Cheney swore off ‘moderate’ campaign promises a month after 2000 election.
Cheney swore off ‘moderate’ campaign promises a month after 2000 election.
In his new book, former Rhode Island Republican senator Lincoln Chafee reveals that even before President Bush was sworn into office after the 2000 elections, Cheney had rejected the “moderate course” laid out in their campaign:
The former Senator describes a December 2000 meeting of Republican moderates with Vice President-elect Cheney. Chafee listened as Cheney swore off the moderate course he and Bush had just finished championing in their campaign.
Hearing Cheney say “the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign,” Chafee writes, was “the most demoralizing moment of my seven-year tenure in the Senate.”
In his book, Chafee angrily adds about the incident, “Mr. Cheney tore our best campaign promises to shreds and the moderates acquiesced instead of pelting him with outrage.”
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“the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign,”
So basically, they lied to the American public.
Does this surprise anybody?
April 1st, 2008 at 9:42 pmGee, thanks for sharing your cowardly recollections eight years after they might have had an actual impact.
Day late and a dollar short…
April 1st, 2008 at 9:45 pmNope,they’ve lied about absolutely EVERYTHING! All 5 deferment Dick cared about was $$$$ for Halliburton and Big Oil.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:46 pmCheney has been a traitor for many, many years. Always a war profiteer, and never in the interest of the country, but only his own personal fortune. he’s far worse than Benedict Arnold ever was.
April 1st, 2008 at 9:46 pmmany of us knew all along they were LIARS…
so, when are we gonna find out what the extortion was about?
i don’t understand how so many could be so cowed unless threatened…
April 1st, 2008 at 9:51 pmDamn, what year is it?
Just sayin’
April 1st, 2008 at 10:00 pmWith that kind of knowledge he isn’t leading a revolt and putting impeachment On the table?
What kind of people do we have in Washington anyhow?
Knowing full well what had gone on and he sat quietly while Cheney rammed this nation into a brick wall
Gutless cowards all.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:01 pmSo?
April 1st, 2008 at 10:03 pmIs this suppose to get this big weight off his chest? A confession. These guys are lame. What ever happened to standing up for what you believe in? I realize I’m from a younger generation than Mr. Chafee. But didn’t his father instill in him values such as having honor, dignity, truthfulness and helping other people who can’t help themselves. I know these are not outdated morals.
What a coward… not a leader among the whole lot of them..
April 1st, 2008 at 10:04 pmGo F**k yourself.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:09 pm“the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign,”
What had to be said in the campaign….would that necessary thing the mythological Grindel?
April 1st, 2008 at 10:11 pmPS: that was not aimed at anyone it was my best Cheney impression.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:11 pmThe book, titled Against the Tide: How a Compliant Congress Empowered a Reckless President, is due in bookstores April 1.
The book excoriates Mr. Bush and his GOP allies who repeatedly fanned such wedge issues as changing the U.S. Constitution to ban gay marriage, abortion and flag-burning. But he saves some of his harshest words for Democrats who paved the way for Mr. Bush to use the U.S. military to invade Iraq. That includes New York Sen. Hillary Clinton, whom Chafee says put her presidential ambitions above standing up to Mr. Bush and the rush to war in Iraq.
This is part of what is in his new book…
April 1st, 2008 at 10:16 pmCheney is the modern day representative of a fascist. There is no nationalism here as with past facsist, just greed.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:19 pmI hope he saved some harsh words for himself, having waited ALL THIS TIME until he could make a profit on book sales to expose this shit.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:20 pmZooey you will like this one!!
Another part of his book:
The most startling revelation: Chafee must be the only senator in U.S. political history who says his defeat was the result of voters acting logically.
“The system works best when power remains in the hands of the voters,” writes Chafee. “I was a casualty of the system working in 2006, and while defeat is never easy, I give the voters credit: They made the connection between electing even popular Republicans at the cost of leaving the Senate in the hands of a leadership they had learned to mistrust.”
April 1st, 2008 at 10:23 pmI think you’re being too hard on Chafee. He voted against the Iraq war resolution. He was really quite liberal, actually more so than many serving Democrats. Check his record before you trash him.
I’ve often imagined the only logical reason for the near complete control Bush has had on his congressional minions must have something to do with blackmail. It could also explain some otherwise inexplicable voting by some Democrats as well.
