Ah, yes, Cheney and the evil Halliburton. Remember when the Left insisted that Cheney had to sell all Halliburton stock when he became Bush's running mate? So he did. Then the same Left howled with indignation because he made a profit by selling his stock. Good grief!

Wow. Dick Cheney slices like a fucking hammer.

Did he say the Leahy is "Major League"? Because Leahy is in a league of his own.

Does that mean we can OFFICIALLY designate the senator from Vermont as "Loose Shit Leahy" now?

" Because Leahy is in a league of his own."

Are you sure? 'Cause I could swear the devil's in that league to.

"Does that mean we can OFFICIALLY designate the senator from Vermont as "Loose Shit Leahy" now?"

Oh, I'd say he earned the SHIT part a loooooong time ago.

This is encouraging. One can only hope that following a victory in November, Bush and company will become extremely uncivil with the opposition.

Zetetic,

That would be so amusing to watch. Seriously, every day the news would be the single most entertaining thing around.

But as much as the ten-year-old boy in me wants to see the President calling daily press conferences to announce that, for example, "HAHAHA to you, Kerry, who I beat by one of the widest margins in history. That is all," one of the oldest lessons of war is that you shouldn't fight on two fronts. And we are at war against terrorists, as every sane (read: non-liberal) person knows. We don't need to start a Civil War in America through increasing incivility. I'm disappointed in Cheney, much as Leahy deserved getting cussed out, because, like Ace, I'm afraid the center can't hold.

Counterpoint - would America really be worse off if California and the eastern seaboard were to secede? Think about it. If we were two separate nations, we could demonstrate within a very short time span how well liberal economic policy works. Consider that in post WWII Germany, no one was ever caught trying to sneak into East Berlin. And consider that no one in Florida has ever turned a Buick into a boat and sailed it to Cuba. There would be something mighty satisfying about leaving the Left to stew in its own worthlessness for a while, before crawling back.

The problem with the "we need a modicum of decency" argument is that WE'RE the only ones trying to be decent, and the strategy hasn't worked. As far as I can tell, the Senate Republicans spend most of their time fretting that they might be offending their leftist counterparts, and not nearly enough time fighting back. The democrats block judges, asserting that there must be a supermajority to confirm them -- an unprecedented act -- and the Republicans just go on talk shows and shake their head mournfully over the matter. The democrats rip Ashcroft a new one during his confirmation hearing (and for Ashcroft you can substitute in any number of Republican nominees going back to Bork), and the Republicans talk about being "compassionate conservatives" and wanting to work with their "friends across the aisle."

In short, the Democrats are already playing mean, and they're playing dirty. Our side has tried being friendly and Duddly Do-Rightish, and it simply hasn't worked. They just continue to out-manuever, out-spin and out-play us.

So I'm sending out big props to Cheney. It's about fucking time someone told that asshole Leahy to stick it where the sun don't shine.

I'm actually with you on that, Aaron. But remember what happened last time a state (my home state, actually) attempted to assert its rightful sovereignty. Those on the other side couldn't stand independence and used slavery as the "reason" for opposing it. It'll never fly.

Sorry, Aaron, I'm afraid I have to side with Zetetic and Scout on this one.

"one of the oldest lessons of war is that you shouldn't fight on two fronts."

Against, say, Germany AND Japan?

"We don't need to start a Civil War in America through increasing incivility."

We already HAVE a Civil War of incivility, we just aren't fighting back. Isn't this the same point we keep having to make to the Liberals about how the Islamofascists brought the war to US?

"I'm disappointed in Cheney, much as Leahy deserved getting cussed out, because, like Ace, I'm afraid the center can't hold."

And I'm afraid the center was already doomed long before this.

"Counterpoint - would America really be worse off if California and the eastern seaboard were to secede? "

Sadly, my beloved home state of Oregon would probably go with them, and I'd be forced to join the resistance movement.

All,

Yes, I too have mourned the linguini-spinedness (to borrow from Rush) of the Republicans, and I've been infuriated with the problems in the Senate. But call me old-fashioned, I believe in treating people better than they deserve. Saddam does not deserve a trial, but we're giving him one. Child molesters don't deserve to get out of prison other than in a body bag, but we parole them. Michael Moore does not deserve freedom of speech, when his virulent anti-Americanism gets soldiers killed, but we let him flap his gums. If conservatives abandon the moral high-ground, there will be no one left on it.

Smack,

The difference between the Civil War and now is that the Union actually wanted the south and southerners to be part of that Union. What if we took a different approach to California and Massecheusetts?

Brian B,

Regarding the two-front war, I'm not satying it can't be done. It can and has been done. It's just not advisable, and should be avoided where possible. Napoleon and Hitler both learned that important lesson.

Note that the opposite can be true. When we invaded Iraq, we did so from the south and (eventually) the north. That's because we had the logistical wherewithal to do it, and we effectively forced Saddam to fight a two-front war. Granted, the outcome of that invasion was a foregone conclusion - nobody screws with the US armed forces. But the two-front strategy probably made the whole thing even quicker and safer for our guys.

Regarding secession, I'll be living in Nevada soon, and after California leaves, and we nuke it into the ocean, I might enjoy some nice beachfront property. Just one more reason.

I remembered how worked up the Left was over the "He's an asshole...big time" comment.

Wait until this one hits the papers tomm.

The Lefties and Loonies may be better at invective and disingenuous "dialogue" - but we to the Right of Trotsky, if not Atila The Hun, are better armed.

If they had ClueOne or any sense, the incivilty would have been moderated long ago. Foolishly, they believe that everyone is a wussified New Age Screecher - like themselves - indoctrinated by and subscribing to the New Age Rules Against Violence, thus they believe they can get in your face, daily, and screech - and there is nothing you (or anyone else, for that matter) can do about it.

Wrong. When it begins to melt down - and that's likely before November - the domestic shit will hit the fan. There are some very angry people and they are talking past each other. Total disconnect.

This cannot continue forever. Cheney's pressure release is much like a pre-cursor to an earthquake. If the provocations and bile continue to build at this rate, the buildup will exceed the ability of this fault (heh) to equalize peacefully. Inevitably there will be a cathartic moment, a social earthquake, and either the Loonies will release their fantasies and deal with reality - or...

So common sense suggests, anyway.

I still amazed that this is getting so much play, while Gore's Godwin's Law moment isn't. Gore just surrendered - he has finally admitted he has nothing more to say and resorted to the same "republicans-are-Nazis" attack usually reserved for people holding giant puppet heads on a street in San Francisco.

This man was a few hundred votes from being President of the United States of America. Amazing.

Cheney was only verbalizing what many Americans think or verbalize themselves every time that pompous windbag of an empty suit opens his pie-hole to waste even more of our precious oxygen.

I agree that conservatives have been civil to this point, but thus far it has been a unilateral effort.

The best way to end simmering harrassment is to counter with overwhelming force.

Ditto what Mr. Cheney said, 'Senator' and ESFOAD.