IMPORTANT UPDATE AT THE BOTTOM OF THIS POST
It’s enough to tax the patience of Job. I swear that being a Republican and a Bush supporter is getting harder almost by the day. Unless one is a blind, robotic partisan, this has got to trouble you:
The more than 18-hour delay in news emerging that the Vice President of the United States had shot a man, sending him to an intensive care unit with his wounds, grew even more curious late Sunday. E&P has learned that the official confirmation of the shooting came about only after a local reporter in Corpus Christi, Texas, received a tip from the owner of the property where the shooting occurred and called Vice President Cheney’s office for confirmation.The confirmation was made but there was no indication whether the Vice President’s office, the White House, or anyone else intended to announce the shooting if the reporter, Jaime Powell of the Corpus Christ Caller-Times, had not received word from the ranch owner.
One of Powell’s colleagues at paper, Beth Francesco, told E&P that Powell had built up a strong source relationship with the prominent ranch owner, Katharine Armstrong, which led to the tip. Powell is chief political reporter for the paper and also covers the area where the ranch is located south of Sarita.
Armstrong called the paper Sunday morning looking for Powell, who was not at work. When they did talk, Armstrong revealed the shooting of prominent Austin attorney Harry Whittington, who is now in stable condition in a hospital. Powell then called Cheney’s office for the confirmation around midday. The newspaper broke the story at mid-afternoon—not a word about it had appeared before then.
Secrecy about the NSA intercept program? Understandable. Secrecy about the Vice President of the United States accidentally shooting someone and putting them into intensive care? Un.Conscienable.
And please don’t insult my intelligence by trying to make any other excuse than it was politically expedient to withhold the information. In fact, one wonders if the fortuitous set of circumstances had not unfolded as above whether or not the public would ever have found out about the incident.
This Administration’s mania for secrecy is getting on my nerves. There’s just no other way to describe it. I’m not talking about secrecy relating to national security matters. I’m talking about things like holding back documents requested by Congress looking into the Katrina mess. I’m talking about withholding corrected census information from Congress, forcing the legislators to go to court in order to do the people’s business. And these are but two examples. There are some – liberals to be sure – who believe the very concept of “open government” is at risk under this Administration.
Secrecy is corrosive. There is a reason why we have “sunshine laws” and the “Freedom of Information Act.” As recently as 30 years ago, many Congressional hearings were held in camera with no press, no public, and thus no accountability. And the Executive Branch of government was shrouded in secrecy with many of its deliberations completely off limits to Congress.
Now clearly there is a both a body of law and tradition that argues for some kind of executive privilege. But reforms that were instituted following the Watergate affair designed to open government and shine a light on its workings have steadily eroded in the intervening quarter century by both Republicans and Bill Clinton. The fact is, open government is a nuisance, an inconvenience to lawmakers and Presidents alike. But with this Administration, their efforts seem to have gone beyond eating at the edges of the law and have in fact, been directed at gutting the very concept of open government.
But hadn’t the pendulum toward “open government” swung too far in one direction and is the Bush Administration now simply bringing it back into line?
This is certainly true as it relates to national security matters. You simply cannot have the same culture of open government in a time of war than you can or should have during a time of peace. Anyone who argues differently probably doesn’t think we’re at war in the first place.
But there is absolutely no denying the fact that this Administration’s penchant for secrecy has gone far beyond the national security arena and has entered areas where the only excuse for maintaining control of information is domestic political concerns.
One can understand the Administration’s political concerns where a hostile press and maniacal political opposition is concerned. But there are times when the only honorable recourse is to take your political lumps and move on. Political calculations that inhibit the public’s legitimate right to know interfere with the people’s business and engender a feeling of distrust that is unhealthy in a democracy.
Back in 2002, Democrat Henry Waxman was joined by several Republicans on the Committee on Government Reform in asking that the President’s Executive Order that placed Presidential documents off limits to historians and others be rescinded.To this day, that Executive Order stands. If someone could tell me how this contributes to preserving the national security of the United States, I’m all ears. Instead, it is just one more example of needless – some would say reckless – disregard by this Administration for the very idea of “open government.”