The takeaway from the Bush administation change from campaign rhetoric to another whole other agenda is: You can’t trust trust what a Republican says. This is really very revealing.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:26 pmReally?
You mean that whole ‘compassionate conservatism’ was a lie?
I’m crestfallen.
April 1st, 2008 at 10:47 pmShocking news!
April 1st, 2008 at 10:52 pmI imagine many who voted for Bush believe it was just circumstances that altered the change in agenda when this reveals they never had any intention of following through on their promises, and long before 9/11 “changed everything”. This should be an epiphany for many loyal Republicans.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:04 pmIt won’t be. I’ve been round and round with these people, even my own brother, and they see nothing wrong with the party. The worse his leaders’ behavior becomes the more he defends them. If they admit they were wrong the whole house of cards comes down and the party will be destroyed completely. Along with Rove v Wade, gay marriage amendments and all that goes along with it. So they stay obstinate and even more radical.
I can’t even talk to him about it anymore. They have torn our country apart and are more than happy to do so.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:15 pmI agree. I really can’t say if they’ve got the ‘goods’ on everyone. Personally, I think they can manufacture the ‘goods’ on anyone.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:17 pmHalleljujah, Mr. Chafee.
That RNC acceptance speech is such a far cry, taunting us with what they would do the opposite of including “uniting” Washington with Bush since he wasn’t deep into D.C. politics. But he’s the most sinister and politically dreadful president ever, using every obscure and harmful trick.
That speech is what the Republican party should have DONE and run on… and probably still should have lost, but as a respectable adversary.
Don’t be too hard on Lincoln. Yes, we all would have liked for him right at that moment to confront these cretins and call them out on their BS. Unfortunately, unless that’s FROM big oil, “defense”, or a Saudi I don’t think that would matter. They just said their “So?” to almost 300 million Americans, what is one senator?
Then he did call them out, voting against the war and other policies, becoming a pariah for having an opinion rather than trotting along with some blinders on like the good horses.
The worst part isn’t him TELLING us now since he obviously could think for himself and vote for his sworn duty, it’s that Bush/Cheney won in 2004. How? I do suspect foul play but they still did such a terrible job of delivering on 2000.
April 1st, 2008 at 11:39 pmartmann11 Says:
April 1st, 2008 at 11:15 pm
It can’t really be party loyalty can it? What about country loyalty? What about logic & fact loyalty? The day a Democratic president advocates a preemptive war I’m leaving.
It’s like the trolls. You can’t imagine they could possibly be real, but hey, I’ve met them. They could be my father. Not actually my father. He’s not crass and is in fact intelligent. Even more frustrating. After arguing politics with him my entire adult life I still keep thinking someday I’m going to find that magic argument that will lift the veil. On the other hand, some people must shift their views, otherwise the elections in 2006 wouldn’t have given the advantage to the Dems. How does that happen?
April 1st, 2008 at 11:57 pmI suppose this is better late than never. I had always respected Chaffee for his integrity, so I don’t understand how he could have kept this secret for this long. I’m incredibly disappointed by his silence until now. But I’m disgusted, sickened and outraged by the idea that Cheney actually convened a meeting to tell these Republicans that the Bush/Cheney campaign was nothing but lies? And they all did NOTHING? WTF?!
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:01 amOnoclea, I agree. These people all swore an oath to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies foreign or domestic…and it’s hard to say which enemies are more sinister, the terrorists or the Bush administration. Terrorists can only kill me; the Bush administration takes the heart out of me and tries to kill hope.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:09 amI think that the senator might have been a bit intimidated. After all, this is a thuggish administration at play here. Chafee has been my favorite Republican because he at least had integrity when he was not intimidated.
April 2nd, 2008 at 12:54 amOK. Perino says we get input only at the elections. Of course BushCo reserves the right to ignore whatever they said and promised during the election. Ignore for the moment the very serious questions about whether or not they won either election…
Wonderful,
April 2nd, 2008 at 1:20 amI hate to say it but it’s his evangelical church. They hate Muslims, hate gays, hate abortion and embrace an open-ended global religious war that will lead to the final battle, Armageddon. I used to be a believer myself and I cannot comprehend how Christianity ended up so far off course since the 80s. Well, yes I can. Merge politics with religious and you end up with the worse of both.
