Leahy and Conyers; fuckin superheroes.

Oh, this will surely be the saddest Penguin squawk to come from the Fourth Branch in seven years.

So how is Cheney going to say “Go Fuck Yourself” on this one? Directly, like he did with Leahy before, through subordinates, through chasing the server out at gunpoint, or by just ignoring it and making angrier-than-usual grunting noises on the Sunday shows?

I figure it is fifty fifty as to whether Cheney argues executive privilege or that his fourth branch of the United States government is immune to such things. Of course there’s a large chance he will argue both.

He doesn’t have to say shit. He can ignore it. Then Leahy has to get the Justice Department to cite him for contempt. Yes, THAT Justice Department. And only then does it even BEGIN it’s path through the courts.

You think they can’t dance for sixteen months? Sorry to harsh your buzz, but if you can’t find a way to impeach, they win…

Guys, this is pissing in a dark suit. You might get a warm feeling, but nobody can tell…

mikey

Go, Dick! I don’t remember him being quite so furry, and I DO remember seeing this vid three days ago on conservative blogs, but you guys are quickly catching up, Gavin! In the future, you might be as quick as a conservative! My advice: lay off the weed. You’ll catch the good guys soon!

Yeah, mikey, but Cheney gets off on fucking with people.

I agree that they can stretch the dance out. But Cheney will find a way to rub it in. Maybe he’ll have the process server thrown in Guantanamo or shoot him in the face.

But the shy retiring type, playing the subtle hand? That’s not our Darth. He’s gotta flaunt his power. It’s what makes his thing wiggle.

My penis is huge.

The more Cheney is in the news, the more the Republicants are screwed in 2008.

In other words, I agree with Kevin. Go Cheney! Tell everybody to go Cheney themselves!

Who is Misha, and why is she calling herself a big dick?

mikey: Then Leahy has to get the Justice Department to cite him for contempt. Yes, THAT Justice Department. And only then does it even BEGIN it’s path through the courts.

This is true, but look at the matter at hand: its about the authorization and legal justification (*cough*) for the NSA’s warrantless domestic spying. That means Abu G probably has to recuse himself because he’s up to his neck in that shit (Gonzales’ late-night trip to coerce a sick and medicated Ashcroft to sign off on that specific program, for example)..

If I’m reading this right, it looks like Leahy figured a way to get Abu out of the picture without him (Gonzales) actually having to leave the DOJ– by playing his roles as WH Counsel and AG against one another. He’s pretty smart, that Pat.

As has been mentioned earlier but bearing repeating: Cheney will simply not show up. I’d be surprised if the White House even bothers making up a reason.

kingubu. Go back and read what you wrote. Abu G is going to recuse himself? Now bear in mind that nobody can force him to do so, it’s something he would have to decide to do on his own. And he faces no consequences should he choose NOT to do so. What, is his boss gonna fire him or something?

You simply can’t keep expecting these thugs to play by the rules. They ain’t gonna do it, and every time we expect them to they break our hearts again.

Nope. I’m going to get in front this time and expect them to act just like the mafia would. And at least I won’t be disappointed…

mikey

Pardon my ignorance on this ,but legally,what is supposed to happen if Cheney’s office ignores the whole thing?

I’ve actually felt for a long time now that this cabal is DARING someone to make them stop. They really aren’t even bothering to hide their hate and spite anymore. They aren’t gonna just suddenly have an epiphany of goodness and knock it off until they’re forced to. So far no one has been able to even slow this shit down,and it’s really got to the”oh yeah,make me,motherfuckers”stage of things,hasn’t it?

I need a drink.

These guys are past even trying to look like they’re acting within the law. Cheney will either just blow off a subpoena or – if he’s feeling perky – come up with something even more ludicrous than the I’m-not-part-of-the-executive-branch scam… maybe he’ll reveal that’s he’s really from the Q continuum and not subject to mere physical laws.

The more Cheney is in the news, the more the Republicants are screwed in 2008.

There is that upside to it, provided he doesn’t destroy the planet in the meantime.

From the AFP piece:
Cheney, known for his robust view of the executive branch’s power…

Ah, I love understatement.

Mikey likes pie! Well, it’s what I heard.

Dang, now just hearing the name ‘mikey’ makes me think of pie.

Robust view? Heh,that’s almost artful in how full of shit it is.

It’s called “keepin’ up the skeer”. While this particular action isn’t likely to produce much, it keeps the pressure on. It at least MAKES them dance. And that can lead to further mistakes that can be further taken advantage of.

Harry them. Harass them. Never let your enemy regain his feet. Once you’ve begun to win the battle, carry forward until the victory is complete. A battle half-won is a battle lost.

Yeah yeah I know. You all can criticise me now for using the politics-as-war analogy.

