We all had a good laugh last month when Dick Cheney’s office argued, in all sincerity, that the Vice President could ignore executive orders because he’s not part of the executive branch of government. Eventually, the Bush gang dropped the argument from their talking points, but until after they’d humiliated themselves.
Yesterday, CBS News’ Mark Knoller sat down with Cheney for a fairly long interview, which included this follow up to last month’s absurdities: (transcript via Nexis)
Q: There was an aide in your office who said that one of the reasons you weren’t abiding by that executive order was that you’re really not part of the executive branch. Do you have — are you part of the executive branch, sir?
CHENEY: Well, the job of the Vice President is an interesting one, because you’ve got a foot in both the executive and the legislative branch. Obviously, I’ve got an office in the West Wing of the White House, I’m an adviser of the President, I sit as a member of the National Security Council. At the same time, under the Constitution, I have legislative responsibilities. I’m actually paid by the Senate, not by the executive. I sit as the President of the Senate, as the presiding officer in the Senate. I cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate. So the Vice President is kind of a unique creature, if you will, in that you’ve got a foot in both branches.
Q: But you are principally a part of the executive branch, are you not?
CHENEY: Well, I suppose you could argue it either way. The fact is I do work in both branches. Under the Constitution, I’m assigned responsibilities in the legislative branch. Then the President obviously gives me responsibilities in the executive branch. And I perform both those functions, although I think it would be fair to say I spend more time on executive matters than legislative matters.
Keep in mind, as of June 28, Cheney reportedly rejected this whole approach, and said he disapproved of the fourth-branch argument. Indeed, the Office of the Vice President has insisted over and over again in recent years that it’s entitled to certain liberties as part of the executive branch.
And yet, he’s still unwilling to answer the question directly?
3 Trackbacks To “‘Fourth Branch’ Cheney strikes again“
Yuk…just go away Cheney just go away
Since Nancy Pelosi is 3rd in line to the Presidency, and 1 step behind Fourth Branch Cheney, Nancy Pelosi actually represents the Fifth Branch of the US government, and thus she possesses both Executive Branch and Legislative Authority, but responsibility under neither.
Similarly, Majority Leader Harry Reid in the Senate heads the chamber tasked with approving Federal and Supreme Court nominees, as well as Cabinet officials, so perhaps he is actually a Sixth Branch of Government which comprises functions of the Legislative, Judicial, AND Executive Branches.
Now, since I vote in elections for both the Executive and Legislative Branches, I suggest that voters are part of the Seventh Branch of Government.
He’s unwilling to answer any question straightforwardly; this isn’t significant.
people like Cheney that try to twist or “fit” the law to either get themselves off the hook for a crime or gain power are always criminals. The Mafia is well known for using this same method though at lower levels.
I’m no fan of Dick Cheney, but he answered the question reasonably.
I am surprised that “the Dick” wouldn’t sight national security issues and claim executive privledge over the question.
On a seperate note I think it is time for the Congress to bring in “theAlberto” and use some of those extra-ordinary interigation techniques that he thinks are constitutionally acceptable. Water boarding the AG maybe a necessary set to reach the truth.
This is accurate (works for 4th branch)….ONLY if you’re a corporatist that believes the U.S. should & world should be run like a corporation…
He’s not part of the Executive (although…he is)
He’s not part of the Leglislative (although he has some responsibilities to it)
He’s not part of the Judiciary (although his hand picked do boys would suggest otherwise)
He’s part of a 4th branch, introduced in February 2001…
He’s part of the Corporate branch, they specialize in whoring for the corporations of Big Oil, Big Coal, Mining, etc Their sole responsibility is the continuation of the geopolitical energy endgame….at the cost of human civilization, stability of the biosphere, and all else.
The first — and the most powerful — branch of this government is THE PEOPLE. Until Americans re-understand that basic fact and assert their executive privilege, we will have heartless asswipes like this guy running things.
