (like having one's car keyed or tires slashed or property vandalized or reputation assaulted/ruined). All the pro-war razzamatazz went straight to page A-1 above the fold, while any dissent was buried on page 23, if it was reported at all - and sometimes it indeed was not covered AT ALL.

[barbtries]

71. you don't need to apologize

they need to apologize. and a hell of a lot more than that. i'm waiting for the book that says i love the smell of deleted uranium in the morning, i love the millions i get from my lobbyist friends and the military industrial corporations i love the sycophancy of the whore media i love my power. the book that says fuck the people and fuck the constitution fuck the rule of law and fuck democracy.

you know, the book that tells the truth. maybe DICK and gw can co-write it.

edited to change cheney to DICK

[trotsky]

97. And here's another time where I wish it was possible to recommend a single post.

Very well said, from a fellow bitter American.

[gateley]

61. DELETE - I posted about the wrong person.

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

14. And,...that heartless DICK should have been taken to task, LITERALLY.

Mr. "Confrontational" should face a show-down opponent. Dick would loose, if faced down. He simply hasn't the 'heart' to win, if his tactics were entirely played against him,...and his.

I don't worry about whether or not justice will visit Dick. I know it will.

[hootinholler]

50. I'd love to see him stroke out on the stand.

That would be compelling TV. Evil Bastard.

-Hoot

[bdamomma]

117. I hope the big dick receives his just dues.

[The Wizard]

101. If Cheney is ever brought up on charges

he'll take the Herman Goering exit strategy. Instead of biting the cyanide capsule, he'll short circuit his pacemaker. If convicted, the family's assets could be seized.

[NNN0LHI]

15. Chafee should have immediately left the Rethug party and warned us publicly what was up

Back then it very well could have made a difference.

Now? Not so much.

Don

[sicksicksick_N_tired]

22. That requires patriotism, guts, courage,...love for country!!! We live in CYA times.

It's disgusting, hilarious, sad as hell THAT,...the least among us are required to be of greater character and more willing to sacrifice than the assholes in charge.

I figure, the BushCO/neocon regime anticipated outright rebellion against their abuses (via ensuring THEY had ALL POWER OVER POPULACE by any means possible). Imagine their surprise that a rebellion has not yet occurred. They MUST be GIDDY!!!

[newfie11]

108. Is this what the beginning of Nazi Germany was like??

[Nickster]

23. Exactly, that's why he feels ok about saying it now when it doesn't make a difference. He's still

doing CYA for his own sake, not to inform us of anything or stand up for the Citizens of the US. I have a hard time reading these mea culpas well after the fact, they all seem so hollow and pointless.

[happydreams]

36. Not entirely pointless...

mea culpas, if written well, sell books. }(

[Juche]

33. Yes

If Chafee, Specter, Jeffords and the other 2 moderates en masse defected to become independents that would've sent a good signal. Only Jeffords did so.

[NNN0LHI]

46. Add Chuck Hagel to that list

He has been a lot of talk and no action too.

Don

[bdamomma]

118. Yea, Chuck Hagel is another person who is quite aware of

Cheney's attitude.

[happydreams]

34. This happens to be the cornerstone of my argument for how

this country degenerated over decades into the mess we are in. I have been researching the untold history of corruption in this country and the people who claim to have simply been unaware, or uncomprehending had a vested interest in seeing the corruption continue; whether it be political ("party unity") or financial gain, or fear of the fascist swill. They often feared that if a culture of enlightenment replaced their culture of corruption they would find themselves, deservedly, without a pot to piss in.

[MadMaddie]

53. The cornerstone can also be contributed to the fact that

Nixon and all of the others during that era were not prosectuted and jailed. From that moment....Rummy shaking hands with Saddam, Bremmer and all of the others began to build their dictatorship.

The Democratic party MUST prosecute after the election in order to save America, otherwise this Rovian Republican monster will lie low until another day.

[The Wizard]

102. Prosecute?

These fucking scumbags should be hunted down like the rabid vermin they are. They're the ones who made torture legal.

[MadMaddie]

171. Well the penalty for Treason is....the ultimate penalty.

I think I forgot Rove...he needs to be near the top.

