VP Dick Cheney Offers Democrat Patrick Leahy Good Advice
Friday, September 28, 2018 at 10:33AM Democrat Senator Patrick Leahy in the 2018 Senate Supreme Court nomination hearings has retained his reputation as a royal pain in the ass to others around him. This is a well deserved recognition by fellow senators too.
On Tuesday, June 22, 2004 Cheney, serving in his role as president of the Senate, appeared in the chamber for a photo session. A chance meeting with Sen. Patrick J. Leahy (Vt.), the ranking Democrat on the Judiciary Committee, became an argument about Cheney's ties to Halliburton Co., an international energy services corporation, and President Bush's judicial nominees. The exchange ended when Cheney offered some crass advice.
"Fuck yourself," said the man who is a heartbeat from the presidency.
There is no rule against obscene language by a vice president on the Senate floor. The senators were present for a group picture and not in session, so Rule 19 of the Senate rules -- which prohibits vulgar statements "unbecoming a senator" -- does not apply, according to a Senate official. Even if the Senate were in session, the vice president, though constitutionally the president of the Senate, is an executive branch official and therefore free to use whatever language he likes.
