Taylor Marsh – TaylorMarsh.com – News, Opinion and Weblog on Progressive Politics

The Legacy of Deadeye Dick updated

There is a reason Republicans are losing the west one person at a time, without
regard to political party. It’s because of the disrespect Republicans have shown
for the land, the water and the environment outdoor sportsmen and women, whether
hiker or hunter or fisherman, love with all of our hearts. There is nothing
like hiking in the wilderness, or riding a bike, or a dirt bike, or fishing,
or hunting. But it’s hard to do any of it when the natural resources of the
west are being plundered by the president and his man.

In Oregon, a battleground state that the Bush-Cheney ticket had lost by less than half of 1 percent, drought-stricken farmers and ranchers were about to be cut off from the irrigation water that kept their cropland and pastures green. Federal biologists said the Endangered Species Act left the government no choice: The survival of two imperiled species of fish was at stake. Law and science seemed to be on the side of the fish. Then the vice president stepped in. First Cheney looked for a way around the law, aides said. Next he set in motion a process to challenge the science protecting the fish, according to a former Oregon congressman who lobbied for the farmers. Because of Cheney’s intervention, the government reversed itself and let the water flow in time to save the 2002 growing season, declaring that there was no threat to the fish. What followed was the largest fish kill the West had ever seen, with tens of thousands of salmon rotting on the banks of the Klamath River. Characteristically, Cheney left no tracks. … .. Leaving No Tracks, by Jo Becker and Barton Gellman

This type of story infuriates me. See, we spend a lot of time in the outdoors.
I come from a family that loved fishing. To have such disrespect for this country’s
natural creatures and habitat that many of us enjoy is criminal. The country’s
treasures are not Dick Cheney’s to destroy. His behavior on more than one occasion
is nothing short of unethical and immoral. Hey, but that’s nothing new. However,
when it comes to eviscerating the environment and the natural grace and beauty
of this country it’s really hard to take, no matter how many times you read
the stories.

We know that Dick Cheney is one of the
elite canned hunt pussies who have people drive him up to his kill. This
lazy sloth of a man doesn’t even have the spine to walk to kill his weak pray.
These types of Deadeye Dick slaughters often include quail flying out of a blind
that are unable to fly high because they’re wings have been clipped. How proud
Deadeye Dick must be to land a kill shot on one of these lame creatures. That
is when he’s not shooting
his friend in the face, covering
it up and leaving
a lingering odor,
not to mention doubts,
on what actually
happened during the hunt.

It’s not by accident that Dick Cheney sat in energy meetings with big oil men
and others, planning what could be done, without any conscience for what the
results would mean for this country. He simply doesn’t care as long as the big
GOP donors are satisfied and get their pound of flesh for what they buy.

The Washington Post series is remarkable, chapters
one, two
and three
well worth a read. Seeing the portrait of the most powerful vice president in
U.S. history put together in one fell swoop isn’t all that surprising, but laid
out over these past days, the audacity of this elected public official is a
disgrace; the portrait painted a pathetic excuse for a man. But nevertheless, a man who remains powerful and unchecked enough to think he can actually pull off another war, this time targeting Iran.

Dick Cheney is truly
the embodiment of The Ugly American. What he’s done to this country will never
be forgotten. His legacy will be the story of a greedy, power hungry political
fascist who thought only of his own gains without regard for the charge given
to him by the voting public. Mr.
Torture, that’s how he should be remembered; a sniveling coward. A man who left nothing but
death, degradation and devastation in his wake.