Perhaps this Cheney incident will start a debate about secrecy in government and this Administration in general. I would welcome such a debate – if the tin foil hat crowd would stay out of it. Unfortunately, as with most political back and forth these days, the left will make sure to pile on for their own political reasons, blind and oblivious to the damage they do to civil discourse and our republic.
UPDATE
The virulence with which my readers have taken me to task over this post requires a response.
First, there is no “conspiracy” at work here. There isn’t even a “cover-up” although if the story had never come out I’m sure the Administration would have been pleased as punch. This is a simple matter of the Administration withholding bad news to lessen political damage, a stupid, clumsy move given the reaction in the press that any intern in the press office could have told them would occur.
I am amazed that many of you do not see why this was not only idiotic, but wrong. To allow political calculation (the probability of negative press) to override the need to to be absolutely transparent on something like this where, if the Vice President was any other American, would have necessitated an investigation by the police is not in keeping with the idea of open government, something that most of my post was on and that none of my worst critics bothered to mention.
I understand that we are at war. I understand the need for secrecy in national security matters. I even can understand and sympathize with the Administration in not allowing the loony left and the media in their unreasoning hatred of all things Bush to take information and turn it into political hand grenades to toss into the Oval Office in an attempt to “get” the President.
But you must understand the cost of this secrecy – less accountability, less openness, and in the end, less democratic government.
Because what is democratic government in the end but free people making decisions that are best for themselves, their communities and their nation? And doesn’t it just seem logical that in order to make those decisions that we have as much information as humanly possible?
This was the idea behind the open government reforms of the 1970’s. As conservatives we should welcome the opportunity to have transparency in government. Simply put, without it, we are less free.
I could have done without the name calling and insults. I’ve come to expect better than that from most of the commenters on this site.
RM
7:45 am
Why are your panties in such a twist? This is not news unless you are an anti hunting damnyankee.
8:13 am
It’s not news when the Veep shoots someone and no one in government thinks of informing the people?
Um…’kay. But it does illustrate the larger point I was making in the piece – that this Administration is overly secretive and that this is deterimental to our democracy.
8:51 am
Please, please keep on them to eventually open up Executive documents… I interned at the White House—and can’t wait to see my fraternity emails analyzed by an erudite historian.
8:58 am
It also points to the hypersensitive political foolishness that some of the more radical hijackers of sanity have stooped to over the years. An accident is just that. The slightest mistake is made and it can’t possibly be admitted to and move on without extremist going bananas. Of course there should be differences in the transparency and speed in “coming clean”, relative to the things that you mentioned above. As a member of the human race, I screw up at times, but when awareness of it is known, I can admit it without being hammered politicly, partly because I don’t concern myself with the thoughts of others and how they think of me. Context being what it is and all…..
9:05 am
Maybe, just maybe the guy who got shot didn’t want the info out there. I don’t blame the White House, and also can’t understand your pitching such a fit. Who says we all have the right to know about this? It was a non-government outing, totally private, and we all know the MSM NEVER gives this administration any respect, or even a fair shake. Maybe I would have tried to keep it quiet also. After all, it’s just more fodder for the critics of the administrstion, and all things Bush. And he wasn’t even there!
9:07 am
PS. Oh yeah Rick, I’m NOT a blind robotic partisan. Partisan, yes. But not blind or robotic.
9:09 am
Might it be possible to speculate that the family of the accident victim wanted a little privacy as they assessed the seriousness of the situation and the VP respected their wishes more than he worried about the political fallout from delaying the announcement of the incident for a few hours? I can see no evidence of a cover-up—he was, after all, at the hospital with the family where he would be seen by any number of nurses, doctors, other patients, etc., and when they were asked about it they confirmed.
Broader issues with secrecy there might be, but in this particular case I think there might be a far less sinister explanation for not making this instantly public.