“… If you will …”
How many f’ing times is he going to use that phrase and how many damn times do I have to tell him: “No, I will not. Now get out of our government.”
He’s just playing with people now…
7. Compulsive Lying.
This person, not unlike the gambler, or the alcoholic, has little or no control over the lies he or she tells. To the compulsive liar, lies come out of the mouth as easily as truths, usually with little or no forethought to why or what the consequences will be.
I thought he was paid by Halliburton?
Maybe we could do like some corporations do and pay him to leave. Whatever it costs, it would be worth it.
We could even do a fundraiser! I’ll personally kick in a few bucks.
If he has both Executive and Legislative responsibilities I submit he is subject to the rules covering both branches, not neither. If one serves two masters, one is answerable to both. Mr. Cheney does not recognize either the Legislative or Executive as his master. Ultimately his master is ‘the people’ and the constitution and he does not serve us either.
Therefore he should not be in this job.
Another setup by CBS. phukkk them all!
Addicted to power, but with no desire to use it in positive ways. He joins a large historical group of useless politicians who simply delayed the progress of society while “serving”.
Impeach his ass. Problem solved.
The office of the VP is clearly defined in the U.S. Constitution. It’s obvious that Cheney has no love or respect for that document and only uses it when it’s convenient for his criminal aims.
Congress was on the right track to defund Cheney’s office. Too bad a certain traitorous Democrat voted against it. It would have been fun to watch.
If he doesn’t know for sure where he works, I suggest he quit.
“The vice president is a unique CREATURE” at last some truth.
Steve S @ 6:
Is there a line of volunteers to pour the water?
Will water boarding improve his memory?
Reminiscent of the humorous and not-even-close to being harmful statement: “That depends upon what your definition of “is” is.
The president is also part of the legislative process since no law becomes effectdive unless he signs it
How many times has he broken a tie? Nuff said.
Canuknotusa @ 5:
Read the Constitution.
Cheney is a Tyrannical proponent of the so called Unitary executive authority theory..It seems to me that Cheney being a proponent of Unitary executive authority would make no bones about soley claiming executive status..
The fact, that the goverments in the US and Iraq are taking VACATIONS in August while our brave men and women are in harm’s way, in this undeclared war, makes me think…the history we were taught in school was just BS. It’s all about power and profit! God bless MONEY!
No one will ever get a straight answer out of Cheney; in fact, people who have known him for years have stated that he’s totally changed over the years. Maybe it has to do with his horrendous health and lack of blood flow and proper circulation to the brain?? Who knows?? Whatever it is, it’s pretty damn embarrassing for americans to realize that this liar is still functioning as our VP. People need to support Dennis Kucinich’s plan for Cheney impeachment; after all, the ONLY reason Bush isn’t getting impeached RIGHT NOW is because people loathe Cheney even more and fear that he will step right into the job. Now that’s a pretty sad commentary for a president and a veep who clearly have committed impeachable offenses. The “lesser of two evils” mantra simply isn’t going to cut it any longer, Congress.
Get on with the impeachment process today!! The people are clamoring for it and are behind you every step of the way.
John Nance Garner said “The Vice Presidency isn’t worth a warm bucket of spit.”
That was 60-some years ago. If he were alive today he would have to change that to:
“The Vice President is a warm bucket of shit.”
The time to call and write your representatives in Congress is TODAY! Press for impeachment of both Bush and Cheney and then we won’t have to give Bush a free pass because he’s the “lesser of two evils”.
P.S. When Bush alluded to his infamous “Axis of Evil” in one of his speeches, little did we know that he was really referring to “himself, Cheney, and Rove”, did we??
The scary part? Cheney has a bad heart (in more ways than one) and George W. Bush is only a heartbeat away from running this country.
and who’s gonna DO anything about it?
veritas @ 29:
That would be “Asses of Evil.”
Cheney is, as we are all aware of here, a liar and he’s evil, however, he also isn’t very smart. I’m sorry, but when you can’t lie better than he does . . .