[Gore1FL]

76. While I agree

That is a tough thing to do. I applauded Jeffords for doing so, but even that was a heart-wrenching decision. In some ways the Jeffords' switch marginalized the moderates more. --Don't get me wrong. I wish they all had switched. But there is a political reality involved, as well a personal one.

I consider myself deep into politics, and cannot ever imagine switchng parties--imagine what a professional politician must have to deal with.

[donheld]

83. Aiding and Abetting the crimes.

why in hell did he wait 8 years to tell this crap was going on.
He's really admitting he aided and abetted these crimes.

[Bozita]

16. That's definitely MUST READ stuff!

And another layer of secret and subterfuge is peeled from this smelly cigar that is the GWB administration.

[housewolf]

19. Bit by bit, stuff is coming out...

This is a very telling piece. Heartbreaking, in truth.

Lincoln Chaffee is one Repub I have some measure of respect for, gotta say. He played a major role in withholding the confirmation vote for John Bolton to the UN. I'm glad he's speaking up, at long last. He could be criticized for not speaking up at the time but it seems to me that, at the time, his voice would not have been heard.

The incident he retells makes me so sick...

:puke: :puke: :puke:

:nuke:

[bushmeister0]

21. The only thing Specter can get it up for, apparently, is the Pats cheating the Eagles.

Remember when he fained outrage about the domestic spying and vowed to call in the heads of the telecoms and then backed down once Cheney went to see him?

Cheney talked to the telecom bosses and told them not to testify and then Specter just accepted it.

If Cheney decided to appoint a horse a sentator he'd probably go along with that too.

What's the deal? Did Cheney threaten to give Specter cancer again?

[malaise]

26. You know DUers warned me years ago not to believe a word when Specter starts posturing

What saddens me the most is that he will soon die and leave this planet in a clusterfuck that he facilitated.
I hope none of the 'be kind to the sick' DUers expect any kind thoughts from me re Arlen Specter.

[bushmeister0]

29. Compared to Santorum, I guess, Specter looked more moderate.

He's a real disease. Hopefully us Pennsylvanians can take care of this in two years.

[southerncrone]

63. Me, neither. Remember that Mr. Specter is

the architect of "the magic-bullet theory" of the Warren Commission on the JFK assassination.
He has certainly played his cards for them, & THAT was a trump card.

Have expected them to reward him with a presidency by now for that one.
Perhaps Johnny Mac will select him as VP. :eyes:

[barbtries]

75. yeah arlen specter gives me fits

he's one republican i can usually listen to. i see glimmers here and there of a desire to do the right thing. but then he bellies up to the asses of the worst administration in history and does whatever they tell him to do. he bullied democrats in their name. in the final analysis, he's as big a shit as any of them. and that makes me sad. and no i won't be sending him flowers or crying at his funeral. i'll just be hoping a democrat gets his seat.

[Lugnut]

77. Spector is all mouth.

He talks with a big stick right before he tucks tail and bends over.

[Cosmocat]

155. He is a politician, pure and simple ...

Pa is a purple state, and he has refined the ability to be republican that LOOKS nice to liberals ...

[OzarkDem]

110. Dems don't adapt the values of the GOP

Regardless of what someone has done in their lifetime, I'd like to think Democrats stand for values that prevent us from speaking ill of the terminally ill and suffering.

Silence works fine.

[corporatemedia]

93. Jack Cafferty: Arlen SPECTER - "A gutless, republican, worm." VIDEO

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KYnhtxzu9Ds

Same as it ever was.

[Marie26]

128. There's a funny Daily Show bit about that.

Spector is up in arms & outraged over illegal spying, demands investigations, calls it an outrage... that the Philadelphia Eagles lost. Spector is useless.

[malaise]

24. Someone should send Chafee's book

to the Dems in Congress. They may just grow a spine.

[Fuzz]

25. sigh - just more evidence of what we've suspected all along

[Mr Rabble]

27. "as good and decent a president as his father had been" What?

Bush 1 was condemned by the world court in 1986 for "unlawful use of force". That is a war crime.

That says nothing of the millions of bodies elsewhere in the world during his reign of terror.

And Chaffee calls the guy decent? What planet is he living on?

[kenny blankenship]

28. with no emotion or window dressing of any kind. He was fearless, matter of fact, and smug.