9:10 am
Mitzi—looks like we were simul-commenting.
9:28 am
“And please don’t insult my intelligence by trying to make any other excuse than it was politically expedient to withhold the information.”
As noted above, maybe the accident victim and his family did not want this publicized immediately. Whch, by the way, is not an excuse but rather just another logical possibility.
Rick, I love your “24” commentary—but you do seem more paranoid during the viewing season.
9:33 am
I agree with the fact that keeping the incident secret was rediculous, but goodness, imagine how embarassed Cheney must be. however, i can also understand why they did it because reading about the incident last night and this morning in the Washington Post and NY Times, i could almost imagine that it was intentional and Cheney had “an agenda” to shoot the poor man and this and that. the coverage was what we can expect from a vile and hateful media towards the Bush administration. i think that is where the majority of the secrecy comes in because no matter what they do they are always portrayed as wrong and so they want to keep that at a minimum.
9:36 am
Good points all on the privacy issue. However, I would still argue that the VP is a little different than an ordinary citizen.
Also, just because the Administration is getting flack for this doesn’t make withholding the info right. As I say in the article, sometimes you have to take your lumps in the interest of the public’s right to know.
9:44 am
I’m going to change you name from Moran to Moron. Are you related to the idiot Mora(o)n in VA. politics? Haven’t yuu figured it out. The wounds aren’t serious and if it had been you they would have picked the shot out, put a box of bandaid’s on you and sent you home. Maybe the man who walked into the line of fire doesn’t or didn’t want this spread around, have you screamers for privacy thought of that. Na, rights to privacy only apply when they suit your purpose so maybe you are one of the enemy already. It’s only news because it involved the VP and the left wing will cling to all hope of slamming the administration no matter that it alway backfires in their face. They and now you don’t have the brains god gave a goose. (old country saying) Find your handler and have them lock you up.
9:48 am
Picnic 2006-02-13
Today's picnic basket of items from my blogroll.
E L Frederick offers OPSEC for the home
WomanHonorThyself likes snow
Atlas Shrugs says Bolton is shaking things up
Point Five reports Cheney's hunting accident bothered the Vice President deep…
9:54 am
Interesting possibility: I read but cannot verify that it was reported on a local TV newscast that the incident was immediately reported by the Secret Service to the local police. If so, this would argue strongly against a conspiracy of secrecy conspiracy.
In any event, even though the shooter is a high public official and the shootee a mere Republican megamillionaire attorney, this is America and we all have equal rights. If Whittington did not want this broadcast immediately with all fanfare, his wishes should have carried the day.
12:20 pm
The Impotent Press and “Dick the Enforcer†By the Bear
Now this could have been a major story if Dick the Enforcer took Teddy Kennedy or Jimmy Carter bird hunting.
...
12:41 pm
Consider this, whenever something occurs such as Abramoff or the NSA tracking what do the Dems do? They run right out in front of the (willing) cameras and start their “culture of corruption” tirades. They go on and on with this even though they know full well and good that they are also involved.Unfortunately it takes time before the facts come out that the Dems were involved, like Harry Reid taking money from Abramoff’s clients (and he’s not the only one)and the Dems who were privy to the NSA briefings. Notice how they are not beating these drums very loudly lately. They are moving on to the next topic (probably the shooting). Why would they do this, you ask? Because they know that with the MSM’s cooperation they can bleet their message many times before exposure. In this way they will convince some who are less than learned with the old axiom that if you say something long enough it will be believed. As for not releasing some of these documents have you considered the idea that maybe the Dems are requesting these just for the sake of bogging down the administration. Or maybe it’s more than meets the eye, maybe they are requesting documents that they know are not harmful. They make a big issue out of it and then ask for more documents and more documents all for the sake of a fishing expedition.
2:23 pm
Oh my God, I had to reread what you wrote because I thought is was satire, that’s how utterly stupid your comments are. Are you related to Jim Moran from Virginia? I found you from Michelle Malkin’s site, however me thinks you are a Kos writer and she is mistaken in your intelligent post’s. Get a life, go to work and stop posting conspiracies.
