• Menu
  • Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar

Before Header

  • About Us
  • Lexicon
  • Contact Us
  • Our Store
  • ↑
  • ↓
  • ←
  • →

Balloon Juice

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

We are aware of all internet traditions.

They traffic in fear. it is their only currency. if we are fearful, they are winning.

The “burn-it-down” people are good with that until they become part of the kindling.

We cannot abandon the truth and remain a free nation.

Take hopelessness and turn it into resilience.

Do we throw up our hands or do we roll up our sleeves? (hint, door #2)

Let me eat cake. The rest of you could stand to lose some weight, frankly.

Fight them, without becoming them!

This country desperately needs a functioning fourth estate.

Republicans do not pay their debts.

The real work of an opposition party is to oppose.

It’s pointless to bring up problems that can only be solved with a time machine.

You can’t attract Republican voters. You can only out organize them.

The words do not have to be perfect.

Baby steps, because the Republican Party is full of angry babies.

Whatever happens next week, the fight doesn’t end.

Pessimism assures that nothing of any importance will change.

The rest of the comments were smacking Boebert like she was a piñata.

Too often we confuse noise with substance. too often we confuse setbacks with defeat.

Hey Washington Post, “Democracy Dies in Darkness” was supposed to be a warning, not a mission statement.

Just because you believe it, that does not make it true.

Republicans firmly believe having an abortion is a very personal, very private decision between a woman and J.D. Vance.

This isn’t Democrats spending madly. This is government catching up.

This blog will pay for itself.

Mobile Menu

  • Seattle Meet-up Post
  • 2025 Activism
  • Targeted Political Fundraising
  • Donate with Venmo, Zelle & PayPal
  • Site Feedback
  • War in Ukraine
  • Submit Photos to On the Road
  • Politics
  • On The Road
  • Open Threads
  • Topics
  • COVID-19
  • Authors
  • About Us
  • Contact Us
  • Lexicon
  • Our Store
  • Politics
  • Open Threads
  • 2025 Activism
  • Garden Chats
  • On The Road
  • Targeted Fundraising!
You are here: Home / Way To Go, Donks!

Way To Go, Donks!

by John Cole|  June 28, 200511:19 am| 21 Comments

This post is in: Democratic Stupidity

FacebookTweetEmail

Sure, Duncan. The way to electoral empowerment for the Democrats is to follow Arianna’s lead and try to make a big stink about the Vice President’s heart:

So kudos to Lloyd Grove, but this has to appear in a gossip column? When is the national news media going to pick up on this case of dishonesty involving an issue that’s of the utmost national importance — the heartbeat of the man who (all W. jokes aside for one fleeting moment) at least constitutionally is a heartbeat away from the presidency?

Also, why then did a “senior hospital official” anonymously tell the Vail Daily News this — that “he

FacebookTweetEmail
Previous Post: « Harsh Words
Next Post: Oil Shock »

Reader Interactions

21Comments

  1. 1.

    Jeff

    June 28, 2005 at 11:28 am

    “….for a Vice-President who has been elected twice with known heart issues…..”

    Well, that’s your first mistake. 99% of the braindead kooks that read Atrios don’t think Chaney was ever legitimately elected once, let alone twice.

  2. 2.

    Don

    June 28, 2005 at 11:52 am

    I might have thought this had some bearing pre-election but what difference does it make now?

  3. 3.

    tbone

    June 28, 2005 at 11:52 am

    So Cheney had to go in for his annual lump-of-coal replacement – some “scoop.” There’s plenty of big fat targets in this adminstration, Arianna; why tilt at windmills?

  4. 4.

    Compuglobalhypermeganet

    June 28, 2005 at 11:56 am

    One thing the Bush-haters will never run out of: fake outrage.

  5. 5.

    Jimmy Jazz

    June 28, 2005 at 11:57 am

    Hmmmm, looks like Bush might get to designate his heir apparent after all.

    I agree that this is a non story unless Cheney was no longer able to perform his consitutionally directed duties of growling angrily on Meet the Press.

  6. 6.

    SomeCallMeTim

    June 28, 2005 at 12:00 pm

    Not quite up to the “blow job in the Oval Office” standard, eh? Fair enough. I don’t really think anyone on our side of the aisle cares about Cheney, his not-obviously-extant heart, or what he doing with it. I suspect that people are primarily irritated because the President’s health is often a matter for speculation (remember the spate of stories about Clinton’s checkups, which came with a host of questions about VD?), the Vice-President’s health (esp. here) would seem to be similarly relevant, and there is little reporting on the matter.