Sure sounds like a psychopath to me.

[Raksha]

37. That's what I was thinking too.

But then we all know Cheney is a psychopath...this is just more proof of it.

[dmr]

69. Yeah, and I wonder what threats Cheney threw at them

that Chaffee wouldn't dare or is afraid to write about.

Cheney is a son-of-a-bitch, cold, calculating and cruel. I'm sure he means what he says and says what he means.

I bet you he had dossiers on each of them, and even if what he held over their head was minor, we know, with all certainty Cheney would crucify them - anyone that stood in his way. My God, he outed a covert agent! We will never know what damage that did to this country, and how many lives were lost overseas. I've wondered at times what would have happened to Bush* if he didn't acquiesce to Cheney. It sounds far fetch, but each time, in the early days when Bush* would show up with cuts and bruises, I would wonder ....

I HATE CHENEY, and that whistle-ass Bush*. I've never hated anyone, ever, in my life.

I'm hoping we will arrest and prosecute these bastards - when Bush* can no longer offer pardons.

[happydreams]

35. Oh Mr. Chafee. "All that is neccessary for evil to triumph....

is for good men to do nothing"--Burke

These people in Congress with very few exceptions are ignorant of history. IGNORANT!

[calimary]

72. AMEN! That's a great quote - extremely relevant here, happydreams.

"All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing." - Burke

That's you, Lincoln Chafee. One of the ones who let evil triumph - by doing nothing.

[Stuart G]

39. I am not sure that I can say anything that anyone else did...but.

These assholes knew from the very beginning that this is what they would do..Impeach , and convict them all.......

[Stuart G]

40. IT IS CHLLING, PLEASE READ THIS.

[indepat]

41. That a hostile take-over of the government by a cadre of extreme RW fascists/corporatist

occurred with the felonious five's felonious, seemingly unconstitutional, decision would seem fully confirmed. :grr: :mad:

[VP505]

42. That little excerpt makes

a pretty good case why bi-partisanship, reaching across the isle, compromise and working with the RePukes is NOT in the best interest of the country or "we the people" and probably shouldn't be bothered with.

[proud2BlibKansan]

74. Yes I have been saying that for years now

The Democrats need to reach across the aisle and slap the shit out of the republicans. But that's all the reaching out they need to be doing.



A friend of mine has this quote at the bottom of her outgoing emails:

You cannot be bipartisan with the Repukes because they are
not a political party. They are a criminal conspiracy.

ARREST BUSH shirts at
www.afterdowningstreet.org

[bdamomma]

120. that slap is a long time coming too.

but then again, the repigs when they don't like what is being said like being confronted with the truth, they walk out, what jerks.

[bonito]

43. Kick

:grr:

[windbreeze]

44. A question Mr. Chaffee....why didn't you stand up and get counted

before 2004 then??? I can't even put my disgust into words...We hadn't had enough bullshit and stinking foreign policy take place before the 2004 election to make this man, this Senator, divulge this criminal attitude to the voters???? NOW he does it, after 4 more disastrous years, of * and ** leading??????????????? Thanks Sen.Lincoln Chaffee, for absolutely NOTHING!!Look at this country today, and KNOW you are at least partly responsible for what has happened...I am disgusted beyond words....wb

[mrdmk]

86. That is about it, to bad for Chaffee n/t

[judasdisney]

89. Chaffee's a COWARD

His account sickens me with his pusillanimous shrinking.

Spineless. Anybody confronted with a bullying Dick Cheney should have loyalty to a greater cause, the country and the Constitution. Chaffee was loyal to neither.

[Canuckistanian]

45. I get the impression that Cheney KNEW he had won

Even before the news got out about the single electoral college vote and the USSC decision.

Almost like it was no surprise to him.

[barbtries]

78. oh absolutely.

i think that was the time i really started seeing the criminality. it was like nobody was mentioning that all the brouhaha was coming from gw's brother's state. was this a coincidence? fuck no. the fix was in.

[quiet.american]

47. Kudos to Chafee for writing this - but his first and fatal mistake was to give "W" credibility.

How does Bush charm otherwise intelligent people into believing he's anything but what he is -- a sociopathic thug.

