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Ear to the Ground

Cheney Accidentally Shoots Hunting Partner

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Posted on Feb 12, 2006
Mr. Fish

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AP: CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas - Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shot and wounded a companion during a weekend quail hunting trip in Texas, spraying the fellow hunter in the face and chest with shotgun pellets.

Harry Whittington, a millionaire attorney from Austin, was in stable condition in the intensive care unit of a Corpus Christi hospital Sunday. story

Truthdig says: It strains credulity to suggest, as the White House has, that the vice president couldn’t inform the national media of the incident while also ensuring proper medical care of the guy on the receiving end of his shotgun blast. | story

UPDATE: NBC’s David Gregory gets into verbal fisticuffs with White House spokesman Scott McClellan about Cheny’s late disclosure.

  • transcript of the exchange
  • video excerpts
  • longer transcript
  • Washington Post’s Dan Froomkin: “Why isn’t Dick Cheney on TV right now?”

  • UPDATE #2: Editor & Publisher probes Cheney’s late disclosure.
    UPDATE #3:The Smoking Gun surfaces the Texas hunting accident report (hat tip: Huff Post)
    UPDATE #4: The AP has the lowdown on what rules Cheney broke.

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    By Hanna Karolyn, February 14, 2006 at 11:09 am #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    “Gee...I seem to remember it took Teddy Kennedy six hours to tell the authorities about Chappaquiddick...”

    And what, one might ask, apart from illuminating the middling thoughts of another partisan (yawn), does this add to this post? Kennedy, an only occasionally noticed liberal senator from a small northeastern state, long ago paid whatever (inadequate) price he is going to pay for his errors of judgment and character. The question today, Mr. Umhauer, is WHAT will come from this lapse of judgment from the sitting vice-president of the most powerful (read, dangerous) nation on earth? What possible consequences will the Veep suffer for his lack of judgment?

    Report this

    By J.P. STeele, February 14, 2006 at 9:54 am #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Had Cheney been drinking?! 

    Ask this friggin’ question!!!!

    Report this

    By David Umhauer, February 14, 2006 at 8:41 am #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Gee...I seem to remember it took Teddy Kennedy six hours to tell the authorities about Chappaquiddick.  Wonder what type of drugs Deadeye Dick had to get out of his system

    Report this

    By GuitarsandMore, February 13, 2006 at 10:05 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    “ Keep your eyes on your enemies and your guns on your friends”

    (but your not supposed to shoot your friends, cheney).

    Report this

    By GuitarsandMore, February 13, 2006 at 10:04 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    “ Sure we’ll just let the CIA wire tap everyone’s phone and stand by with Missles and guns.  Nothing possibly could go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong, go wrong......

    Report this

    By truthdig fan, February 13, 2006 at 6:07 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    this is a travesty!

    Report this

    By Bob Boldt, February 13, 2006 at 4:07 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    The Lonely Hunter or from now on the VP hunts alone

    In the midst of all the good natured and well deserved heat that our beloved Veep is being subjected to this week, this report actually seems to have some serious things to say about the Cheney hunting mishap on Saturday last:

    http://direland.typepad.com/direland/2006/02/questions _about.html

    This story appears credible and evidences Cheney’s apparent culpability for, at the very least, a serious lapse in judgment.  It is also unfortunate that the local sheriff was, according to some unconfirmed reports, not allowed to make an assessment of Cheney’s blood/alcohol level probably in the interests of national security.  Assuming the validity of this critique, I really wonder if there is even the tiniest aspect of the lives of our benighted rulers that is above reproach.  It would seem that these guys not only have a total disregard for the letter of the law, but also possess a pathological inability to allow any glimmer of good sense or human decency to penetrate into even the smallest acts of their daily lives.

    I’m sure glad I don’t have to live or work near these clowns!

    Peace,

    Bob Boldt

    Report this

    By GuitarsandMore, February 12, 2006 at 10:26 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    The master of torture on a hunting trip:

    “ Tell me where those quail are or I’ll blow your damn head of Wittington”

    I always knew Cheney would shoot himself in the foot one day but apparently he can’t even do that right!

    This is not so much Cheney goes quail hunting but more like Homer Simpson learning to shoot a gun.

    Report this

    By R. A. Earl, February 12, 2006 at 8:52 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    I just read the online account of this incident. Cheney & companions were listed as “sportsmen” and that they were “hunting” quail.

    First, killing living things for FUN is NOT SPORT… it’s ridiculous, unnecessary, aggressive, cowardly ugliness committed by LAZY, mean-spirited people who are so far out of touch with nature they might as well be on another planet. It’s perhaps essential to kill when you’re in need of food, one thing I’m sure fat-cat Cheney is not, but a completely immoral act to destroy life for FUN.

    Secondly, it was sure nice of Cheney to at least “get out of the car” to shoot at the birds. Imagine… “sporting” men “hunting” from a vehicle. Why didn’t he just have the birds trapped and brought to his office in Washington? He could shoot them there and save himself (and I’m sure the taxpayers’ treasury) a trip!

    This man appears to me to be the least honorable amongst the most untrustworthy and unpleasant mob of “officials” the USA has ever seen.

    I hope he chokes while eating a feed of quail!

    Report this

    By twostepsonthewater, February 12, 2006 at 8:18 pm #
    (Unregistered commenter)

    Ouch!!! The last 6 years in a nutshell…

    Report this

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