Insults and Investigations
Well, there are two things that seem to follow our beloved Vice President around. From insulting Senator Leahy to Valerie Plame leak investigations, he's always in the muck for something. Usually, it's just one at a time, but today, they came at the same time. More specifically, Halliburton just lostthe juiciest contract of all time, which many had credited to Cheney's influence and Putin insulted Cheney on nationl television and made fun of the fact he shot a guy in Texas just watch birds fly (sorry, but who doesn't lovea good Johnny Cash reference?).
Well, in any event, this is not the best week ever for Cheney. Granted Cheney has no direct control over his former company since he put everything into a blind trust, as dictated by law, but everyone has connected those two. No one heard of Haliburton until Cheney was elected VP. So, now, when they lose a multi-BILLION no-bid contract to provide food, laundry and gas to armed forces in Iraq, it looks real bad for Cheney. More so when the contract is being divided up into three different, for bid contracts with a fourth contract up for a bid to monitor the other three companies with the other contracts. The Washington definition is majorly fucked up is when the government has to sic a watchdog on you for your natural days. Hiring an outside contractor to watch OTHER contractors, WOW that's fuck up.
On the international front, where power hungry presidents much often prefer to play, things aren't good either. When Putin, who has been bordering on the czarist these days, calls Cheney out for shooting a guy. While Putin has gotten lucky with the death of Shamil Busayev, he's not generally strong enough to be picking on a vice president. Let's face it, it hasn't been a world sport to pick on vice presidents since Quayle was in office. And it sure hasn't been a safe bet for people to do during this adminstration. Not to mention, all of this is on the eve of the G8 summit of the 8 largest consumer/producer nations on the planet meeting in St. Petersburg in the coming weeks.
Taken together, these are symbolically powerful things that mean the weakening of the vice President. While this is nothing on its own, since all the vice president can do is break ties in the Senate and take over if the President dies or gives him power, it does come on the heels of Bush looking bad as well. And all of this comes in prime time for the elections in November, which might be the biggest midterm elections in 20 years, or at least 10. Bush is looking like he's on the run from the Supreme Court (at this point, good), Cheney is showing that he's losing what influence he might have and congressional Republicans are showing themselves to be unable to pass anything effective and increasingly divisive and divided.
All that taken together, may mean the Republicans will be taken together out of Congress.
So it is written, so do I see it.
Well, in any event, this is not the best week ever for Cheney. Granted Cheney has no direct control over his former company since he put everything into a blind trust, as dictated by law, but everyone has connected those two. No one heard of Haliburton until Cheney was elected VP. So, now, when they lose a multi-BILLION no-bid contract to provide food, laundry and gas to armed forces in Iraq, it looks real bad for Cheney. More so when the contract is being divided up into three different, for bid contracts with a fourth contract up for a bid to monitor the other three companies with the other contracts. The Washington definition is majorly fucked up is when the government has to sic a watchdog on you for your natural days. Hiring an outside contractor to watch OTHER contractors, WOW that's fuck up.
On the international front, where power hungry presidents much often prefer to play, things aren't good either. When Putin, who has been bordering on the czarist these days, calls Cheney out for shooting a guy. While Putin has gotten lucky with the death of Shamil Busayev, he's not generally strong enough to be picking on a vice president. Let's face it, it hasn't been a world sport to pick on vice presidents since Quayle was in office. And it sure hasn't been a safe bet for people to do during this adminstration. Not to mention, all of this is on the eve of the G8 summit of the 8 largest consumer/producer nations on the planet meeting in St. Petersburg in the coming weeks.
Taken together, these are symbolically powerful things that mean the weakening of the vice President. While this is nothing on its own, since all the vice president can do is break ties in the Senate and take over if the President dies or gives him power, it does come on the heels of Bush looking bad as well. And all of this comes in prime time for the elections in November, which might be the biggest midterm elections in 20 years, or at least 10. Bush is looking like he's on the run from the Supreme Court (at this point, good), Cheney is showing that he's losing what influence he might have and congressional Republicans are showing themselves to be unable to pass anything effective and increasingly divisive and divided.
All that taken together, may mean the Republicans will be taken together out of Congress.
So it is written, so do I see it.