To those concerned about the amount of air time Dick Cheney continues to receive...

[TwilightZone]

Keep in mind that he's one of the least-popular politicians in the entire country. He's Mr. 15%.

It isn't disconcerting. It's hilarious.

He's not shaping the agenda. He's sending more people our direction.

This is what it has come to: the primary response mechanism (pun intended) of the Republican Party is trotting out a sneering idiot disliked by 85% of the country.

We could not ask for a better spokesperson. Well, except maybe Michael Steele.

The vast, vast majority of the public is much more interested in hearing what the President of the United States has to say than what a bitter has-been spews forth.

[jimmydale]

1. Cheney is helping to keep the base from straying

Cheney is popular with rich right-wingers and unsophisticated rednecks (PLENTY of those kind where I live).

[babylonsister]

2. Welcome to DU, jimmydale! nt

[islandmkl]

6. pizza for jimmydale by 9:53 a.m. for something, somewhere...

[babylonsister]

8. Haha, dang.

I have to stop being so friendly! :rofl:

[Cha]

34. Or check their

tombstone status first..wonder what jimmydale did?

[Still Sensible]

3. One would think that at some point

the unsophisticated rednecks would figure out that the rich right wingers think they are a bunch of rubes to be manipulated and used. One would think that the unsophisticated rednecks would notice that what the rich right wingers are doing is smiling at them while sticking it up their ass policy-wise at every turn. But alas, the rich right wingers kool-aid is too strong.

[TwilightZone]

5. They don't really have any place to stray to.

I suppose that they could become Libertarians.

It's possible that he's trying to keep them motivated. One would think, however, that the party would find try to use someone that isn't as almost-universally disliked as Cheney is to counter Obama's popularity.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

12. You mean, like........?????

:shrug:

They got nobody that people even seem to have a modest amount of respect for. Cheney, Limbaugh, Palin, and Gingrich seem to be the axes of power within the GOP right now and I, for one, couldn't be happier.

[TwilightZone]

14. Someone new, maybe?

Some governor or Congressperson who isn't already know to be a partisan hack sleezeball.

I'm thrilled at the current state of party leadership, but I'm a little surprised that they allow someone so universally disliked as Cheney to run the show.

But then, maybe Cheney still has all the power in the party. We've thought that for a long, long time.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

17. Well, a lot of them seem to think that not being "conservative enough" cost them the election

last year. MOST of the GOP seems, at least right now, more inclined to "radicalize" and become MORE conservative and to squeeze the moderate elements like Specter (and probably, eventually, Snowe and Collins) out of the party. If they are trying to regain an ounce of their former status, they seem to be going in the exact opposite of where they need to go. With any luck, they'll succeed in maintaining no better than their 20-30% level of support within the country for decades to come.

[TwilightZone]

21. That does seem to be the message.

Though, I have to wonder if the public face of the party is really representative of (R) voters at large. Outside of the religious right (who, suddenly, are marginalized) and the rabid base, I can't imagine that more moderate Republicans and right-leaning independents see the radicalization of the party as a positive. That would seem to be the recipe for increased division and/or an increase in voter apathy.

I certainly hope that they continue with this strategy. It makes our job easier for the next couple elections.

[Proud Liberal Dem]

23. I don't know if the religious right has necessarily been marginalized.....yet

I don't think they're going anywhere and they'll probably be damned before they are asked to leave (or forcibly removed from) the GOP. The GOP created the religious right in the late 1970's and 1980's to help provide the conservative movement with its "foot soldiers" and they were particularly successful throughout the 1990's and during the Bush II years using them to help advancing their agenda. The religious right is now so entrenched within the GOP they may well actually end up being all that's left over of the GOP (if they aren't already). I doubt that moderate and right-leaning independents (any of whom are still left) see the movement of the party towards increased "conservatism" (whatever the heck that actually means right now) as a positive and many of them may well simply end up abandoning the party if they continue to be/feel marginalized.

