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As the nation's strongest ever vice president and most ruthless, Cheney directed US national security policies, sidestepped George Bush on major issues, put his top loyalists in key posts, including Rumsfeld and Wolfowitz, stacked the bureaucracy with neocon extremists like himself, and held out for eight years despite repeated calls for his removal.
He justified seizing unconstitutional powers "because the world is dangerous (and) because I say we have that obligation." He was the power behind National and Homeland Security Presidential Directives like NSPD-51/HSPD-20 to establish "Continuity of Government (COG)" procedures under a "Catastrophic Emergency" defined as:
-- "any incident (such as a terrorist attack), regardless of location, that results in extraordinary levels of mass casualties, damage, or disruption severely affecting the US population, infrastructure, environment, economy, or government functions."
COG is "a coordinated effort within the Federal Government's executive branch to ensure that National Essential Functions continue to be performed during a Catastrophic Emergency."
These directives give presidents and powerful vice presidents unprecedented authority free from constitutional constraints. Martial law without congressional approval can be declared in case of a "national emergency," so both can rule with dictatorial powers under police state laws. Bush and Cheney took full advantage. So can future executives.
Congressional Collapse
The Democrat-controlled 111th Congress is just the latest in more recent failed ones and that of government overall. The electoral process bears much of the blame. It's scripted and corrupted. Secrecy and back room deals substitute for a free, fair, and open process. Candidates are pre-selected. Big money owns them. Both parties share equal guilt. The major media play a dominant role. Favored candidates have a distinct advantage. Alternative ones are marginalized. Horse race journalism substitutes for real debate, while the public interest is nowhere in sight.
Democrats and Republicans comprise two wings of one party representing privilege, not the greater good, and therein lies the problem. On Capitol Hill, democracy is rhetoric, not real. Profiles in courage are as rare as mild Chicago winters, and as Harry Truman famously said, "If you want a friend in Washington, get a dog."
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