Sadly, on Tuesday, former Vice President Dick Cheney passed away at 84.
While there have been some respectful words in the media today on his passing – probably due to his criticism of the Trump administration by him and his daughter, Liz – there was a time when he was utterly despised by journalists and Hollywood celebrities. They called him a war criminal, compared him to Darth Vader and even wished him an early death.
The following are just some of the worst attacks on the late Dick Cheney via the MRC’s archives:
That “Brutal Thug” Assad Reminds Me of Cheney
“Bashar al-Assad was a brutal thug when he was torturing prisoners on behalf of the CIA. Saddam Hussein was America’s friend when he was using chemical weapons. We need to have more than just the immediate crisis memory. We need to understand the historical context of how a butcher like Assad actually has more in common with someone like Dick Cheney than he does with the average Syrian or the people who are on these airwaves as brave reporters.”
— The Intercept founder Jeremy Scahill on CNN’s Reliable Sources, April 9, 2017.
Bernie Madoff Still Not as Despicable as Dick Cheney
Co-host Amy Robach: “You’ve certainly played a lot of roles in your long career. But what was it like playing, arguably, the most despicable man in modern history?”
Actor Richard Dreyfuss: “Actually, he is the second most despicable man because I’ve already played Dick Cheney. So, I have to say that he was the second and I loved playing them both.”
— During an interview with Richard Dreyfuss about his new role playing fraudster Bernie Madoff, on ABC’s Good Morning America, February 3, 2016.
Two Vice Presidential Candidates: “Dark” Dick Cheney Vs. “Sunny” John Edwards
“In politics, self-made men seem to fall into two categories: sunny and dark....In the 2004 election, Dick Cheney projects the bleakness of a Wyoming winter, while John Edwards always appears to be strolling in the Carolina sunshine.”
— Story by Newsweek’s Evan Thomas, Susannah Meadows and Arian Campo-Flores as part of a July 19, 2004 cover package on Kerry and Edwards, “The Sunshine Boys?”
Cheney Is Just Like Any Other Murderous Dictator
“Richard Cheney cares less about American democracy than he cares who he shoots in the face. And this has been true since he first crawled out of the primordial authoritarian soup. He would have been the perfect Hauptfuhrer, the ideal Politburo conniver. He’d have risen high in the Stasi, and Pinochet would have had him over for Scotch and electrodes at least twice a week.”
— Charles Pierce writing in an Esquire.com post about Cheney’s time in the Ford administration, February 29, 2016.
Wishing An Early Death on Cheney
“I’m just saying if he did die, other people, more people would live. That’s a fact.”
— Host Bill Maher on his HBO show Real Time, March 2, 2007 discussing how a few commenters at a left-wing blog were upset that an attempt to kill Vice President Cheney in Afghanistan had failed.
Put Bush and Cheney on Trial for War Crimes
MSNBC’s Chris Matthews: “Russ Feingold wants to censure the President, the Vice President...”
Left-wing filmmaker Michael Moore: “Good idea....Personally I’d like to see a perp walk coming out of the West Wing of the White House.”
Matthews: “Do you think they’re guilty of war crimes?”
Moore: “Absolutely....I think we need a trial, in this country, where Mr. Cheney and Mr. Bush would be brought up on charges for causing the deaths of so many people....”
Matthews: “It’s interesting if you go back....the Nuremberg Trials weren’t about the genocide, it was about waging an aggressive war. I love reading some of that language. It’s interesting.”
— MSNBC’s Hardball, July 23, 2007.
Helen Thomas: I’d Kill Myself if Cheney Ran for President
“The day I say Dick Cheney is going to run for President, I’ll kill myself. All we need is one more liar.”
— Hearst White House columnist Helen Thomas, as quoted in the “Under the Dome” column by Albert Eisele and Jeff Dufour in The Hill newspaper, July 28, 2005.
Kathy Griffin: “Cheney is Evil!”
“The President is a moron! I’m saying it. I don’t care. He’s an idiot. Cheney is evil. I’m sick of, impeach them, get them out! I hate them! I hate them. Get them out. They got to go!...What is it going to take for you people? Get Bush out! Impeach. Out! Out! Out!”
— Actress/comedienne Kathy Griffin on Comedy Central’s Weekends at the DL, September 10, 2005.
Don’t Blemish Darth Vader’s Good Name By Comparing Him to Trump and Cheney
“I really get upset then when people compare [Trump] or even Dick Cheney to Darth Vader because Darth Vader repented. He saw the error of his ways. I don’t see either one of them doing that.”
— Star Wars actor Mark Hamill in December 25, 2018 Washington Post “Cape Up with Jonathan Capehart” podcast interview.
