Cheney Codifies His False View Of Vice President’s Office Into Official ‘Plum Book’ Of Federal Jobs
Cheney Codifies His False View Of Vice President’s Office Into Official ‘Plum Book’ Of Federal Jobs
Every four years, the federal government produces the “Plum Book,” listing “more than 7,000 government jobs that are likely to open up with the presidential transition.” This year, the book was published by the Senate Committee on Government Affairs (publication duty alternates between the Senate and the House Committee on Government Reform), which is chaired by Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT). Lieberman described it as “essential reading for anyone interested in pursuing public service in the executive branch of government.”
For those interested in the executive branch, however, the 2008 and the 2004 versions of the Plum Book offer a startling — and erroneous — assertion: The office of the Vice President is not in the executive branch. Both versions put the description of the VP’s office last under “Appendices,” rather than in the Executive Branch section:
The Vice Presidency is a unique office that is neither a part of the executive branch nor a part of the legislative branch, but is attached by the Constitution to the latter. The Vice Presidency performs functions in both the legislative branch (see article I, section 3 of the Constitution) and in the executive branch (see article II, and amendments XII and XXV, of the Constitution, and section 106 of title 3 of the United States Code).
The 1996 and 2000 versions — before Vice President Cheney redefined his office — unambiguously include the Office of the Vice President in the executive branch.
The new language exactly mirrors the description that David Addington, Cheney’s chief of staff, offered to Congress earlier this year:
ADDINGTON: Sir, perhaps the best that can be said is that the vice president belongs neither to the executive nor to the legislative branch, but is attached by the Constitution to the latter.
That the 2004 Plum Book includes this language is evidence that the Bush administration set out to radically redefine the Vice President’s role from the start — long before it first came into public view, in 2007, that Cheney did not view himself as part of the executive branch.
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26 Responses to “Cheney Codifies His False View Of Vice President’s Office Into Official ‘Plum Book’ Of Federal Jobs”
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Goddamn Dick Cheney, and may his rotting carcass burn eternally in hell for his evil ways.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:58 am5-deferment Dickhead Cheney is the most evil, monstrous, malevolent #2 man on the world stage since Hermann Goering.
November 14th, 2008 at 11:59 amUtter BullSh!t from the master of Bullsh!t. Can we get a Supreme court ruling on this someday?
November 14th, 2008 at 11:59 am"...in 2007, that Cheney did not view himself as part of the executive branch."
And the rest of the world does not view him as part of the human race.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:01 pmno wonder Scarah couldn't figure out what the VP did. Ha.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:04 pmThey'll need a special printing of the Plum Book first thing in January.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:04 pmSo can Obama and Biden define this fully once and for all, make it 100% unwaverable and stop this from happening again?
November 14th, 2008 at 12:08 pmmargerine Says:
So can Obama and Biden define this fully once and for all, make it 100% unwaverable and stop this from happening again?
According to Bush/Cheney, Obama and Biden can do pretty much whatever they want to do. After all, they set the precedent.
Can't you just hear the howls of the right if Obama started making things up the way Bush did? It's going to be kind of fun watching the right for the next 4 years.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:14 pmBilbo says: "Can’t you just hear the howls of the right if Obama started making things up the way Bush did?"
My first action on my first day if I was Obama would be to get all digital surveilance data that may has been caught en masse by our intel agencies that cross references Cheney's cell phone/computer and all WH cabinet names. Let's turn the tables and see if we can locate all Dick and Karl's "lost" e-mails. If the WH has been scooping up everything out of the digital ether since Feb '01, this info should be findable. Once enough evidence is gathered to put them all away in Federal prisons Obama can work with Congress and the FISA courts to fix this blight on America.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:21 pmi guess it depends on what your definition of the word "is" is... however you need to view it to achieve your personal agenda....
bushco should be tried to the fullest extent of the law with the punishment reflecting it.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:23 pmlooking for a sure fire investment? invest in ink pens.
obama is gonna need all he can get to undo bushco.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:25 pmThis assertions needs a court judgment, affirming or denying it. How could this go on for eight years with no legal challenge?
November 14th, 2008 at 12:31 pmWhen will they lock-up this mass murderer?
911=Inside Job
November 14th, 2008 at 12:31 pmThis fiasco has given us two new words, however.
You may have been Bushed the past 8 years.
You may even have been told to go Cheney yourself.
I watched 'The Lee Atwater Story' on PBS earlier this week. Cheney, Rove, and even Rummy to some degree have used his nuclear tactics throughout the last 25 years. KKKarl still thinks he can smear & fear at will.
The biggest difference between Atwater & Rove is that Atwater repented. KKKarl will be dragged to prison kicking, screaming and asking for his Mama.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:34 pmHopefully he will end up in the penal system branch.
November 14th, 2008 at 12:35 pmSo where's the bit about providing the Veep with the hot gushing blood of freshly killed puppies he needs in order to stay alive...??
November 14th, 2008 at 1:04 pmAhem:
November 14th, 2008 at 1:06 pm
Wait! Isn't he like, the manager of the Senate?
November 14th, 2008 at 1:11 pmJust like teenagers...
Incapable of following the spirit of the law -- only the letter (and then only barely).
The source of so many of our current problems.
How's that strategy working for ya, pimple-face??
Lowest rating in the history of the country; and historians have barely weighed in yet. This will not be Trumanesque, I hate to say.
November 14th, 2008 at 1:13 pmcaption:
November 14th, 2008 at 1:17 pmCatch me if you can, heh heh ...
Cheney is clearly insane. I'm assuming Obama will reassert that the VP is part of the executive branch.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:39 pm"Invoking executive privilege, Vice President Dick Cheney refuses to disclose details of meetings he held last year with Enron officials."
Time, 2/2/2002
So, Cheney is part of the executive branch, except when he isn't.
November 14th, 2008 at 3:50 pmFine, he's a new branch. Therefore, he has NO claim of executive privilege. Let's see those papers now, thank you.
November 14th, 2008 at 4:38 pmGee - did everyone notice THIS little descriptive LIE got inserted under the COMMITTEE headed by JOE LIEBERMAN, the Traitor to Democracy aka "I-CN"????
ANOTHER reason JoJo the Dog Faced Senator should be REMOVED and placed in the basement or assigned to the minority seat on the Senate Committee on Human Waste Transportation . . .
November 15th, 2008 at 2:24 amThere is no court except a court of Grade-schoolers telling Cheney where the office of VP is.
November 15th, 2008 at 11:34 amCheney is a criminal and should br ARREST, TRIED AND HANGED. If I could do it myself I would gladly do it.
HANG CHENEY THE TERRORIST!!!
Please excuse the concatenation of the above comment into the url for the WaPo article...
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/11/12/AR2008111203303.html
November 15th, 2008 at 4:10 pm