2:29 pm
Rick,
It’s a very unfortunate ACCIDENT… involving a very decent man who has, himself, been targeted and ‘sprayed’ INTENTIONALLY for years by liberal media hit squads.
That same media-mafia will provide the ‘conspiracy’ and the fuel for ANOTHER cartoonlike frenzy-jihad.
We should wait for the facts to appear through the fog before anybody fires more broadsides without clear targets…
2:58 pm
Non-reportage in the MSM is not the same as a cover-up.
Would you consider the below url as reporting a cover-up?
http://drsanity.blogspot.com/2006/02/history-goes-unreported.html
You really need to find out how Mr.Cheney managed to shake his MSM tail, though. Even if he doesn’t have an MSM shadow (who might possibly had a difficult time following onto private property) then how could someone watching possibly have not noticed an ambulance – who could have been the VP himself – leaving that property. Sounds like there wasn’t anybody reporting on the VP, doesn’t it. Imagine that – the MSM falling down on the job…allowing the VP some private get away time. Definitely gotta stop that.... And oh my – I’m definitely going to hold the VP responsible for not immediately calling the MSM to report that he’d accidentally shot a good friend. Oh yeah – like that would be your first thought if you’d been the VP?
And just exactly what is the public’s right to know here?
3:24 pm
to Erin Bizon: (comment #17)
Uuummm…did you take your meds, dear? Is your drool bib, perhaps, on a smidge too tightly, lessening your air supply?
Do you not think that, maybe, you should do a smidgen of research about those you are addressing your comments to BEFORE you decide that a brunch of Birkenstock and crow sounds like a nice way to start the day?
Honestly, you MUST be new here to suggest, even in jest, that Rick Moran is a writer for POS.
Tell ya’ what, baby doll, you go get your lithium, wring out that bib and roll your tongue back in your head and let the adults talk now, mmmkay?
3:34 pm
Dick Cheney; Clumsy Hunter or Homicidal Maniac?
As the world knows by now, the Vice President of The United States of America, Dick Cheney, “accidentally” shot a hunting companion on during a “quail shoot”.
3:52 pm
From the home office, Dick Cheney’s Top 10 Excuses for Shooting That Guy:
10. Sure, like you’ve never seen seen giant game birds wearing day glo orange vests
9. Warrantless domestic spying revealed he was getting phone calls from al Queda
8. If the Vice President does it, its not against the law
7. Hoping to put him in a persistent vegetative state so the GOP could pass a law to keep him alive
6. Thought he was hunting Dan Quayle
5. The love between them could not survive back in Washington
4. Birds, Cows, People—with my eyesight I’m lucky I hit anything
3. Positive the guy’s family will welcome him as a liberator
2. Pheasants? I thought we were hunting peasants
and the number one Cheney excuse for shooting that guy:
1. Open season on liberals started early this year
5:26 pm
Circular firing squad
It must be a slow news day. The Right Wing Nut House seems to think that the White House was trying to cover something up, ranking right up there with firedoglake in quality (or lack) of analysis. Even John Podhoretz gets in on the action saying, &#...
5:52 pm
Vice President Dick Cheney’s Accidental Shooting Won’t Help His Image (SECOND UPDATE)
NOTE: This appeared yesterday evening. Due to the interest in this story and its having been updated, we’re pos…
5:56 pm
Hey Erin #17 don’t listen to the nutjob who obviously did not take her lithium
I can only hope that the story was “satire” as it is silly to me to.
6:24 pm
Scrutator, (#23), this is not an article surmising their was an attempt at a coverup, but rather pointing out that the Bush administrations love of secrecy seems to go too far at times. Other commentors have pointed out that perhaps the failure to have the accident reported to the media was due to a wish of the victim and his family wanting a little privacy, a talking point that the left harps on incessantly and one which people would think the left would stand behind.
