Chastise Cheney

[babylonsister]

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/05/16/opinion/16blow.html

Chastise Cheney
By CHARLES M. BLOW
Published: May 16, 2009


This week saw some notable apologies and makings of amends.

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One major exception to this trend of mea culpas: Dick Cheney.

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My theory: Cheney isn’t simply going out in a blaze of vainglory. He felt the stiff winds of change and accountability blow across his coffin. It roused and enraged him. Now, he’s on a political suicide mission. And if his own party is collateral damage, so be it. He would rather break it than see it bend anyway.

Mission almost accomplished. According to an NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released last month, Cheney’s positive rating has reached another low: a measly 18 percent.

His incessant ramblings are further weakening an already hobbled party as well. That’s bad for them and the country. We need a strong opposition party to ensure a healthy democracy. And while politics are cyclical, the Republicans are now in danger of flat-lining.

One-party rule doesn’t appeal to me. Lord Acton had it right: “Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely. Great men are almost always bad men.” Amen.

So, the Republicans need to dump this crotchety recalcitrant and develop a new vision that embraces moderation and inclusiveness, for all our sakes.

Look at it this way: Cheney’s positive rating is even lower than George W. Bush’s. And he shouldn’t speak for the Republicans either.

Unless he wants to apologize.