GOP Strategists to Cheney: Enough, Already

[stevedeshazer]

Some are concerned Cheney will be seen as the spokesman for the party

<snip>

Enough, already. That's the reaction of many Republicans to Dick Cheney's surge of media appearances to defend the Bush administration, especially on national security issues. "I don't think anybody would call him and say, 'Shut up.' It wouldn't work," says a GOP strategist who formerly advised Ronald Reagan. "He obviously feels that his work as vice president is under attack. But he is not our best spokesman." The concern among Republican strategists is that the public will think Cheney is speaking for the GOP, and this won't be helpful because the former vice president remains an unpopular figure across the country. Another prominent GOP strategist says Cheney should lower his visibility and give younger party leaders a chance to take the spotlight.

Meanwhile, White House officials are pleased that the abrasive Cheney is drawing so much attention. "The former vice president has made his views pretty clear, and the president has made his views pretty clear," an Obama adviser said today. "We had a big debate on this during the campaign, and the president sees it as a debate that has been resolved because the American people spoke so clearly ."

Cheney's reasoning for going public has become a favorite topic on the political circuit in Washington. Some of those who know Cheney well say he is motivated by a desire to defend his legacy as a principal architect of George W. Bush's national security policies that are under attack from the Obama administration and congressional Democrats—especially the waterboarding of suspected terrorists that President Obama has defined as torture.

</snip>

I really believe that for every single moment Cheney spends under the spotlight, another neoconservative dies.

The Cheney Family Denial Tour is in full swing; watch for it this summer at a county fair or undisclosed location near you.

[aquart]

1. Cheney as spokesman? Instead of Limbaugh?

Not a choice I'd care to make, myself.

[DCKit]

2. Yes Dick, do let the younger party members get out front defending torture.

The world is waiting for a fresh, young perspective on torture as well as the shredding of the Constitution and Bill of Rights. You, on the other hand, simply scare people.

Fascism always goes down easier when presented by handsome young men and women. Snarling Dicks? Not so much.

[Marr]

3. I think Cheney's media blitz is about covering his own ass.

Mr. Five Deferments can always be counted on to guard his own flabby behind.

He knows the Bush Administration is guilty of war crimes with torture, and he wants to make it politically difficult to prosecute. That's why he's made the point that Pelosi and other Dems were in on it.

Obviously it doesn't make his crimes legal-- it's just a way of saying, 'if you prosecute me, it'll damage your party, too'.

[stevedeshazer]

4. I tend to agree n/t