[barbtries]

79. good point

at the very least it's damn near impossible not to observe his stupidity. why would anybody want a stupid person as president? why indeed? the excerpt above is chilling and it seems revealing. but all the intervening years and all that has gone on interferes with the credibility of any person who was part of it. lincoln chafee too. as mentioned above, he'll sell lots of books and make some money. maybe he's trying to redeem himself now for the sins of omission then. who knows? hell i don't know.

[bluesmail]

48. Senator Magic Bullet

acquiesced, he may have been threatened or he is just one of the pigs.

[defendandprotect]

66. Was just commenting on that . . .

anyone who understands what he did in the JFK coup, knows he is complicit ---
aided and abetted ---

[JerseygirlCT]

49. Is anyone really surprised? The only question I have is why,

in the face of this, it took Lincoln Chaffee so damned long to leave the party?

[MrBlueSky]

51. What a crock!

I love Chafee as much as anyone.

But, good Lord... where was this report in 2000? 2001? 2002? 2003? 2004? 2005? 2006? 2007?

Bottom line: He needed to hold a press conference to discuss the meeting, his colleagues acquiescence and his fury the day of or the day after this meeting took place.

It would have prepared the public (and might have caused his colleagues to come to their senses) for the hell-fury Bu$h and Co were about to unleash onto the world.

[rusty quoin]

52. Specter always seemed anxious and defensive to me during those years.

It was like he was being bullied. But how could that be? He was too accomplished for that. Now this book's passage confirms my suspicions. He got tougher and more confident later, after the 2006 elections, more like his old self, but still not quite.

[HughBeaumont]

54. Cheney's a fucking pig who needs to be thrown in a cell and starved.

Dictators now come in Brooks Brothers suits instead of costume military uniforms, apparently.

Let's put it bluntly: they wimped out because they didn't want to be offed. The Bewsh Administration is nothing but a legalized fucking Mafia that will never get their come-uppance. Not by historians, not by world courts, not by the people, NO ONE!!!!

[elzenmahn]

60. Agreed...

...and I should point out that this well-connected Mafia of an administration is precisely the reason why the Repubs, not to mention the Dems, wimp out. The comparison of this administration to an organized crime syndicate is no hyperbole - it is FACT. Everybody's hands are dirty in one form or another, whether real or perceived, and you better believe that Cheney and his cabal have something on EVERYONE (e.g. Don Siegelman). And the damage will take at least one generation if not more to fix, thanks to the relative youth of the Supreme Court Jesters appointed by Bushiebaby.

And here's a real kicker - I hope nobody who is reading this now is thinking that Bushie, Cheney, and their henchpeople will go away IF the Dems make the gains they're expected to in November (it's a BIG if right now). They will still make their presence known in one way or another (Karl Rove on Foxy Noise, for example). They will still try to gum up anything a new Congress and/or President will try to do. And mark my words, IF the Dems win in November, you know that two minutes after election day, Foxy Noise will start talking about how bad things are under the Dems.

So what can we do? The people we elect need to know not only what we expect them to do, but that WE WILL HAVE THEIR BACKS if they do what we expect them to do, and tell them as much.

[LaStrega]

56. Crowley the wickedest man in the world?

Pffft. He couldn't hold a candle to Cheney.

"He said that the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign." :mad:

k&r

[Eric J in MN]

107. Who is "Crowley"? NT

NT

[OnyxCollie]

119. Aleister Crowley

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Aleister_Crowley

[Raksha]

151. I agree. Compared with the Big Dick,

Aleister Crowley was a pussycat!

[LaStrega]

57. oh and Mr. Chafee had best watch his back n/t

[FourScore]

58. Wow. This will be a fascinating book. n/t

[Patchuli]

64. Too Little

Too Fucking Late. Wimps. Do any of them have a freaking backbone???????????

[defendandprotect]

65. Cheney . . . "fearless, matter of fact, smug" . . "authoritarian" . . .

Not because he knew they had won the election, but because he knows they have had the power to steal elections and keep their crimes covered up since the mid-1960's . . .

Sen. Arlen Specter . . . ?
If he hasn't been part of this, no one has!!!