    But I don’t know anyone who wouldn’t trade blanket silence on the matter for a sane Republican Administration.

  7. 7.

    KC

    June 28, 2005 at 12:01 pm

    Christ. Who reads Huffington anyway?

  8. 8.

    Tim F

    June 28, 2005 at 12:20 pm

    If the choice is between a cover-up and graphic pictures of Cheneys colon a la Reagan, I’ll take the cover-up.

    If there’s something seriously wrong with Cheney then I might find the strength to care about this. You do sort of wonder who’s in the bullpen in case the inevitable happens.

  9. 9.

    Mike S

    June 28, 2005 at 12:33 pm

    I wouldn’t call it an outrage either but it is telling that they would hide this when, as you say, everyone know’s he’s got a bad heart. Why did they say it was for his knee’s instead of just saying it was a “routine” thing? This administration has a propencity to lie about the stupidest things.

    Vail also seems like a strange place to have a “routine” check when your own Dr, and some of the best in the world, are just minutes from your own home in DC.

    So on the outrage meter it doesn’t register. It’s just more of the same.

  10. 10.

    Jeff

    June 28, 2005 at 12:50 pm

    “Vail also seems like a strange place to have a “routine” check when your own Dr, and some of the best in the world, are just minutes from your home in DC.”

    Well, I’m sure there are fine doctors in Los Angeles too, but Kobe still went to Colorado to see a doctor.

    You may have heard about that trip.

  11. 11.

    Tim F

    June 28, 2005 at 12:53 pm

    Mike, I read the story. Apparently he had labored breathing and they took him in for an exam, everything checked out ok.

    On the whole it’s a pretty pedestrian story. At over 8000 feet above sea level probably one in three coast-dwellers experience shortness of breath in Vail. It’s the High Altitude Cerebral Edema capitol of the civilized world. Cheney’s circulation not being so good I’d be shocked if he didn’t have some trouble mounting a tall set of stairs.

    The false-name thing is cute and sort of pathetic for one of the most powerful men on the planet; Clinton would have just walked in the front door and welcomed the attention. Cheney’s instinct to keep this kerfuffle from becoming a big deal is understandable although his methods proved as hamfisted as ever.

  12. 12.

    Mike S

    June 28, 2005 at 1:05 pm

    Jeff

    Vail is a logical place for ortho specialists. You may have heard about their primary attraction. It tends to be rather tough of knee’s.

    Tim F

    You are right. It is a very pedestrian story. But the fact that they would lie about it when there is no way it would hold up is indicative of what they do. There was absolutly no need for it. The honest story, laid out exactly as you did, would have gotten a normal reaction. “Makes sense. I have a hard time beathing at 8000 feet. I wonder what’s happening in Aruba?”

  13. 13.

    p.lukasiak

    June 28, 2005 at 1:21 pm

    My theory is that Cheney has such a high regard for himself that he thinks anything that suggests he might not be able to keep Shrub from running completely amok would have a major deleterious impact. So, instead of admitting that he showed symptoms of distress, he lied about it.

    The worst thing is that Cheney might be right. Cheney may be little more than a murderous thug in a business suit, but at least he’s a Machiavellian murderous thug. Bush, on the other hand, is the kind of man who still likes to pull the legs off of daddy-long-legs for amusement….

  14. 14.

    Rocky Smith

    June 28, 2005 at 3:26 pm

    Cheney is from the wonderful State of Wyoming. He fishes mountain streams when he has time, so I doubt altitude affects him that much. Stress of putting up with the crap that comes his way from liberal hand wringers probably sets his ticker off kilter though. He isn’t the evil man that lefties would have you believe he is.

  15. 15.

    Jimmy Jazz

    June 28, 2005 at 3:35 pm

    He isn’t the evil man that lefties would have you believe he is.

    “I was able to get a sense of [Vladimir Putin’s] soul, a man deeply committed to his country and the best interests of his country,”

    –GW Bush

  16. 16.

    Pudentilla

    June 28, 2005 at 3:43 pm

    “If there’s something seriously wrong with Cheney then I might find the strength to care about this.”