What's happened since 2006 has been pretty amazing. After the 2000, 2002, and 2004 elections, it seemed like it was OUR party that was headed for the dustbin of history. There was even a book written- sometime before the 2006 midterm elections- talking about a permanent GOP majority in this country. Instead, however, it was the GOP that self-destructed, losing Congress in 2006 and then losing the Presidency in 2008. All signs are that the GOP isn't in a substantially better position for 2010 due to GOP retirements creating "open seats," as well as the relative dearth of vulnerable Democratic candidates.

[TwilightZone]

27. Like pretty much everything in politics, the rise and fall of the RR is probably cyclical.

Though, they seem to be at the lowest point (from a national political power perspective) that I can recall since pre-Reagan. They're still entrenched in the GOP, of course, but they don't seem to be the primary driving force at the moment. McCain didn't seem like "their" choice, either.

2006 was an interesting election. We picked up seats in all levels in government, and if memory serves, lost no incumbent seats in Congress. As you noted, pretty amazing considering that we were being written off just a cycle or two before.

I've noted in other threats that I see no threat from the GOP in 2010. The trend that started in '06 is likely to continue, particularly if Palin, Cheney, Newt, and Rush continue to be the de facto leaders.

[Warpy]

9. ....and scared little rabbits in the heartland

who felt wounded by 9/11 even though they profess to despise both NYC and DC. Frightened people are made stupid by fear and that stupidity is often expressed by wanting some daddy figure to protect them.

Fortunately, Cheney looks exactly like what he is: an obscenely rich and evil man who still thinks he's going to take everything with him when he dies. In addition, people associate him with the collapse of the economy, along with the rest of that illegal administration.

I don't think his legacy tour is going to do much for him.

Welcome to DU.

[patrice]

4. Cheney has to deliver the Ransom Note to the U.S. for his Masters. We are being held Hostage..

We are being held hostage by the foreign and domestic Powers that Be. And our Domestic Masters are threatening us with Civil War II at the behest of Foreign Powers. Does anyone think talk of leaving the union of the United States of America is an idle threat? Our Foreign Masters OWN our Domestic Masters and the Foreign members of the board don't really care whether the U.S. stays united or not. Cheney is their messenger boy; that's why the media helps him despite the fact that we HATE him.

[11 Bravo]

7. I don't want to cut off his air time ...

I want to cut off his air.

[liberal N proud]

10. The more Dick says the, the more negative impact is on the GOP.

Talk it up Dick, you sick bastard.

[spanone]

11. to the MEDIA he carries the same weight as the overwhelmingly elected President

[YvonneCa]

25. And that's wrong and we need to tell them so. Contact...

...CNN and MSNBC and tell them what you think. Here's my email:


This email is about MSNBC's coverage of Cheney on May 21st.
I turned on MSNBC this morning to see FORMER Vice President Dick Cheney making his case for war and torture...AGAIN...WITH FULL MEDIA COVERAGE. That, in my opinion, is ridiculous and unfair.

I obviously support President Obama and his policies. But I have to tell you that my outrage is because of your(and CNN's) organization's unfairness.

During the run-up to the war in Iraq, former Vice President Al Gore was speaking out against it...and a citizen had to either read his speeches online, or (in the case of later speeches) buy them from C-Span and play them on a DVD player. NO ONE covered him...let alone broadcast his speeches live.

Why is THIS Vice President given such priviledge...especially at this critical time in our history? I contend he does not deserve it, and it will only further divide the country and prevent our current President from being successful.

MSNBC is wrong to broadcast this speech today.Further, you should now broadcast Al Gore's speech...given in 2005 at Constitution Hall in Washington D.C. You can find it at c-span.org.

http://www.c-spanarchives.org/library/index.php?main_pa...

I hope some of you will join me.

[kjackson227]

13. ITA! the Dick and Limpballs are the best spokespersons...

the Repugnants can have, imho. Keep 'em coming, boys!

[EFerrari]

15. That's right. n/t

[librechik]

16. Fascists always rule the masses with a tiny minority of despots

They almost still rule now.

Sorry, not laughing at Darth Cheney.

