Cheney and Scalia go hunting.

[MGKrebs]

Howdy folks. Hope you are staying warm.

This story cried out to me "see what the SOMDers have to say about this". So here' ya go:

"Vice President Dick Cheney (news - web sites) and Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia (news - web sites) spent part of last week duck hunting together at a private camp in southern Louisiana just three weeks after the court agreed to take up the vice president's appeal in lawsuits over his handling of the administration's energy task force."

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...mes/tripwithcheneyputsethicsspotlightonscalia

I can't see any way that this is appropriate, so I just can't even imagine what the argument defending this would be. But I am confident someone here is up to the task!

 

[vraiblonde]

What's the fear? That Scalia will vote conservative on cases that come before the Supremes? Are you specifically afraid of any cases that involve energy meetings or Halliburton? Is it that you think Scalia might sway the other 8 justices to exonerate Cheney, if need be? Explain it to me because my first reaction is, "So what?"

And while we're on the subject, why wouldn't Cheney meet with energy execs when trying to put together a policy? Should he meet with the Children's Television Network instead? Can someone help me understand why this is a big deal?

PS, Maynard, it's snowing here and turning to freezing rain.

 

[Ken King]

If Scalia wouldn’t disqualify himself based on his long-term friendship with Chaney why would he disqualify himself because of this hunting trip? The presumption that something wrong occurred during the trip is nothing but speculation and it doesn’t prove anything happened other then hunting? If Chaney wanted to sway the Justice I am sure he could have just met him somewhere in DC to work out the details and not have done it in front of several potential witnesses like there were at the camp.

 

[tlatchaw]

Originally posted by Ken King
If Scalia wouldn’t disqualify himself based on his long-term friendship with Chaney why would he disqualify himself because of this hunting trip? The presumption that something wrong occurred during the trip is nothing but speculation and it doesn’t prove anything happened other then hunting? If Chaney wanted to sway the Justice I am sure he could have just met him somewhere in DC to work out the details and not have done it in front of several potential witnesses like there were at the camp.

Some people see a conspiracy behind everything. I guess once your famous and powerful you aren't supposed to have friends or relax anymore.

 

[jlabsher]

of course a "prudent" person wouldn't allow for any hint of impropriety. I wonder how much screaming there would be if it was the dems doing something like this. Would Rush have a conniption fit?

 

[tlatchaw]

The same thing happens all the time. It's called the Kennedy compound. You never hear anything about it, though, until somebody gets charged with assault. Or does the name William Kennedy Smith not ring a bell?

 

[vraiblonde]

I frankly admit m bias. I trust Cheney so there's a different impression. If it was Al Gore, I'd think he was trying to grease some palms.

 

[jlabsher]

Vrai, you trust Cheney? Have I got some good investment deals for you. I know some Nigerians......

 

[Bruzilla]

I would trust my investments with Cheney a lot mroe than with some prominant Democrats... McAuliffe and Hillary Clinton come to mind.

The issue isn't who he met with, it's what was discussed during the meetings. Most politicians agree that people have to be free to speak their minds and voice their opinions during these meetings, and they might not do that if they know there's a chance that some one looking to make political hay might take those words and use them against them. This is a position that Howard Dean has taken for not releasing his records.

 

[MGKrebs]

"Hey Tony, how 'ya doin'?"

"Jeez, the guys on my side of this case sure are mad. They'll do anything to keep their names out of this. By the way, how's your son?"

 

[vraiblonde]

Originally posted by MGKrebs
By the way, how's your son?

Cheney has two daughters.

 

[Tonio]

Originally posted by vraiblonde
Wwhy wouldn't Cheney meet with energy execs when trying to put together a policy? Should he meet with the Children's Television Network instead? Can someone help me understand why this is a big deal?

I have no problem with Chaney meeting with energy execs or the Clintons meeting with health industry execs, as long as it's completely above board. Full disclosure of who the execs are, no closed-door meetings, and minutes made publicly available. Otherwise it gives the apperance of impropriety, even if all they discussed was the Super Bowl and Britney vs. Christina. I'd be interested to know if the federal government has open meeting laws, like state and county governments.

I've read some things from Scalia that give me the creeps. He apparently wouldn't lose sleep if the US became a religious theocracy.