    How will you ever know a) that it’s important or b) if it’s worth caring about – if every time they are caught in a lie you say, “oh, it’s not that important a lie.” Oh, that’s right, lying’s okay if you’re a Republican: accountability and honor only matter when we’re trying to bring down Democrats – for us, it’s so 20th century to worry about such things. Oh well, at least Republican ennui has spared the nation the millions wasted ala Ken Starr.

  17. 17.

    Pudentilla

    June 28, 2005 at 3:45 pm

    “If there’s something seriously wrong with Cheney then I might find the strength to care about this.”

    How will you ever know a) that it’s important or b) if it’s worth caring about – if every time they are caught in a lie you say, “oh, it’s not that important a lie.” Oh, that’s right, lying’s okay if you’re a Republican: accountability and honor only matter when we’re trying to bring down Democrats – for us, it’s so 20th century to worry about such things. Oh well, at least Republican ennui has spared the nation the millions wasted ala Ken Starr.

  18. 18.

    Tim F

    June 28, 2005 at 5:03 pm

    I think Rocky wins the WTF award for this thread.

  19. 19.

    Anderson

    June 28, 2005 at 5:05 pm

    I think the news that Cheney HAS a heart can only be a plus for the White House.

  20. 20.

    M. Scott Eiland

    June 28, 2005 at 5:05 pm

    John, if you think this is an unseemly display, think of how much howling and whining there will be if Cheney does step down in the next year or so, and he is replaced by someone already in the running for the Republican presidential nomination in ’08, or someone else who would get a rather abrupt boost in stature as a result (say, Condi Rice). It won’t be pretty–I’d venture a guess that the DNC has been banking on:

    1) A field of more-or-less equal newbies in the Republican field for 2008, and;

    2) That Cheney would be available as a convenient bogeyman to help Governor Howie raise funds for the DNC.

    It won’t be pretty if it happens.

  21. 21.

    Sojourner

    June 28, 2005 at 10:05 pm

    Condi would have a really tough time explaining her lies and incompetence, and accounting for the thousands of people who died as a result. I doubt she’s up to the challenge.

Comments are closed.

Primary Sidebar

Image by MomSense (5/21.25)

Recent Comments

  • Omnes Omnibus on Parsing the Pandemic Pause (May 21, 2025 @ 11:08am)
  • Enhanced Voting Techniques on Parsing the Pandemic Pause (May 21, 2025 @ 11:07am)
  • Manyakitty on Parsing the Pandemic Pause (May 21, 2025 @ 11:06am)
  • Professor Bigfoot on Parsing the Pandemic Pause (May 21, 2025 @ 11:05am)
  • suzanne on Parsing the Pandemic Pause (May 21, 2025 @ 11:04am)

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Balloon Juice Posts

View by Topic
View by Author
View by Month & Year
View by Past Author

Featuring

Medium Cool
Artists in Our Midst
Authors in Our Midst
War in Ukraine
Donate to Razom for Ukraine

🎈Keep Balloon Juice Ad Free

Become a Balloon Juice Patreon
Donate with Venmo, Zelle or PayPal

Meetups

Upcoming Ohio Meetup May 17
5/11 Post about the May 17 Ohio Meetup

Calling All Jackals

Site Feedback
Nominate a Rotating Tag
Submit Photos to On the Road
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Links)
Balloon Juice Anniversary (All Posts)
Fix Nyms with Apostrophes

Hands Off! – Denver, San Diego & Austin

Social Media

Balloon Juice
WaterGirl
TaMara
John Cole
DougJ (aka NYT Pitchbot)
Betty Cracker
Tom Levenson
David Anderson
Major Major Major Major
DougJ NYT Pitchbot
mistermix

Keeping Track

Legal Challenges (Lawfare)
Republicans Fleeing Town Halls (TPM)
21 Letters (to Borrow or Steal)
Search Donations from a Brand

PA Supreme Court At Risk

Donate

Site Footer

Come for the politics, stay for the snark.

  • Facebook
  • RSS
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Comment Policy
  • Our Authors
  • Blogroll
  • Our Artists
  • Privacy Policy

Copyright © 2025 Dev Balloon Juice · All Rights Reserved · Powered by BizBudding Inc

Share this ArticleLike this article? Email it to a friend!

Email sent!