As you know, on the 16th—about a week from now—Barack Obama and John McCain will be in town to have “civil” conversations with Saddleback Church’s Rick Warren.
But three days earlier, Vice President Dick Cheney will also be in town. According to Red County’s “Tomahawk,” Cheney will be “headlining” a reception for Ken Calvert (probably at San Clemente’s Casa Pacifica, Nixon’s “Western Whitehouse”). (VP Cheney Headlining Reception for Ken Calvert.)
Tomahawk obviously likes Cheney. He explains that “This is a rare opportunity for Republicans to see our outgoing Vice President again as this might be his last visit to Southern California.”
He also explains that the contact person for this event is McCain’s OC fundraiser. Tomahawk doesn’t mention the venue “for security reasons.”
How very strange. A secretive fundraiser? A pro-torture “headliner”?
No doubt you are aware that Cheney is an unusual Vice President. Among the many journalists who have explored Cheney’s unusually powerful role—and dark deeds—is the New Yorker’s Jane Mayer, who recently published The Dark Side.
Publisher’s Weekly describes the book:
Fighting with memos and legal briefs, Mayer reports, hard-liners led by Dick Cheney, his aide David Addingtion and then-Justice Department lawyer John Yoo rejected any constraints on the treatment of prisoners or limitations on presidential power in fighting terrorism, while less militant administration lawyers invoked the Constitution and international law to oppose their initiatives. As a counterpoint to the wrangling over the definition of torture and the Geneva Conventions, the author looks at the use of techniques like waterboarding, stress positions, sleep deprivation and sexual humiliation against prisoners by the American military and CIA; her chilling account compellingly argues that this "enhanced interrogation" regimen constitutes torture….Yesterday, on the OC Reg’s “Total Buzz,” Norberto Santana, Jr. noted the odd event (Dick Cheney on the hunt for OC dollars). Why odd? Because Cheney is among the most unpopular men in the universe. Cheney is less popular even than the President.
And no wonder.
Santana was curious about this, so he called the event’s contact person, Stacy Davis. The moment he mentioned that he’s a reporter, Stacy became silent. She transferred him to Julie. Julie told him nothing; she said that he’d have to “call the White House.”
Let’s just say he was having trouble getting any info about this Republican fundraiser.
Eventually, Santana called local Republican activist Adam Probolsky.
Probolsky has several connections with Irvine Valley College and the district. He helped orchestrate and stage Tom Fuentes’ coronation as Steve Frogue’s replacement as trustee back in July of 2000. Remember that? He was on the board of IVC’s Foundation. He’s been known to take classes at IVC. Maybe even philosophy classes. (Now why would he do that?) He’s also known as a guy who likes to cruise around Irvine pretending to be a cop; he was one of Mike Carona’s junior (reserve) deputies.Naturally, Probolsky was very excited about the Veep visitation:
“From a fundraising perspective, he’s a freakin’ rockstar,” Probolsky told me. “He will bring in massive amounts.” ¶ “Just take a picture of the man. A super successful businessman. Decades and decades of high level government service. And by all accounts, a political strategist in his own right,” he said. ¶ “He’s a gun-toting, cool Republican,” said Probolsky, who was adamant about not confirming anything at all to do with Cheney’s Orange County visit. ¶ “For a guy like McCain, who’s trying to be the un-Bush…he may present a problem. But that’s on a national level. In Orange County, in Riverside, Dick Cheney is a huge draw.”
I know a lot of people, including a lot of conservatives. Often, these conservatives seem like nice people. They seem decent, intelligent.
But some of them, especially here in OC, love Dick Cheney. I just don’t understand that. Cheney obviously gives not a shit about the Constitution. Cheney has made us a country that tortures people (call it what you like). Cheney urged our invasion of Iraq, an adventure that has led to the deaths and horrible injuries of tens of thousands—likely hundreds of thousands—of innocent people. He did so long before 9-11.
I think that, years from now, we’ll look back at this time and wonder what was the matter with us. Here we have a man who flouted the law and waged war dishonestly, ruthlessly, cruelly—making sure that his pals got rich along the way. Just as the country shakes off its disastrous stupefaction and begins to see this man for what he is, he sneaks into Orange County to meet with a group of rich locals who just love him over in Richard Nixon's old digs.
