The Kingdom of Cheney

Last summer, the putative Vice President refused to turn over papers to Congress, stating that he was not part of the Executive Branch of government. In challenging the authority of Congress, was Cheney trying to cover up the fact that he had his hand in the cookie jar or was it an attempted coup? Did he and his legal staff attempt to create a new branch of government, more powerful than the president and accountable to no one?

According to Craig Unger, Cheney has tried pre-empting the president before. On 9-11 when Bush was pretending to promote literacy instead of tending to the nation's business, Cheney ordered the last plane to be shot down on his own initiative. Bush claims he gave him permission. Flight and phone logs do not back up Bush's story.

For that matter, what was Cheney doing playing war games with the very planes assigned to defend our perimeters while the terrorists flew into the Twin Towers?
Vice Presidents are never commanders and chiefs of the military in war or peace.
It becomes even more suspicious when we know the Saudis had advance warning of the attack and had passed it on to US intelligence. He knew the date if not the exact location.

In his blind pursuit of power, Cheney has never been a stickler for legality or accuracy. He's not one to let the Constitution, which unequivocally places the Office of the Vice President firmly in the Executive Branch of Government, deter him from his goals.
He has built an empire out of an office that is purely ceremonial. He has his own intelligence network that creates the reports he wants and sits on information he doesn't want. He awards contracts to his employers and political supporters, starts wars and runs Middle Eastern foreign policy instead of the State Department.

Last year the word was out the Bush Jr. didn't want to attack Iran. Neither did Condi. In the wink of an eye, Cheney had Bush perjuring himself in a seedly rerun of the run up to the invasion of Iraq. Whose in charge? It isn't Bush or Condi, that's for sure.

A serious argument can be made for Bush's inability to carry out the duties of the Office of the President. Bush has failed at every business venture he has tried. Running companies into the ground is hardly a recommendation for chief executive of a powerful nation. However there is a process that must be observed before power can be transferred to the Vice President. As far as we know, there has been no such abrogation of power by the President or action by Congress.

There is another scenario that might explain Cheney's behavior. Cheney is not a well man. He has arterial disease and severe heart disease. These conditions can result in a brain that is starved of oxygen. That is why we see photos of Cheney dozing in emergency meetings or during State functions. It may be the reason Cheney sees nuclear weapons under every Bush and is hell bent on murderinng brown people.

It's possible he imagines himself to be Darth Vadar, circling the planet on his deathstar, a ruler of the universe. He wouldn't be the first old man to retreat into fantasy rather than face abridged and less than pleasant future of illness and decline.
Cheney is fond of talking about the necessity of going over to the "dark side". His facial expressions are frightening enough; no mask is required. Unfortunately he has no progeny capable of challenging his illusions.

If Cheney has superceded the President, then impeachment is not a strong enough response. It’s time to send in what remains of the National Guard to physically remove him from his office and arrest him for treason. The guard could then seize the material that Congress has subpoenaed, provided it hasn't been shredded. Congress could go back to being a separate and co-equal branch of government and Bush can go back to watching Sponge Pants Bob.

The trial, whether in the Senate or in the courts, should be not be about whether Dick Cheney abused the power of his office, which he clearly has. but whether he sought to overthrow and "elected" president of the United States. That's high treason, a capital crime.

Whether Cheney is a sick old man or actively engaged in shoving Bush 2 aside, we simply cannot afford to let Vice Presidents get this uppity. Especially if they are amoral opportunists like Dick Cheney.

We have to nip this in the bud. We can't have presidents suing for peace while their stand ins wage war. We can't have just anyone ordering the military to shoot down passenger planes.

We don't need any new branches of government. We just the need the ones we have to behave properly. The last thing we need is an self selected Vice Presidents who fancy themselves presidents. We are most do NOT need or want the United States of Cheney.

Carol DW