Characteristically, after it was reported in the press, Cheney neither apologized nor appeared contrite in any way. In fact, he said it made him feel good to say it! Here is how it was reported in the Seattle Times:
"I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it," Cheney told Fox News' Neil Cavuto. The vice president said those who heard the putdown agreed with him. "I think that a lot of my colleagues felt that what I had said badly needed to be said, that it was long overdue."
The forceful defense by Cheney came as much of Washington was discussing his outburst on the Senate floor. Cheney, serving in his role as president of the Senate, appeared in the chamber for a photo session Tuesday. A chance meeting with Leahy became an argument about Cheney's ties to oil-services giant Halliburton and President Bush's judicial nominees. The exchange ended when Cheney offered some crass advice: "Go (expletive) yourself."
So, concerned as I am about the well-being of our vice-president (see previous posting)I am wondering what other things would make Dick Cheney "feel better". Here are a few suggestions. Please feel free to add your own!
1. Barge into a meeting of the Congressional Progressive Caucus with an automatic weapon and exclaim "It's Cheney Time!"
2. Telling Pope John Paul II to "Can the anti-war crap old man!"
3. Removing animals from the endangerd species act and telling them to "deal with it or die you maladaptive freaks"
4. Drill like mad in the Alaskan Wildlife Refuge, rape the pristine environment, and tell the environnmentalists who complain to "bite me!"
5. Standing on street corners, waiting for hybrid energy efficient cars to pass and then yelling to "get a real car you wimp"!
4 comments:
hahaha... I like the electric cars suggestion. I think Cheney's comment is completely INnapriate for someone in his position and yet ironically appropriate for a representative of the contemporary Republican party, who seem to fill the role of the macho American red-meat eating, evil-doer fighting, terrorism squashing man's MAN quite well.
no no, i'm not bitter.
hahaha... I like the electric cars suggestion. I think Cheney's comment is completely INnapriate for someone in his position and yet ironically appropriate for a representative of the contemporary Republican party, who seem to fill the role of the macho American red-meat eating, evil-doer fighting, terrorism squashing man's MAN quite well.
no no, i'm not bitter.
~anna
As inappropriate or disrespectful as it may be, I can relate to Cheney's statement that "what I had said badly needed to be said, that it was long overdue." I don't know how many times I've been in class or at work and someone happens to be a complete idiot, moron, or something else, and no one steps up and takes one for the team by telling them exactly what everyone in the room is thinking. I understand, of course, that politeness has a place in these kinds of situations, but would the world be a better place if it was considered acceptable to respectfully, but directly, tell someone when they need to give it a rest? I think it'd definitely make meetings shorter at the very least. Of course, there might be concerns (legitimate or not) about suppressing the expression of ideas. But I wouldn't be worried; being able to tell people in meetings that their comments are honestly BS shouldn't stop someone with a really good idea from sharing it with others altogether.
--- Brett Bertucio
I would agree in most situations. However, I would also agree that in most situations there is usually a better way to tell someone that they are full of BS without swearing and generally being rude. This is especially true if you are Dick Cheney and you hold a high ranking political office. I would think that its not only in one's best interests to refrain from acting in this way, it is your responsibility to treat your fellow politicians with respect. The only person that looks bad in this situation is Cheney, so apparently saying "what needed to be said" was completely unsuccessful as no know is paying attention to the faults of Patrick Leahey. Way to go Dick.
~anna
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