This morning, I learned of the passing of former Vice-President Dick Cheney.
There are many who are not sorry to see Cheney go. The Nation characterized Cheney as a "mass murderer of Iraqis and American democracy." Truthout was no less subtle calling Cheney "a war criminal" with the "blood of millions on his hands."
I suspect President Trump has similar feelings and perhaps he will not be able to resist the temptation to tell us exactly how he feels. Although flags have been lowered to half-mast as per protocol, White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt could only say that Trump was "aware" of Cheney's passing. We'll see if Trump makes us aware of his awareness.
Frankly, I'm sure Cheney didn't give a damn what people thought of him whether it be far-left figures or Trump and MAGA. At a certain age, some people accept (or are resigned to) the fact that they are not beloved or well thought of. But contempt is a well-worn two-way street.
In his final years, Cheney made no bones about he felt about Trump. No doubt he was inspired in no small part by his daughter, former Congresswoman Liz Cheney and her leadership as co-chair of the January 6th Committee. A year after the attack on the U.S. Capitol, the elder Cheney joined his daughter as the only Republicans to show up on the floor of the House of Representatives to pay tribute to the Metro D.C. police in their efforts to stop the insurrectionists from overthrowing a free and fair election. The sight of Dick Cheney standing alongside Democrats was a remarkable one.
During her unsuccessful bid for re-election, Cheney appeared in ad for his daughter and said, "There has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump." He also called Trump a "coward" adding, "A real man wouldn't lie to his supporters."
Then just over a year ago, Cheney endorsed Kamala Harris for President arguing that Trump "can never be trusted with power again."
Unfortunately, Trump may have the last laugh because trust him with power again we did. We didn't listen to Dick Cheney (nor for that matter Liz Cheney). No doubt there were many voters who weren't open to Cheney's views on anything.
After all, there are those who believe that Cheney helped pave the way for Trump through his embrace of "unitary executive theory". While it is true that Cheney believed in a robust Executive Branch, that did not consist of claiming to win elections which were not won and attempting to overturn the verdict of the voters.
That is the difference between Dick Cheney and Donald Trump. And unlike most Republicans, Cheney wanted people to know there was a difference. R.I.P.
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