And we barely notice.
Jane Mayer on legality, morality & efficacy of torture:
See also
Jane Mayer discusses the politics of TV's 24
8 comments:
Yeah, but John Edwards' love life--we'll be all over that.
Count me among the OC conservatives who love Cheney and Bush -- nothing is "wrong" with us but, as always, YMMV -- they are saving your liberal *ss, whether you like it or not.
Nothing but leftist hyperbole, Chunk. Shame on you.
Yeah Chunk, like you really care if Kahlid Shiek Mohammed gets a sinus full of water. Such sensitivity!
OK, boys. I really want to know:
* Do you deny that Cheney sought an invasion of Iraq prior to 9-11 and that he (with others) manipulated Congress and the public to make that happen?
* Do you deny that Cheney has been the key admin. figure pushing for harsher interrogations--including what McCain calls "torture"?
* Do you deny that private contractor involvement in the war has been scandalous and that Cheney is to a great degree responsible for these contracts?
* Do you deny that Cheney's war and our treatment of prisoners (another Cheney artifact) have given our enemies a powerful recruiting tool?
Etc.
It's easy just to to make vague pronouncements such as "conservatives are saving your ass" and that liberals engage in "hyperbole." But please put aside slogans and rhetoric. Make real points. And deal with such issues as those above.
Begin to reason, gentlemen.
The righties get their marching orders from Sean and Rush. No wonder they are so inarticulate.
In 1994 and reaffirmed in 2000, Cheney defended NOT taking out Saddam in Gulf War 1. He defended, what Torabora considers the indefensible, leaving the Saddam regime intact. This allowed for 12 years of sitzkrieg and its attendant instability to metastasize. The big winner was Iran. We were so preoccupied with Iraq overwatch activities that Iran moved forward into its development of nuclear enrichment infrastructure.
Re OUR treatment of prisoners;
They don't need a recruiting tool. Children are raised over there to hate Jews, Israel, and the Great Satan (the latter is YOU, Chunk).Their recruiting tool is the one they've had for 1200 years...the Koran.
Mistreatment of enemy prisoners has been happening since before this war, was it always Chenys fault?...of course not. Was torture of prisoners ever policy in any war we've fought? No. This wars "torture" on our part is laughably benign compared to previous conflicts we've engaged in. In previous wars our prisoners were subject to some pretty brutal methods. But you might read what the Koran teaches about treatment of enemy prisoners.
Gee, looking at this issue from the lefts point of view you'd think that all our prisoners get the Abu Gahrib treatment. Well they don't. And whatever treatment they do get doesn't take away the FACT that they all get halal meals, a 'effin Koran (as if that will do them some good), a 'effin prayer rug, and a lawyer. Being that they don't wear uniforms or are even soldiers of any nation they certainly don't deserve much more than a cigarette, a blindfold, and a firing squad when captured. But we're suckers for a sad story and give them quasi POW status. Sorry Chunk, you gonna blame the above treatment on Cheney? You certainly like blaming him for all the bad stuff (and I thought it was that wily stupid chimpanzee idiot Bush that was behind everything bad).
Next point...there have been several Americans captured. One of them, Capt. Scott Spicer, was lost in Gulf War 1. He was never reported captured by Saddams crew. NONE of our lost soldiers have been accorded POW status. The only one to even get a modicum of humane treatment was that gal captured early in this war that our SF's recovered. The normal treatment for our men captured by these 7th century savages is to be mostly cruelly tortured with knifes, drills, pliers....get the picture? Cheney doesn't have the imagination to commit such acts.
I do not for the life of me understand how any American could not loath and despise the enemy we are up against and instead loath and despise our leaders. Our guys aren't what I want but they aren't the enemy.
Try this one on. The grandson of Van Gogh is knifed to death on a city street in broad daylight. The jihadi left a note pinned to the mans chest with the knife. This was probably the first time they had ever met.
Or an El Al counter at LAX is asaulted by an enraged Muslim...he simpily hates Jews...it's in the Koran.
Or the Munich Olympics...when this war with the west really started.
There is no moral equivalency to our aberrations and their common practice. This is a Global War and they started it. I know what side I am on...
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