Did The Dick Always Hang With Nuts?
It’s merely an academic exercise as to whether Cheney changed over time.
But no, he didn’t,in his views of the US exerting power in foreign affairs. But yes, he did, in another sense.
He was always the reactionary, rightwing radical. He opposed the boycott of South Africa’s apartheid regimes and opposed the lauding of Martin Luther King. He was always a big supporter of Big Coal and Big Oil, with a long history of weakening environmental protection laws. He’s been a hawk on foreign affairs, only showing moderation once, in ending the first Gulf War without toppling Saddam.
But back then, the CW was that toppling Saddam could lead to a pro-Iran Shia government and it was better to stick with the devil they knew. What changed? 9-11 has been used as the pretext for a changed outlook, but contrary evidence exists via the PNAC activities and the revelations of Richard Clarke that Bush was prepping for the Iraq War several months before the Twin Towers/Pentagon attack.
What clearly changed in the interim was Cheney served as CEO for Halliburton. Afterwards, many of the foreign policy decisionmaking just coincidentally enriched Cheney tremendously.
The inner bully was always there as was the corporate suckup. But as he began facing his own mortality, he was, at least, partly motivated by the desire to get stinking rich.
It’s true, as Matt notes, that the second Bush was a weaker executive, which allowed him to capitalize easier on his consolidation of power. And like many who actively support warsrepeatedly while actively shunning military service, Cheney is a classic bully, eager to cause pain and suffering, to experiment with others’ lives, so long as he could hide behind his Missus’ skirt.
All 9-11 did was make it more acceptable to bully openly and aggressively, cussing at Senators, insulting allies and diminishing every critic as an enemy of the nation. He is a vicious bastard, but really always was.
April 26th, 2009 at 11:58 am
Of course he did and still does. Lets stay anaComically correct …