He's a despicable traitor. Take him off the air. Shun that bastard.

[underpants]

18. I agree. No one trusts the media anyway-the more THEY promote this and him

the better for us and for everyone

[rucky]

19. You are correct. But he's a great hatchet man.

and supplies talking points for more popular, sympathetic figures.

[TwilightZone]

22. Good point.

He can be an effective 'bad cop' at times.

[merh]

20. Now when they charge him he can recall this speech

when he asked them to make the truth known.

[bottomtheweaver]

24. CNN is going to replay the whole damn thing at 5:00 pm today.

This is some serious propaganda.

[YvonneCa]

26. It is. Contact them and register your opinion...

...please? :7

[TwilightZone]

28. That may not be all bad.

From what people have said, Cheney looks like a nutcase in this little feature. We'd probably have a hard time finding a better person to display the obvious difference between where we were and where we're going.

[bottomtheweaver]

29. It's bad. I saw it.

The reason they've got Cheney out there making the pitch is because he's good at it, and this was a rousing performance of every well-crafted lie they've rolled out in the last eight years. It's just giving fodder to the terminally misinformed looking for reasons to keep their heads in the sand, which is a good chunk of the population.

[TwilightZone]

31. It didn't sell during the election.

McCain basically ran as Bush III. Didn't work out too well.

I'm not sure there's any reason to believe it will be any more successful now. I think most people have moved on.

[bottomtheweaver]

32. Cheney isn't selling McCain, he's selling Bushler, and he's very good at it.

That's why they've got him out there.

[TwilightZone]

33. So was McCain.

McCain ran on nothing but Bush's record (for reasons that remain inexplicable), the same crap Cheney is now trying to sell.

I think most people see through it, and I think most people see Cheney for what he is, a bitter old man with an axe to grind.

[bottomtheweaver]

35. McCain isn't Bushler. Bushler is the King of Terror and Cheney is his prime minister.

McCain's heart was never in the hard sell terror lie, even I could tell that. Basically he was an Eisenhower don't-tax-the-rich repuke. Cheney on the other hand has been wallowing in blood for eight years and has a personal investment in keeping the abatoir running 24/7. And have you noticed the props? Like the terra attack handily thwarted in NYC? This is serious pushback from the Bushler CIA-Terra Inc. and Cheney is their best and brightest sheep scarer.

[TwilightZone]

36. So, you think because his heart is in it, people are more likely to believe it?

Because he's so trustworthy?

That must be why his approval ratings were so high. His trustworthiness.

[bottomtheweaver]

37. Cheney has credibility on terror.

The fact that DU members still believe any of that 911 nonsense is demonstration of that. He isn't runnng for offfice, he's propping up a lie, and yes, he's good at it, and McCain wasn't.

[TwilightZone]

38. The 911 nonsense gives Cheney credibility?

I would think the opposite would be true. Most of the theories arose from distrust of the official story, a story in which Cheney was an integral part. Not sure how that supports your assertion.

Whether Cheney is good at it or not is not my point. My point is that I don't think most people care what he thinks anymore, if they ever did.

He didn't end up with a 15% approval rating by coincidence. No one believed his BS then, and it's even less likely that they will now, when the President of the United States, a man with the polar opposite in approval ratings, is contradicting his position.

The MSM is buying his bullshit. So is a segment of the population here. In the real world, I doubt many are. 15%, perhaps.

[TwilightZone]

39. dupe

[JDPriestly]

30. Love and popularity are of no concern to Cheney.

He wants to make people afraid of him. Apparently he has succeeded with President Obama since President Obama made it pretty clear in his speech that he has no plans at this time to indict these criminals including Cheney. I was extremely disappointed in the portion of that speech that I heard (about 5 minutes on DU. Was there more?). The only news from Obama was that he is excusing Bush and Cheney. And that is the worst news I have heard since John Edwards dropped out of the primaries.

I wish we had just one Democrat with a backbone.

President Obama, we know Abraham Lincoln, and you are no Abraham Lincoln.