What purpose does he actually have in the Senate, if the Republicans are going to start requiring a 60% majority just to talk about anything? The whole system’s gone nuts!
myiq2xu @ 32:
How do you think Iran felt? They were fighting in Afghanistan beside U.S. troops and Shrub labels them an axis of evil.
Uniter not divider, indeed.
Harley @ 24:
Well, I’m no fan of Cheney — I think he is a lying, manipulative bastard who should never have been allowed anywhere near the corridors of power. Having said that, he does raise an interesting point. If you actually DO read the Constitution, Harley, you will find that the Vice President is mentioned both in Article I, which deals with Congress, and Article II, which deals with the presidency. One of his primary responsibilities, as outlined by Article I of the Constitution is to serve as the president of the Senate, though the responsibilities of that post are usually carried out by the pro tempore, and to cast the tie-breaking vote if a tie should occur in that body. But he is elected as part of the presidential election, and of course, he has responsibilities in the Executive Branch as well. Thus, he is not so much a fourth branch of government (no matter how much he may act like one) as a person straddling two of the three branches, with responsibilities in each of those two.
Danny @ 19:
Yes, a vampire, if you will.
Cheney was for not being in the Executive Brance before he was against it.
Or something like that.
Having said all of that (post 36), I really do think that both Bush and Cheney ought to be impeached. But that’s more to do with the horrible things they have done while in office than as a result of any semantic quibbles.
jane doe @ 39:
Is that an anti-Semantic remark?!?
Ever see a cat play with a mouse? Toying with it, yanking it around
with teeth and claws, ears peeled back with that evil arrogant smirk?
That is our Darth Veep. We are nothing more than useless eaters to
this creature. How dare we even entertain the thought that any
restrictions or checks be put on him, he is GOD in his own mind.
Take away all his ’security’ yes men, and he is nothing but a sack
of bones like you and I.
Cheney as Vice President claims executive authority to selectively declassify national security secrets and claims executive privilege to prevent sharing information and documents about his activities in Executive Branch from the Congress exercizing its Constitutional duty of Executive oversight. How many times in the last 6 years has he acutally presided over the Senate (other than State of the Union addresses), been present for full Senate debates, or voted to break a tie? It sounds like one way to resolve this is to shift the Vice President’s salary from the Congressional budget to the Executive budget, where the vast majority of the funding for his staff and operations already resides.
jane doe @ 36:
The Vice President has no responsibilities in the Executive Branch until the president dies, resigns, is impeached or becomes incapacitated. By that measure, the Speaker of the House and the President Pro Tem of the Senate have “responsibilities in the Executive Branch.”
…”under the Constitution, I have legislative responsibilities. I’m actually paid by the Senate, not by the executive. I sit as the President of the Senate, as the presiding officer in the Senate. I cast tie-breaking votes in the Senate.”
It is my understanding that the Vice President is elected (in this case, both elections were stolen by GW) only because he is the appointed running mate of the candidate. After the election, he is given the honorary title of President of the Senate. That is part of being the Vice President which is under the President and that is the Executive Branch of the people’s government (if we ever get it back).
Cheney has Pinochet Huggies. These guys hate the legislative branch with a passion
And the President has responsibilities in Article I also. But to claim that makes him also part of the legislative branch is ludicrous. I would submit that the idea of three separate but equal branches makes any talk of crossover just outright silly.
Did anyone else watch “Traveler” this summer? All this talk of Fourth Branches makes me nervous.
Orwell’s Illegitimate Son @ 40:
Haha, he probably aspires to abolish the apostrophe & worships on the altar of the New York Post.
party-of-one @ 42:
Ahh, but then the VP might actually have to justify his budget by disclosing how many people work in his office, and who those employees are, and what they actually do. There’s no way he would let that happen.
Eamon @ 47:
Or, more accurately, makes human or animal sacrifices at the altar of the NYP, being the little Satanic bastard he is.