Cheney Drops the Bomb

ladysycamore · 06-27-2004, 10:14 AM

According to the White House: "These things happen".

http://tinyurl.com/332js

ANKARA (Reuters) - President Bush is not taking Vice President Dick Cheney to the woodshed for uttering an expletive to a Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate.

Cheney, annoyed at Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, had hurled the "F-word" at Leahy during a conversation on the Senate floor in Washington on Tuesday.

"These things happen from time to time," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan when asked what Bush's reaction to Cheney's remark had been.

"You're talking about one incident involving a private exchange," McClellan told reporters traveling with Bush on a trip to Ireland and Turkey. "It's not an issue with the president. The president is looking ahead."

Cheney had ripped into Leahy for his criticism this week of suspected war profiteering in Iraq by Halliburton, the oil services company that Cheney once ran.

Cheney said on Friday he had no regrets about what he said.

"I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it," Cheney told Fox News.

© Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved.

Kitsune · 06-27-2004, 01:46 PM

I think these things should happen more often! C-SPAN would be very interesting and a lot more lively, like British parliment. Nothing is more fun than seeing a bunch of old, crotchety Brits tipsy on Newcastle yelling politics at each other, pointing fingers, and giving "reverse peace signs" while discussing a bill. Thats real gov't right there! Oi!

OnyxCougar · 06-27-2004, 05:50 PM

I was watching CSAP the other day and didn't understand a thing that was happening. I'm so clueless about how it all works....

I know from schoolhouse rock that a bill gets sponsored in to the house or senate, and then it's voted on, and sent to the other guys for a vote, and if it gets 2/3rd majority from both sides it's a law, which then becomes signed by the president.

But when I was watching cspan, they were voting on whether they wanted to think about voting on something or not. ??

Chewbaccus · 06-27-2004, 11:31 PM

Welcome to the grand and glorious world of parliamentary procedure, OC.

Actually, (if I remember my Civics class right, and I think I do) before a bill gets a vote in the full House/Senate, it's looked over by the subcommittee that's relative to the nature of the bill (Appropriations, Armed Services, etc. etc.)

If that subcommittee votes in favor of the bill, then it's sent to the House/Senate floor for a full vote. However, there are all kinds of tricks to pull there that can kill the vote - procedural votes that can be initiated and eat up the clock (probably that vote to vote to see if they'll vote you were talking about); amendments can be tacked onto the bill, adding, subtracting, or subtly altering a few parts of the overall bill that can often result in vast shifts of support.

Case in point, from what I understand, the $87 billion that was slated for the Iraq war was, in the original bill, supposed to mostly, if not totally, come from Iraqi oil money. Then the bill was changed to have the taxpayers shoulder most of the burden, resulting in many people fine with the first source of revenue to vote against the bill in the final iteration.

06-27-2004, 10:14 AM	#1
ladysycamore "I may not always be perfect, but I'm always me." Join Date: Dec 2001 Location: In Sycamore's boxers Posts: 1,341	Cheney Drops the Bomb According to the White House: "These things happen". http://tinyurl.com/332js ANKARA (Reuters) - President Bush is not taking Vice President Dick Cheney to the woodshed for uttering an expletive to a Democratic opponent in the U.S. Senate. Cheney, annoyed at Vermont Sen. Patrick Leahy, had hurled the "F-word" at Leahy during a conversation on the Senate floor in Washington on Tuesday. "These things happen from time to time," said White House spokesman Scott McClellan when asked what Bush's reaction to Cheney's remark had been. "You're talking about one incident involving a private exchange," McClellan told reporters traveling with Bush on a trip to Ireland and Turkey. "It's not an issue with the president. The president is looking ahead." Cheney had ripped into Leahy for his criticism this week of suspected war profiteering in Iraq by Halliburton, the oil services company that Cheney once ran. Cheney said on Friday he had no regrets about what he said. "I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it," Cheney told Fox News. © Reuters 2004. All Rights Reserved. __________________ "Freedom is not given. It is our right at birth. But there are some moments when it must be taken." ~Tagline from the movie "Amistad"~ "The Akan concept of Sankofa: In order to move forward we first have to take a step back. In other words, before we can be prepared for the future, we must comprehend the past." From "We Did It, They Hid It"

06-27-2004, 05:50 PM	#3
OnyxCougar Junior Master Dwellar Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Kingdom of Atlantia Posts: 2,979	I was watching CSAP the other day and didn't understand a thing that was happening. I'm so clueless about how it all works.... I know from schoolhouse rock that a bill gets sponsored in to the house or senate, and then it's voted on, and sent to the other guys for a vote, and if it gets 2/3rd majority from both sides it's a law, which then becomes signed by the president. But when I was watching cspan, they were voting on whether they wanted to think about voting on something or not. ?? __________________ Impotentes defendere libertatem non possunt. "Repetition does not transform a lie into a truth." ~Franklin D. Roosevelt

06-27-2004, 11:31 PM	#4
Chewbaccus Freethinker/booter Join Date: Jan 2001 Posts: 523	Welcome to the grand and glorious world of parliamentary procedure, OC. Actually, (if I remember my Civics class right, and I think I do) before a bill gets a vote in the full House/Senate, it's looked over by the subcommittee that's relative to the nature of the bill (Appropriations, Armed Services, etc. etc.) If that subcommittee votes in favor of the bill, then it's sent to the House/Senate floor for a full vote. However, there are all kinds of tricks to pull there that can kill the vote - procedural votes that can be initiated and eat up the clock (probably that vote to vote to see if they'll vote you were talking about); amendments can be tacked onto the bill, adding, subtracting, or subtly altering a few parts of the overall bill that can often result in vast shifts of support. Case in point, from what I understand, the $87 billion that was slated for the Iraq war was, in the original bill, supposed to mostly, if not totally, come from Iraqi oil money. Then the bill was changed to have the taxpayers shoulder most of the burden, resulting in many people fine with the first source of revenue to vote against the bill in the final iteration. __________________ Like the wise man said: Of course, that's just my opinion. I could be wrong.

06-27-2004, 01:46 PM	#2
Kitsune still eats dirt Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Tampa, FL Posts: 3,031	I think these things should happen more often! C-SPAN would be very interesting and a lot more lively, like British parliment. Nothing is more fun than seeing a bunch of old, crotchety Brits tipsy on Newcastle yelling politics at each other, pointing fingers, and giving "reverse peace signs" while discussing a bill. Thats real gov't right there! Oi!

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