Cheney
January 18, 2002 11:53 AM   Subscribe

Cheney tried to collect $60 million for Enron on a recent trip to India...
posted by snakey (26 comments total)
 
file under schadenfreude the delicious feeling i'm getting of seeing (reading) mary matalin squirm...
"This is not our issue," Matalin said. "It was in the briefing papers, so he asked the question. The vice president didn't remember that topic at all. I asked him directly."
posted by msippey at 12:08 PM on January 18, 2002


The real question is, do the democrats have the balls to impeach.
posted by snakey at 12:29 PM on January 18, 2002


The real answer is no.

Besides, I'm a dyed in the wool lefty, but it's a little early for the "I" word. And, to be honest, I wouldn't want to see it happen. The country's been through a lot since the Monica scandal began. Let's just chill out and get the economy going again.
posted by jpoulos at 12:39 PM on January 18, 2002


jpoulos: I would disagree (about the answer being no). It seems to me that the order of the day for politicians towards the latter half of the 20th century was revenge. It's an unfortunate truth that I don't think has changed.

I wouldn't be surprised if (and this is a big "if," we don't know much about the situation, and this link isn't really a smoking gun) "the 'I' word" did come into play. Sure, it's illogical, but it fits right into the revenge game.

I wouldn't want to see it happen either. It seems that Dems/Reps are stuck in a pattern that will lead to mutual destruction. {Clinton is still being attacked and the poor boy doesn't even have the job anymore.}
posted by eyeballkid at 12:50 PM on January 18, 2002


You know, I think I'd rather not see it happen, either. (I can hardly believe I'm saying this.) If this damages Dubya's credibility, then good. That's all the better for the Left when the next election rolls around. But I guess my partisan fervor isn't so great as my desire to see this poor nation of ours get a break.

I'll reserve judgment until more on this mess comes to light. But I doubt if our nerves could stand up to impeachment hearings at the moment.
posted by Fenriss at 12:59 PM on January 18, 2002


My fantasy is that this will make people think seriously about campaign finance reform (ha! I know, funny, right?).
posted by malphigian at 1:05 PM on January 18, 2002


Hm.... Cheney tried to get India to pay Enron $60+M owed, because Enron's dealings were insured by OPIC, which is taxpayer funded....Thus, the government (us taxpayers) would have been out $60+M if he hadn't.

Sounds like he was doing his job. No need to impeach him, there.
posted by dwivian at 1:11 PM on January 18, 2002


As much as I love the Dems, am repulsed by the GOP, and bored by the rest, the Dems have no knock-out punch. They have no blood-lust. They have no Gloria Allred.

Their idealism leads them to compromise while the Repubs are focused on dominance. They say they like corn on the cob, but they have no teeth and they dont want to get dirty.

They have no loyalty to Clinton, be it the President or Bill, and no impetus to destroy thier splitered and corrupt advesary - even now, when the iron is hot.

They let George W. Bush waltz straight into Penn Ave. without calling bullshit once. They may have whispered it, or whined, but they didnt call it, and they certaintly didnt 72 pt. boldface it across their newspapers.

They stopped representing me a long time ago and I don't do much more than type into a comment box and follow their pathetic lead.

Run Carvell, Run.
posted by tsarfan at 1:11 PM on January 18, 2002


Is anyone really surprised? Hasn't the Bush admin had guilty looks on their feces since the scandal broke?

Cheney spokeswoman Mary Matalin denied yesterday that

You gotta wonder how dark and cynical Matalin's and Carville's dinner conversations are as they brush the day's slime off of each other. I for one can't wait for them to retire and spill the beans in the inside poop. And I do mean poop. Its hard to imagine things were always so corrupt in the white house as they have been the last 20 years, but even if they were, everyone was so much more civil about it.

My fantasy is that this will make people think seriously about campaign finance reform (ha! I know, funny, right?).

Mine too. But in mine, all three branches of the fed gov recuse themselves for massive conflict of interest and hand the decision over to someone of unimpeachable character to straighten it all out. Yogi Berra perhaps? I dunno. But I think its come to the point where everyone is in it up to their ears. Call it Istanbul on-the-Potomac. No wonder Cheney digs being in hiding so much. I'd be ashamed to show my face in public too.
posted by BentPenguin at 1:15 PM on January 18, 2002


I think we have only seen the tip of the iceberg on the Enron thing.

The real question is, do the democrats have the balls to impeach.

They will someday, because that's politics.Eight years of Clinton witch hunts won't be forgotten anytime soon.Hell, Clinton has been gone for a year and the holligans haven't let up on him one bit.

Politically speaking, it's better for the Demos for the Chimp to stay in the White House and destroy as much as possible.The Clinton era already looks like gold compared to Bush.

Everyday the Bush Gang looks worse.

BTW, tsarfan is correct, the D's are too laid back.
posted by BarneyFifesBullet at 1:18 PM on January 18, 2002


Hasn't the Bush admin had guilty looks on their feces since the scandal broke?