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:32 amWas he a RHINO…Republican In Name Only (a Republican term for thinking, moderate, independent members of their party)?
Would he have written the book and said these things if he had been re-elected? I doubt it. Of course then he’d tell folks that he was trying to make things work from the inside.
It’s a sad scene in this country. Check out Iaccoacoa’s book “Where Have All The Leaders Gone?” which applies to both parties…and some of the “independents” like Lieberman
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:25 amIsn’t it about time that we start calling this for what it is — the Cheney Administration? It’s obvious that W is merely a puppet. Look at the way he “won” the nomination — it was basically a foregone conclusion that Bush was going to be the Republican nominee by mid-1999 (check NEXIS). Why? It seems obvious to me — Cheney and the neocons had already captured the party and we’re looking for an inoffensive buffoon to run interference. So Bush could spout all he wanted about “compassionate conservatism” and yada-yada, Cheney knowing full well that he’d be in charge regardless.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:30 amI doubt seriously if anyone here is surprised by little dick’s statements. A good word to describe him is “sleazy.”
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:37 amMcbush, like all the other right-wingers, has no idea what he is talking about. He has no oars in the water. Mindless.
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:39 amWhoops! My last comment was for another thread. Sorry!
April 2nd, 2008 at 8:41 am#33 Progfin Says
I agree, I don’t think he would have written a book had he been re-elected. He is the only Republican that didn’t vote for the war. I will give him that, and I did respect him also for that.
But it’s his responsibility to uphold what we the people expect of elected officials. To cry foul, if something is wrong. Keeping it a secret makes you an accomplice in a crime. The crime and wrong doing is not being honest to the American People. If he had said something sooner, he may have been able to rewrite history. One person can make a difference. If your not heard, like Keith did on his show, keep yelling til the cry of outrage is deafening.
That is why I lost all respect and consider him no better than the rest of the Republicans. He knew better and did nothing, I’m not sure what is worse.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:19 am9/11 didn’t change everything. It fell into this administration’s lap. If you remember, the Project for a New American Century documents stated “what we need is another Pearl Harbor” and that’s exactly what they got.
April 2nd, 2008 at 9:34 amRemember this is Dick, give me personal access to all your confidential files so I can decide whether you are fit to be Vice President, psych!, I was going to be Vice President all along, Cheney. If you thought this man was honest after that incident then you probably still think Saddam Hussein had stockpiles of WMDs which he just hid really welll. This man does not have a shred of honesty, integrity, or common sense.
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:07 amLincoln Chaffee recalls Cheney saying the campaign was over and that our actions in office would not be dictated by what had to be said in the campaign shortly after the 2000 election.
Sometimes, a single phrase confirms something you’ve known for a very long time, but never been able to put your finger on exactly. This little piece summarizes it all. On the first read, it confirms that Dick Cheney is a liar, and that what he says is simply whatever he needs to say to get what he wants. Next, it confirms that what Dick Cheney says isn’t binding. And, while we’re at it, it was said in private – in secret. Dick Cheney lives in a secret world.
But after you’ve had some time to think about it, it confirms something else. Dick Cheney is saying it – not the President. Dick Cheney was in charge from the outset.
For review:
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:18 am* Dick Cheney is a liar
* what Dick Cheney says isn’t binding
* Dick Cheney lives in a secret world
* Dick Cheney was in charge from the outset
How nice of him to tell us this eight years after it happened!
April 2nd, 2008 at 10:36 amAs a moderate republican Chaffee was hated by the cons from the beginning. His father was Sec of the Navy who had lost considerable military installations for his state. Chaffee obviously didn’t want to be the guy to loose it all. Who knows if the Navy War College would have been next? Obviously not a good position to be in when your hated by your own party higher ups. I’m sure that he had the gun to his head. Voting against the war made him right for Rhode Islanders but not from the hawkish military standpoint that was vogue.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:15 amDick was like, ‘campaign’s over, time to focus on what’s important, first things first, we have a ‘pearl harbor moment’ to plan for’.
April 2nd, 2008 at 11:19 amWow! dick cheney Is a Dick! “Once a liar, always a liar.”
When will we learn?
April 2nd, 2008 at 7:14 pm