Now that Edwards is the democratic VP nominee, some Republicans are starting to question the wisdom of keeping Cheney on the ticket. Perhaps, sensing that Edwards will eat up Cheney in the debate, the scenario would be to stage a “Late-July Surprise”:
A Cheney resignation would, [the memo] says, push Kerry and Edwards to the side. The news media coverage of who’d replace Cheney would be “pervasive and overwhelming. With less than a week to the Democratic Convention, little attention is given to Senator Kerry’s policy and political agenda. The Democratic nominee is relegated to the second-tier of the news cycle.”
A Cheney resignation would give Bush the opportunity to nominate his successor who, under the 25th Amendment to the Constitution, would have to be confirmed by a majority vote of the House and the Senate.
The memo assumes McCain would be the nominee.
“Can Sen. Kerry vote against the Vice-President select? Of course not,” the memo says. “Can he vote for him? Of course not. Can he abstain? Of course not. There is no right answer… Can anyone imagine a more dramatic moment in recent political history?”
If McCain were to accept a Bush offer to be VP, especially after the dirty tricks Bush used against McCain in the 2000 primaries, I would lose all respect I hold for the senator from Arizona. That may be the only sliver of respect I have for all the Republicans in the Senate.
Now a note from the Conspiracy Theory department: In the article, it is mentioned how Democratic Senate Candidate Mel Carnahan died in a plane crash in 2000, and Democratic Senator Paul Wellstone died in a plane crash in 2002. Hmm. Carnahan was the former governor of Missouri who defeated John Ashcroft for the Senate… even after Carnahan was dead! That’s right, Ashcroft could not win an election against a dead man! Wellstone was one of the most effective voices for the progressive cause and an enemy number one to the Republican National Committee.
A little more research on Google pulls up this partial list of Congressmen or Congressional candidates who perished in plane crashes:
- Paul Wellstone (D-MN) – Vocal opponent of Bush’s Iraq War, voted against it.
- Mel Carnahan (D-MO) – Opponent of John Ashcroft for Senate.
- John Heinz (R-PA) – Republican with strong socially-liberal values. Also John Kerry’s wife’s first husband (not that that adds to the conspiracy; no one could have known then that Kerry would be a presidential candidate or that Heinz’s widow would marry him.)
- John Tower (D-TX) – Chair of the commission that investigated Reagan’s Iran/Contra affair.
- Hale Boggs (D-LA) – Member of the Warren Commission who believed Oswald did not act alone and went public with his beliefs (Nick Begich, D-AK, died in the crash as well).
- Mickey Leland (D-TX) – Advocated sanctions against South African apartheid.
- Ron Brown (D) – Clinton’s Sec’y of Commerce
Why do all the good, strong, powerful liberals (or conservatives espousing liberal policies, in Heinz’s case) perish in plane crashes? Is it a conspiracy? It’s really easy to disable a plane to the point where it cannot fly, and it’s really easy to cover-up, right?
No, I propose that powerful liberals are subject to the same perverse law that takes all the best musicians and movie stars in the prime of their life. It’s always the good ones that die in these horrible crashes. I mean, Stevie Ray Vaughn dies in a crash, but we’re going to suffer many more years of Bon Jovi. Aaliyah dies in a crash, but Britney Spears will fly safely forever. Jim Croce and Ritchie Valens die in crashes, but Yanni and Ricky Martin will never have any flight troubles.
How do the Republicans and bad musicians escape this fate? Simple. They all have made a pact with Satan. Is there any other logical explanation for Bush, Cheney, Ashcroft, Rumsfeld, and Scalia?