[DeepModem Mom]

67. K&R

[orleans]

85. thanks for this post. k&r. what motherfuckers! n/t

[anitar1]

90. And we think we have intelligent people representing us

Congress. Anyone as naie as Chaffee was about G.W. Bush is pathetic. Chaffee is still wimping out. Arlen Spector is just one of the criminal class, on a lower scale maybe. No tears on my part for him.

[Tab]

94. And it was at that moment...

that he knew there truly was a dick in charge of the country.

[crikkett]

95. reads like chafee was aghast at everyone's spineless compliance but his own

[tomp]

99. you got it! nt

[Marie26]

131. Totally

It sounds like Chafee, Snow, Spector, etc. were all waiting for someone else to make the first move. No one did.

[tomp]

96. fuck lincon chafee.

too little, too late. how unpatriotic of him to see a threat to the people and do nothing about it.

"Centrists" really suck.

p.s.: anyone who couldn't see through gwb is an idiot. i knew he was lying throughout the campaign just by looking ay him. add to that a modicum of historical knowledge about him and his family and about american history and it should have been abundantly clear what was up.

fuck lincoln chafee.

[alphafemale]

103. Especially telling is that this was the day after the SCOTUS ruling.

The bastards weren't even SWORN IN yet.

Also, it shows that Cheney is and has always been the puppet master.

These evil bastards need to GO. Period.

[sofa king]

104. Reads just like Albert Speer

Speer got a lot of mileage out of apologizing for what he and the Nazi Party did to Germany.

But he was still a fucking Nazi.

[BrklynLib at work]

105. Confirms our worst fears, and makes my tin-foil hat seem very stylish.

Everything that has been done by this administration was planned with malice of forethought...
Even more evil than we could have ever imagined...
Serves to make me go back to my outlandish conspiracy-theory belief that 9/11 was merely part and parcel of their plans.

[Eric J in MN]

106. "voters looked back with affection at " George H. W. Bush

Al Gore got 500,000 more votes, and so apparently there were more voters who weren't looking back with affection at George W. Bush's father.

[bdamomma]

112. this comment makes me furious

"I was at a loss to explain my colleagues' compliant behavior then. I remain so now. It may have been an all-too-human response to the circumstances of the time. Anxious weeks of uncertainty were finally over. Now we knew the outcome of the election. The bitterness of the Florida recount was behind us. My colleagues seemed happy and relieved just to know who was in charge. And they seemed a little awestruck. This is the Vice President of the United States".



they were awestruck???? :wtf:

[roscoeroscoe]

114. biggest problem i have...

...with john edwards was how he conducted his debate with dick cheney. the one guy who had the responsibility/opportunity to take it to him, face to face, blew it.
edwards should have exposed dick cheney, really challenged him.

heck.

[roscoeroscoe]

115. biggest problem i have...

...with john edwards was how he conducted his debate with dick cheney. the one guy who had the responsibility/opportunity to take it to him, face to face, blew it.
edwards should have exposed dick cheney, really challenged him.

heck.

[Marie26]

121. Chafee never mentions if he challenged Cheney.

Sounds like he didn't. He was upset at his collegues' spinelessness, but then he stayed quiet as well. What's that quote? "All it takes for evil to flourish is for good men to stay silent".

[proud2BlibKansan]

154. I noticed that as well

I wondered if he was scared of him like the others were.

[sinkingfeeling]

123. I think this verifies that Bush & Cheney set out to destroy the USA from day one.

[redqueen]

125. Republicans are spineless. They won't stand up to their own.

History will not judge them kindly, either.

[InfiniteNether]

126. Still think 9/11 was a lucky break for the neoconservatives? Still think

9/11 wasn't planned long before these people took office? Still think Al Gore's "loss" wasn't predetermined? Still think the Bushites aren't genuine, clinical definition psychopaths?

[Elspeth]

127. "where does Cheney get the confidence to say these things..."

"...where does Cheney get the confidence to say these things a few hours after the Court established him as our Vice President-elect?"


Know that answer and you understand the coup that took place.

[Phred42]

129. Can we IMPEACH these Bastards - NOW!!!!????

Most of this Country DID NOT FALL FOR the Bush Bullshit even in 2000 - Remember, GORE WON!

