No offense, but my initial reaction when Mona suggested that maybe Dick Cheney endorse Biden, my initial reaction was “Dear God, please, no.”
I appreciate the center-right political reality checks The Bulwark gives Democrats, but here is one from the center left: the man best remembered for the Iraq War and shooting someone probably isn’t…
No offense, but my initial reaction when Mona suggested that maybe Dick Cheney endorse Biden, my initial reaction was “Dear God, please, no.”
I appreciate the center-right political reality checks The Bulwark gives Democrats, but here is one from the center left: the man best remembered for the Iraq War and shooting someone probably isn’t the best surrogate. Mitt Romney is a different story, but Dick Cheney is particularly politically toxic; and his endorsement would almost lend credence to the Lefty / MAGA “uni-party” conspiracy theory, especially when one of the main charges against Biden by the far-left and far-right is that he’s a “warmonger.”
There is just no way “Dick Cheney endorses Biden” wouldn’t be a breaking news story; and the amount of people who could be persuaded by Cheney comes nowhere close to the number who would definitely vote for Trump or a third party because of his endorsement
The people who still like Dick Cheney don't remember him for the things that you do; people who find him "particularly politically toxic" are never going to vote for Trump anyway, so they aren't in the target audience. Still, Liz would be a much better spokesperson.
Firstly, Trump specifically ran against “Bush-ism” during ‘15/‘16 when he tied Jeb, Clinton, and the “establishment” to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and promised to end the “forever wars” started under the Bush-Cheney administration. During the primary debates he literally called the war a “big, fat, mistake,” said it was started on a lie, and that George W. Bush maybe should’ve been impeached over it. If you look at Liz Cheney’s ‘22 primary last year that she lost by almost 30 points, almost as many of Trump’s attacks on her were linking her to her father and W. Bush as were criticizing her “disloyalty” to him. “Dick Cheney” was literally used as an epithet during the GOP debate last week. So I would say not only do a lot of people repelled by Cheney vote for Trump/ MAGA, but that it’s also been pretty apparent since ‘15 that if you like Bush/ Cheney policies, Trump is not really for you. Even though Bush and Cheney haven’t made it explicit they’re anti-Trump, MAGA has made it clear it’s anti-them.
Secondly, obviously The Bulwark crowd likes Cheney for his general conservatism, etc., but Cheney and W. Bush are mostly remembered for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and their fallouts. Very few people hear “George Bush” or “Dick Cheney” and immediately think of “No Child Left Behind” or “AIDs relief in Africa;” almost everyone thinks of the wars, which lasted for decades, defined American foreign policy for almost the whole first quarter of the 21st century, and are now largely regarded as failures. So tying Dick Cheney to Biden, in the context of him trying to navigate wars in Europe and the Middle East, while already having low approval ratings with young progressives and facing at least 3-5 anti-war opponents in ‘24, would probably drive away more voters than you could possibly gain. Besides, it’s not just Trump and Biden in ‘24, there’s also at least Cornell West, RFK Jr., Jill Stein, and the libertarian. A vote for any one of them will mostly help Trump (like in ‘15).
While foreign policy is a salient issue I just don’t think it makes sense to draw the comparison between Biden and the initiators of the Iraq War, especially since all of his political opponents are already trying to paint him as too involved internationally. Joe Biden is already the internationalist candidate, you don’t need to tie him to one of the most unpopular hawks to make that point. If there were to be a conservative endorsement of Biden, it would probably be more helpful coming from someone who doesn’t have that particular baggage.
Lizz Chenney and Addam Kinzinger. JVL once fantasized about those two coming on stage at the Democratic convention for that message.Lizz Chenney has stated that she will do anything to keep Trump from the Whitehouse.I don't think that is so far fetched.
No offense, but my initial reaction when Mona suggested that maybe Dick Cheney endorse Biden, my initial reaction was “Dear God, please, no.”
I appreciate the center-right political reality checks The Bulwark gives Democrats, but here is one from the center left: the man best remembered for the Iraq War and shooting someone probably isn’t the best surrogate. Mitt Romney is a different story, but Dick Cheney is particularly politically toxic; and his endorsement would almost lend credence to the Lefty / MAGA “uni-party” conspiracy theory, especially when one of the main charges against Biden by the far-left and far-right is that he’s a “warmonger.”
To be fair, us Duck Cheney haters aren’t the target audience.
There is just no way “Dick Cheney endorses Biden” wouldn’t be a breaking news story; and the amount of people who could be persuaded by Cheney comes nowhere close to the number who would definitely vote for Trump or a third party because of his endorsement
The people who still like Dick Cheney don't remember him for the things that you do; people who find him "particularly politically toxic" are never going to vote for Trump anyway, so they aren't in the target audience. Still, Liz would be a much better spokesperson.
Firstly, Trump specifically ran against “Bush-ism” during ‘15/‘16 when he tied Jeb, Clinton, and the “establishment” to the 2003 Invasion of Iraq and promised to end the “forever wars” started under the Bush-Cheney administration. During the primary debates he literally called the war a “big, fat, mistake,” said it was started on a lie, and that George W. Bush maybe should’ve been impeached over it. If you look at Liz Cheney’s ‘22 primary last year that she lost by almost 30 points, almost as many of Trump’s attacks on her were linking her to her father and W. Bush as were criticizing her “disloyalty” to him. “Dick Cheney” was literally used as an epithet during the GOP debate last week. So I would say not only do a lot of people repelled by Cheney vote for Trump/ MAGA, but that it’s also been pretty apparent since ‘15 that if you like Bush/ Cheney policies, Trump is not really for you. Even though Bush and Cheney haven’t made it explicit they’re anti-Trump, MAGA has made it clear it’s anti-them.
Secondly, obviously The Bulwark crowd likes Cheney for his general conservatism, etc., but Cheney and W. Bush are mostly remembered for the Iraq and Afghanistan Wars and their fallouts. Very few people hear “George Bush” or “Dick Cheney” and immediately think of “No Child Left Behind” or “AIDs relief in Africa;” almost everyone thinks of the wars, which lasted for decades, defined American foreign policy for almost the whole first quarter of the 21st century, and are now largely regarded as failures. So tying Dick Cheney to Biden, in the context of him trying to navigate wars in Europe and the Middle East, while already having low approval ratings with young progressives and facing at least 3-5 anti-war opponents in ‘24, would probably drive away more voters than you could possibly gain. Besides, it’s not just Trump and Biden in ‘24, there’s also at least Cornell West, RFK Jr., Jill Stein, and the libertarian. A vote for any one of them will mostly help Trump (like in ‘15).
While foreign policy is a salient issue I just don’t think it makes sense to draw the comparison between Biden and the initiators of the Iraq War, especially since all of his political opponents are already trying to paint him as too involved internationally. Joe Biden is already the internationalist candidate, you don’t need to tie him to one of the most unpopular hawks to make that point. If there were to be a conservative endorsement of Biden, it would probably be more helpful coming from someone who doesn’t have that particular baggage.
Lizz Chenney and Addam Kinzinger. JVL once fantasized about those two coming on stage at the Democratic convention for that message.Lizz Chenney has stated that she will do anything to keep Trump from the Whitehouse.I don't think that is so far fetched.