Dan? (#25) Erin is a drooling simp that made a claim that is both erroneous, which I can only ascribe to ignorance, and insulting. The fact that erin would try to extrapolate Rick being a writer at POS shows that she (it?) lacks the modicum of cognizence that is required for the concurrent activities of ambulation and mastication, and the simple fact that it can type, much less spell correctly. Good thing someone showed it how to use spell check, huh?
Your defense of such such a cretinous moron is, while admirable, indicative of a lack of discrimination on your part or it shows your dedication to helping the mentally challenged community interact with society.
The fact that erin reads Malkin simply assures me that not everyone that peruses that fine site is possessed of the intelligence to extrapolate facts, and causes me to idly wonder where I have heard such nonsensical rambling before…..oh yeah…the DU.
6:24 pm
Hey Rick, I’ve never seen such nasty remarks directed at you! Sure hope you took mine in the tone of friendship I intended.
6:57 pm
Well said on the update
7:07 pm
The Decline and Fall of the American Media Empire
Among the Washington Press corps today, talk is centering nearly exclusively on the "timing" of the information flow that followed Vice President Dick Cheney's non-lethal Saturday hunting accident (the VP sprayed birdshot into one of…
8:00 pm
You sure know how to get em fired up!
9:17 pm
I’m having a hard time understanding the fury over the reporting of this incident. If the accident happened at 5:30 on Saturday night, and was then reported on Sunday morning, is all this fuss really over 12 to 14 hours delay? Or is it really about the MSM “feeling” scooped and left out? If Cheney had killed the guy, or been at fault, maybe that would have been different. I just don’t get it.
11:19 pm
You are still way off base. The gentleman who was shot was the one who needed his privacy protected and he released the information when he thought it was the proper time. If you watched the idiots at the White House News briefing today you should understand what a circus the former MSM would have created at the hospital. They sing and dance and insult their opponents at funeral, so why would you think they wouldn’t make a**e* of themselves at a hospital.
The left wing has went stark raving mad because of the loss of several elections in a row. The only people in the world that compares with them today is the raving lunitic Islamic movement killing their own people and destroying their property. I fully expect the lefties to start burning and killing any day.
2:21 am
OT: This was kind of weird reading this entry, with Rick and Mitzi’s contributions. (My ex-wife is remarried to a guy named Rick, both of whom I get along great with, BTW.) Especially when I got to #27, damn near creepy, cause she thinks just like that!
10:47 am
Kender #26,
“...that she (it?) lacks the modicum of cognizence that is required for the concurrent activities of ambulation and mastication, and the simple fact that it can type, much less spell correctly.”
Buy a dictionary. I’m sure you didn’t intend to become a joke, but the humor was too much to resist.
1:17 pm
Ditto what Mitzi said in #27.
1:17 pm
And BTW, remember what happened to Job when he doubted…
5:43 pm
I couldn’t agree more with the author. Some people are so rabidly partisan (including the majority of posters above) that they are incapable of looking at this sorry episode objectively. They are so blinded by partisan zeal (not of conservative ideals, mind you, but personalities) that even the most mild criticism of the president is enough to be flamed over. This mindset is to be expected out of the Left, but I believe conservatives are better than that.
7:34 am
This was a non-story until Cheney and his people decided to delay the inevitable. The privacy of the shootee was gone once the Secret Service telephoned the Sheriff’s office at about 830pm. Too bad this story overshadowed Gore’s ranting in Saudi Arabia. Wasn’t that against some law?
1:00 pm
Considering the wonderfully unbiased treatment of this administration by the media (**COUGH**), I’m surprized. NOT. And I do believe that the Corpus Christi Caller-Times was notified in time to print a small article in their Sunday editions and on the web (nearest city of any size), but the prima-donnas in Washington weren’t. Of course, THAT newspaper doesn’t count, you know.
The Washington Press Corps: We’re full of ourselves and it shows.
3:52 pm
[...] Rick Moran (Right Wing Nut House) wonders about all the secrecy [...]