Only their proctologists know for sure...
posted by alumshubby at 1:18 PM on January 18, 2002


As much as I love the Dems, am repulsed by the GOP, and bored by the rest, the Dems have no knock-out punch.

this story has been going for about 2 weeks now, and there's been lots of good juicy details. shredded documents is almost a smoking gun, but not bad for a scandal that's not even a month old.

the congressional, SEC & justice dept investigations haven't even gotten started yet, and already the bushies are contradicting themselves ("i first came to know ken lay back when he was a supporter of ann richards"). just last week, the bushies were claiming that only the treasury & commerce secretaries had contact with enron. it took one week for the fact to come out that more administration officials (Lindsey did a study?) knew what was happening.

we're only 2 weeks into this thing. patience, grasshoppers.
posted by irix at 1:21 PM on January 18, 2002


The real question is, what kind of "What if Gore had won the election" scenarios will this all inspire?
posted by Eloquence at 1:30 PM on January 18, 2002


Well, it would have been Lieberman making the OPIC/Enron deal, that's for starters....
posted by dwivian at 1:38 PM on January 18, 2002


"White House and other top officials were interested in the Dabhol project partly because the taxpayer-backed Overseas Private Investment Corp. provided insurance against losses resulting from political problems in India. Overseas could face exposure as high as $300 million."

Cheney's protecting the interests of a taxpayer-backed organization??

That bastard!!!
posted by srw12 at 1:50 PM on January 18, 2002


Well, it would have been Lieberman making the OPIC/Enron deal, that's for starters....

Bull. The fact that Enron is based in Houston is huge in this. These are Bush's buddies and Bush's daddy's buddies. It's Texas business and Texas politics exposed on a national scale. I'm not sure that Gore or Lieberman would have stayed entirely clean, but I'm certain the Dems wouldn't have gotten in as deep as the Bushies.

Remember all that talk during the campaign about how one term as Texas governor, and a few years as a (lousy) Texas businessman wasn't enough to make a decent president? Well, America, here you go. At least a career politician knows how to cover his ass.
posted by jpoulos at 1:57 PM on January 18, 2002


Bull.

So, you're saying that Lieberman, as a duly sworn government official, would not have acted to protect the interests of his constituents?

OPIC and Enron had this plant started during Clinton's era. The fact that Enron is in Houston is immaterial. The OPIC money was made available, and then protected, by a representative of the US Government, even if under different administrations.

Cheney did the right thing. I'd be loathe to accept that Lieberman would not have.
posted by dwivian at 2:04 PM on January 18, 2002


I believe the only way this could be damaging for the Bush camp would be if Enron asked Cheney to talk to Sonia Gandhi, opposed to OPIC making the request.
posted by Neb at 2:38 PM on January 18, 2002


Read the article... yeah... READ it.
posted by aaronshaf at 3:28 PM on January 18, 2002


whine piss moan and complain.. and nevermind those Enron donations to the DNC during Clinton's term. The light is never so bright as when those who buy ink by the 55 gallon drum find people in office with whom they no longer share sexual ethics with.
posted by Real9 at 8:45 PM on January 18, 2002


Real9, must you hijack this thread by bringing up Ralph Nader's presidential campaign?
posted by crasspastor at 9:19 PM on January 18, 2002


Cheney tried to collect $60 million for Enron on a recent trip to India... You know, these government (read taxpayer) insured loans to foriegn countries are quite often like giving money away. Countries without the ability to repay are encouraged to borrow, and when they approach default they are loaned more. Why?
posted by Mack Twain at 10:16 PM on January 18, 2002


The light is never so bright as when those who buy ink by the 55 gallon drum find people in office with whom they no longer share sexual ethics with.

Republicans with superior sexual ethics? Sorta like Bob Livingston or Henry Hyde or Bob Barr or, say, Ted Nugent?
posted by raysmj at 10:47 PM on January 18, 2002


> Countries without the ability to repay are encouraged to borrow, and when they approach default they are loaned more. Why?

It's easier to control a situation[power] where you are the owed as opposed to a situation where you have no bargaining position. It's power, moneylenders, bookkeepers etc, pretty simple really.
posted by bittennails at 11:14 PM on January 18, 2002


At least it's good to know that Cheney is still alive. Or is it?

To heck with impeachment...if you really want to get these guys where they live, go after the money. Write letter after letter to your congressmen in support of campaign finance reform (even if they are bought.) Go to howdarethey.org and send e-mails. Join Common Cause. Tell your friends that you're sick of it and they should be too. Make sure they understand that Enron is less about illegal acts and more, much more about unethical ones. Get really really pissed about your votes (via your elected reps) being bought and sold. Scream and yell. If you don't, stop bitching about it. As long as we keep letting them get away with it, it's just gonna keep happening.
posted by willrich at 5:24 AM on January 19, 2002


Three of President Clinton's commerce secretaries – Ron Brown, Mickey Kantor and William Daley – also advocated for the Dabhol energy project that Enron, General Electric and Bechtel Corp. undertook in India

sorry to throw water on the party...
posted by nobody_knose at 10:36 PM on January 19, 2002


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