Anyone that bought the Republican line in 2000, 2002,2004,2006 Please realize that you are too stupid to engage in choosing a President. Just sit down and shut up!

[proud2BlibKansan]

166. Ain't that the truth

[Window]

130. Dear Lord, forgive me, but I hate those bastards.

[Riddler]

156. Hate is much too mild a word to describe my feelings for these bastards.

God forgive me, but there is nothing, absolutely nothing in the way of evil, pain, discomfort, disability, sickness, disease, personal tragedy, excrutiating pain, and ultimately horrible death, etc. that I don't wish for the entire Bush family, and multiply those feelings 1000 times for the entire Cheney scum sullying up the earth. These 2 individuals alone are all the argument an atheist would EVER need to disavow the existence of a loving god.

[southerncrone]

168. Ditto, Ridler! Couldn't have said it better myself.

[Overseas]

133. That's what made it so aggravating when Dems would not filibuster

I felt so pathetic hoping for Harry Reid to finally filibuster some of the war funding or disgustingly partisan judges put forward-- hoping and hoping and yet he and too many other Dems just caved. In the face of the brutalities of the Cheney administration, they just gave in across the board. Meanwhile the Repubs filibustered tons of times.

[Blue_Tires]

135. grrr...

and then they were actually voted in again!! i hate to say this country deserves what it gets, but we are going to be undoing the damage from these last 8 years for DECADES to come

[Gman]

136. "the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated...

by what had to be said in the campaign."

That is chilling, but I'm not surprised. If anything my suspicions have been confirmed.

Now we need someone to tell all about what went on in the Energy Task Force meetings. I strongly believe that if we were given access to the records we would have the reasons why gasoline is $3.50 on average right now, among other outrages.

Somewhere there is confirming information on the agreement somewhere to let the dollar drop to third world country value.

[alfredo]

138. Copy and send to everyone

[myrna minx]

139. K&R n/t

[wildbilln864]

141. k&r people! nt

:hi:

[Broadslidin]

143. Evidently, the righteous Republican 'born agains' luv being decieved....

Repent :cry: Republicans.

[Time for change]

145. Wow!

I was almost hoping that he would win re-election in 2006. The only thing going against was whether or not control of the Senate would rest on it -- which of course it ended up doing. I wonder if there had been a 50-50 split in the Senate he would have crossed the isle after the 2006 elections?

[smoogatz]

147. NOW he tells us.

Where the fuck was he with his "moderate" outrage back in 2000? If he really gave a shit, he should've switched parties/caucuses.

[The_Casual_Observer]

148. Cheney is what happens when those in power believe that they possess

the higher truth, that they know what is best for the rest of us.

[Kurovski]

152. K&R. (nt)

[wryter2000]

158. Damn Specter

I'll bet you if he'd spoken out, the rest of them would have, too.

I wonder if Jeffords was one of the five. He was still a Republican, I believe,

[Uncle Joe]

159. I believe the true power Cheney/Bush held over the moderates

was the record amount of money they raised from the mega rich and corporations.

These congress people saw that as the base of their power, not the votes cast.

Thanks for the thread, proud2Blib.

[hoosier_lefty]

161. This is why we can never elect another Republican

ever! not even for freakin dog catcher!

[Delphinus]

173. Amen!!

This should be read by all. This little excerpt explains not all, but a lot. The attitude they came in with is not one of leadership - it's one of dictatorship.

[proud2BlibKansan]

177. That is my mantra these days

No more Republicans!!

[Carolina]

162. Too little, too late

That he ever trusted Bush says it all. That he liked Bush over the McCain of 2000 says it all!

Sorry, but too fucking little, too fucking late. Too much death and destruction in Iraq, the ecomony in shreds, the environment and weather related change wreaking havoc...

Where was a voice of courage, morals or leadership back in 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006???

[whistle]

163. I wish this had been recorded

[katty]

164. chilling and too late...major damage is done

[dysfunctional press]

170. why isn't/wasn't this on the front page of EVERY american newspaper?

and the lead on every news show?

i keep on wishing that the past 8 years are just a very bad dream, and i'm still going to wake up.

it sickens me on how different a world we SHOULD be living in.

[orleans]

172. so good i'm kicking again. (in case i didn't earlier) n/t