Then What the Hell Is It?

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From the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform:

The Oversight Committee has learned that over the objections of the National Archives, Vice President Cheney exempted his office from the presidential order that establishes government-wide procedures for safeguarding classified national security information. The Vice President asserts that his office is not an “entity within the executive branch.”

Dick: There are three branches of government. Those are the executive, the legislative, and the judicial. The Constitution puts the Vice President’s office in the executive branch. If you aren’t part the executive branch, then what branch do you think you are in?

Please, Dick, answer the question. This is fascinating. I really want to know what you think.

As described in a letter from Chairman Waxman to the Vice President, the National Archives protested the Vice President’s position in letters written in June 2006 and August 2006. When these letters were ignored, the National Archives wrote to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in January 2007 to seek a resolution of the impasse. The Vice President’s staff responded by seeking to abolish the agency within the Archives that is responsible for implementing the President’s executive order.

I want to reassign the lot of them to this branch.

17 thoughts on “Then What the Hell Is It?”

  1. Actually, I’d happily acquiesce to their wishes not to be part of any branch of government at all. Could we get them offices in Albania?

  2. Dickie’s been playing this game for a while. As I understand it, the claim is based on the fact that the V-P sits as president in the Senate AND as successor to the President, which puts him in some special in-between world where, apparently he is untouchable by rules of either branch. It has a remarkable similarity to the kinds of special case rules children create when they are at play. “You’re it!””Am not. I was on the special spot!” “What special spot?” “This one. I declare it!” (Or maybe “I’m rubber, you’re glue” is the appropriate precedent?)

    Somehow, the Constitutional savants in Dickie’s office who cooked up this idea failed to notice that, in the Constitution, those are the ONLY roles for the VP, and that therefore, if he is in this in-between heaven, he should properly not even have the power even to subscribe to ‘Field & Stream’ without it being granted by either the Congress or the President, which would presumably mean they could oversee it.

    Like most of the avant-garde legal interpretations from this administration, Magic VP Superpower-Land would likely be laughed out of a court, but in the meantime, he gets to sneer at anyone who wants him to do anything he doesn’t want to.

    This from the administration that claimed it would bring dignity and decorum back to the White House. Gack.

  4. a dick is as a dick does! with the dickhead’s clogged arteries i think he has some brain damage. but he is very scary, with half afunctioning brain he can do great damage. sometime ago there was a story in the uk guardian quoting geoffrey hoon that cheney made the decisions, sometimes overriding bush when bush’s decision did not fit the dickhead’s. he is a very dangerous person.

  5. Hasn’t Cheney claimed “executive privilege” on some issues in the past? I would prefer to have him farther away than Albania. Perhaps another galaxy?

  6. “Those who can make you believe absurdities, can make you commit atrocities” – Voltaire

  7. “Please, Dick, answer the question. This is fascinating. I really want to know what you think.”

    What? Answer you? Answer to you? Just who do you think you are? I answer to no one! Waahhaaahaaahaaahaaa!!!

    As Keith would say, he is the “WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD'”!

  8. He’s not in the Executive branch, because he’s not in the legitimate government, because he is in fact running a criminal conspiracy, under cover of law. We’ve known this all along, but it’s good to hear him indirectly admit it.

  9. Pingback: Cheney says, I’m my own Branch « Exposing The Neo-Right

  10. “I want to resign the lot of them”

    I hope you don’t mean Waxmen as well. Although I don’t think he’s done too good of a job. Nothing but “political theater”, I say its time for some real political courtroom stuff. What with all the illegal government goings-on, no real convictions to date. My fear is that we are being fooled over so much, that at some point we will not recognize our democracy anymore. We will be more concerned about process, and not about progress. At some point we may fall into Haiku:

    Process, wakes me up

    Progress, remind me we are here

    Politics put me to sleep

  11. Not to be confused with “hillbilly haiku” which allows as many words and sentences as need be:

    As the bombs rain down in Israel,
    They see the moon.
    As the smoke clears in Lebanon,
    They see it too.
    As the leaders decide a way
    Many mothers lose their child
    As our leaders meet and drink
    Many more civilians die.
    As the bombs rain down on Lebanon,
    They see the Moon.
    As the smoke clears in Israel,
    They see it too.
    As the leaders decide a way
    Many mothers lose their child
    As our leaders meet and drink
    How many more civilians die?

  12. This Dick needs to be neutered.
    There has never, in the history of this country, been a clearer case for impeachment of both executives and their follower’s.
    Li’l Caligula and Darth Vader need to be impeached, impounded and imprisoned for War Crimes. Today!
    Congress has a 14% approval rating because they stand idly by while the “New Rome” burns.
    Nancy, take the gloves off! Democrat’s, please get to work and start the impeachment process. Stop being afraid! We may not live to see the next national election cycle. That day may not come. The Unitary Chimp may decide that he is too indispensable in a time of War, and that we can’t have elections. They’ll divide the country, don’t you know…
    The only thing we have to fear, is your fear of electability. Grow some balls!!!
    Who worries about ’08? Not me. There will be over a million dead in Iraq – 4,000 to 5,000 of them our troops. Iran may be a smoldering nuclear mess. Russia and China may be ready to nuke our rogue-state ass, and you worry about the election in 16 1/2 month’s?
    Why aren’t we massing in the streets? Oh yeah, “Bread and Circus’.” In our current lingo, that’s McDonald’s and “American Idol.” Maybe that should read, “American’s Idle.”
    What ever happened to this country? When did we decide to go from USA to USSR?

    Maha,
    I’m sorry that I’m all over the place on this post. But, I’m pissed. We need action!!! NOW!!!!!!!!!

    PS: Here’s a t-shirt idea: “Bush and Dick: No Wonder We’re Fucked!!!”

  13. Dear Mahablog–

    While you’re waiting on a response from Dick, maybe you’d consider posting your thoughts on this:

    “What is torture, and is it necessarily immoral?”

    I’m asking this of bloggers across the country, and will link to all their responses.

    Thanks!

  14. Maiden: I don’t do on-demand blogging. I’ve already got more stuff in my head to blog about than I will ever have time to write and post. Briefly:

    For a definition, this is from a dictionary: “Infliction of severe physical pain as a means of punishment or coercion.” I would add psychological pain as well, such as by means of sensory deprivation or isolation.

    Yes, it is immoral. One could make a “greater good” argument — that torture is not immoral if it saves other people — but all objective evidence I know about shows that information obtained by torture is nearly always wrong.

    People torture other people because they want to. They are gratified by it. That’s sick.

  17. Pingback: Cheney Claims VP’s Office Not in Executive Branch (Updated) « Mick Arran

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