LIZ NEEDS ANOTHER COUNTRY

Liz Cheney, daughter of former Vice President Dick Cheney, has spent the entire thirteen months of the Obama administration defending her father's role in launching the immoral and illegal war in Iraq. It is possible to understand a daughter's desire to burnish her father's legacy from the inevitable harsh verdict of history. But her abhorrent behavior in condemning nine justice department attorneys as somehow treasonous for defending Guantanamo Bay detainees is something she will have to answer for on her own.

The recent video ad she put out as head of her advocacy group, "Keep America Safe" is ominously titled "Whose values do they share?" It serves to ratchet up the fear that brought us pre-emptive war, loss of basic civil liberties and now, by demonizing dedicated public servant lawyers upholding the finest traditions of our judicial system, preventing suspected terrorists from getting a fair trial.

Thankfully, mainstream conservatives have rushed in to properly condemn Ms. Cheney's twenty-first century version of McCarthyism. As a free speech advocate, I defend her public promotion of her opinions as they appear to fall a tad short of shouting fire in a crowded theater. Wouldn't it be nice however, if Ms Cheney would find another country of which to become a citizen?

Originally published in the Glen Ellyn News, March 18, 2010