Actually, Snowwy, that’s the best reason I’ve heard for this otherwise futile action. They’ll win, but they might have to throw some players under the bus on the way, and those players might decide to tell stories. Bring it on…

mikey

Can a “shapeless ill-defined cloud of vapor made up of flatulence, Old Spice, and the aerosolized blood of children“(© TBogg) be trusted to resign?

I always wonder whether DCIA Porter Goss got shown the door so…inelegantly because his ‘security clearance’ was voided by his shenanagins. That could be one way stacking up a laundry list of C-heinous-ey could force Dick to retire. Also, making fun of Bush’s fecklessness and blaming Dick for Iraq occupation could help.

and I DO remember seeing this vid three days ago on conservative blogs, but you guys are quickly catching up

Well, Kevin, some of us had other commitments like work, so we’re not as quick as you to catch all the You-tube action.

Didn’t your mom leave you a list of chores to do?

It would actually be pretty simple. Drag out the hearings a few more months, say, November. Cheney resigns, Fred gets appointed. Then, Dubya gets shot in the face in a mysterious hunting accident. Boom, Fred is President. The base falls in behind Father, with his stern look and large… large… hands…
Republicans hold the White House for the next 9 years. Keep in mind that one is allowed to be President for a maximum of 10 years.

We’re never getting rid of Cheney without an exorcism and tear gas. With a little over a year left on the clock, he’ll ride it out.

Granted, Cheney deserves a free rail ride more than nearly anyone else in Washington, but even if the Congressional Democrats slap an extra pair of balls on, lock Lieberman in a closet, and get pictures of every GOP pol, pundit and sugar daddy at a drunken frat party eating barbecued babies, Cheney will somehow manage to cling right through the election in 08. Dems will take the Pres seat by default (Any group that considers Fred Thompson a front runner for anything except a pie eating contest is truly weak), and then Cheney’s black heart will mysteriously collapse in on itself, pulling him into a singularity of suck so dense that he will rocket to the center of the Earth.

We’re never getting rid of Cheney without an exorcism and tear gas. With a little over a year left on the clock, he’ll ride it out.

I propose also giving him a wedgie, except that it would take fifty of our hardiest men, and they’re too busy actually doing real work to take on this particular enterprise.

*swish*

Well actually I thought the irresistible force and the immovable object were the American Suburban Mom versus the U.S. Federal Bureaucracy, when the airport security screeners went after her child’s sippy-cup. But I guess I stand corrected.

On the other hand, if the Gop front-runner wants to associate hisself with and become a part of the Total Freakin Disaster that is Bush-Cheney, then hey, don’t let me (or anyone else) stand in the way. It’s their war; now what about Iraqification?

Snowwy put it well, indeed.
The point is not to get Dick to testify. The point is to get him to refuse to testify.
There are a few Dems in important positions with a clue and maybe even half a plan.
Hoping for anything like justice is a fool’s errand, but maybe, at least, we can keep ourselves out of Iran.
Blair being out has to help.

Yeah yeah I know. You all can criticise me now for using the politics-as-war analogy.

I won’t criticize ya- that’s how I have come to look at it too.

Any more talk like this and he’s going to drop his brain into an ED-209, and then we’ll see subpoena power trumped by FIREPOWER.

I need a drink.

Adrink?

anangryoldbroad, you are very clearly made of much sterner stuff than I.

Rumors that Cheney plans to resign and to have Fred Thompson appointed as VP (i.e., as heir-apparent to the Presidential nomination) are, believe it or not, more than just some silly joke we’re making up.

per the XXVth amendment, Fred needs to be approved by a majority vote in the House and Senate. I imagine he would get it though (I mean, refusing Fred after the sins of Dick would seem so petty). If he did not root out the corruption in the Office of the Vice President he could be tarred by association with Cheney’s people. That would work.

They’ve refused the supoenas.

Seems to me if he isn’t a part of the Executive Branch, we need ourselves a new Vice President anyhow.
They refuse the subpoenas, so they call the Justice Department. AG AG say, “Shoot, I don’t know where he is. Dick who? I have no recollection of any Dick.”

They’ve refused the supoenas.

I think they’ve refused a different set of subpoenas (the ones about the illegal wiretapping), but I’m sure they will refuse this set, too.

The point is not to get Dick to testify. The point is to get him to refuse to testify.

diffbrad is correct.

Keep Cheney in the spotlight. Make him the poster boy for Rethuglican arrogance, corruption and lawlessness. Make every other Rethuglican candidate for anything either defend him or attack him.

Hilarity ensues. Except for all the dead people, of course.

[…] Just as we are seeing a rewind of Vietnam in Iraq, we are now treated to another awesome spectacle of history repeating itself for those who fell asleep on the movie last time. Another Dick is in the hot seat to cough up some exec correspondence, and like the erstwhile Nixon, is digging in and refusing. This is hot news indeed-but I was just over at Sadly,No! and saw this bit of bizarreness: […]