May 23, 2006
Dick Cheney Owes District $3,000
We're not big fans of Dick Cheney. It's not the whole obsession with secrecy, or the way he's encouraged his aides to out CIA officers. It's not the refusal to accept that Saddam Hussein and Al Qaeda are not the same thing, or his long-standing ties to government contracting juggernaut Halliburton. It's that damn motorcade and security detail.
A few months back WTOP discovered that Cheney's motorcade -- yes, the one that regularly snarls traffic in the District during rush hour -- costs D.C. taxpayers $2,000 each time he commutes between home and work (even though he could take public transit, as we have reported). Today the Examiner's Harry Jaffe has a gripe of his own. It seems that Cheney and wife Lynn attended a book-signing by daughter Mary at the Palm Restaurant on Friday afternoon. While that's not particularly objectionable, Jaffe did take issue with the security detail:
Leaving the party, I counted 10 MPD scout cars; five Harley Davidsons with D.C. police; a few Secret Service cars; and many tightlipped men in black suits.We would say not, especially for a trip into the heart of the District at rush hour on a Friday for a purpose that could hardly be considered official. For a man worth an estimated $94.6 million, he could at least go halfsies with us on security, couldn't he?The D.C. police were lounging in the early evening sun, taking in the breeze and the passing girls.
“Not bad work,” I said to one cop leaning on his car.
“We get paid every Friday,” he said.
Yeah, by me and other District residents, who have policing needs beyond watching the Veep’s back so he can help his daughter hawk her political memoir.
The city calculates the cost of an officer at $41 an hour, not counting overtime; a car costs $12 an hour. Protecting the vice president for two hours costs more than $3,000. In the grand scheme of things, this may not break the budget. But does it make sense for the residents of the District to pay for protecting the vice president’s visit to eat a few crab cakes at his daughter’s book party?
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While I encourage our public servants to use mass transit, to suggest that the Vice President of the United States should take Metro is preposterous. How would the Secret Service secure a subway trip from Point A to Point B? First, clear Station A of all passengers. Next, secure an entire empty Metro train, and possibly empty the ones ahead and behind it. Finally, clear Station B of all passengers. Of course, this doesn't include the motorcade to get to and from Stations A and B. So now, instead of screwing up the commute just for drivers, Cheney's screwed the commute for Metro riders, as well. Sadly, outside of a change in residence or daily helicopter ride, the V.P.'s going to disrupt traffic with his commute.
i think we'd all be better off if mr. cheney had to go it alone on his excursions. who knows, maybe we'd get lucky.
GB - You missed the first part of the previous post. The intro describes a Bush speech where he asks citizens and federal employees to use mass transit. The post looked at what several high level officials' commute might look like if they took transit. To think it was a serious request for these people to use transit is a stretch.
Now, onto this post. The aim of this post is to highlight how District taxpayers, including you and I, are paying for Cheney to go to his daughter's publicity bullshit.
I don't know why we bother we security at all. Everyone knows you can't kill pure evil.
Does the -ist in DCist stand for communist?
Lots of money was wasted by the Clintons attending Chelsea’s ballet at the Washington Ballet Company and the Washington School of Ballet and other school events. Didn’t Clinton get $12M for a book – time to pay back DC!!!
If Al Gore had gone to the arboretum to hug a tree in a large motorcade, would DCist have been concerned?
Claims of your nonpartisanship notwithstanding, I have a very hard time believing this petty item would have been posted had you stumbled upon VP John Edwards attending an event to publicize a book about his wife's courageous battle against breast cancer.
1) Accuse them of Communism, Anti-Americanism, or whatever 'ism' is trendy.
2) Site a similar Clinton example
3) Throw in a "if it were a democrat?"
so typical. lol.
BM missed the point when s/he wrote:
Lots of money was wasted by the Clintons attending Chelsea’s ballet at the Washington Ballet Company and the Washington School of Ballet and other school events. Didn’t Clinton get $12M for a book – time to pay back DC!!!
While this may be true, it doesn't quite sink to the level of hawking a book written by their daughter, now, does it?
If Al Gore had gone to the arboretum to hug a tree in a large motorcade, would DCist have been concerned?
Gee, I dunno--one wonders under what circumstances you would consider going somewhere to push a personal agenda at taxpayer expense is actually a good idea.
And then Lighten Up followed suit:
I have a very hard time believing this petty item would have been posted had you stumbled upon VP John Edwards attending an event to publicize a book about his wife's courageous battle against breast cancer.
Again, an autobiography of a lesbian in denial vs a tome about battling breast cancer: on par with each other?
Even if he's not doing official government business, he's still the Vice President and a target just because of that. It's not as if someone bent on putting a wooden stake through his heart or dousing him with holy water will limit themselves to attacking at official events.
That said, it'd be nice if the Feds would help pay for the expenditures. We're told that it's okay for out-of-towners to call all the important shots in the District because the District belongs to all Americans; well, Cheney is the Vice President of all Americans and the costs ought to be borne accordingly.
Should *Dick Cheney* pay for his security detail? No. No matter where he goes or what he's doing, we have a national interest in having our heads of state not get killed (or act as though they are afraid of being killed.) So wherever he goes, any POTUS/VP/ what have you, Dem or GOP, Secret Service protection for free, no question
But...it is a *national* interest thing and a *national* expense, not a *municipal* one; I've never entirely understood why MPD has to supplement the Secret Service on these things. The Service seems to have plenty of jurisdiction to stop traffic or do whatever else they need to, it's their problem and not ours, and why not make everyone involved in the protective detail a trained individual bodyguard, vs. a more generalized municipal cop?
The idea that this is somehow partisan is such a red herring it makes my keyboard all briny and my office smell like fish. District taxpayers should not have to shoulder the financial burden of our federal officials, be they Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, or Lyndon-effing-LaRouche. To suggest that DCist would not have felt similarly about Clinton or any other Dem is absurdly speculative, notwithstanding the comments above that try to differentiate what's worth District funding and what isn't.
Like clockwork every morning from my Adams Morgan apartment I hear the Cheney motorcade screech down Calvert on the Veeps way to work. Call me nuts, but if they were really trying to protect the man, don't you think they would a) alter his schedule and b) maybe make the motorcade less conspicious...
Why don't they route him past the apartment building with the kids that love cyclists so much?
Does not DC get reimbursed for the expenses of security details for federal officials? Or rather, are they not "supposed to" (i.e. Inauguration '05).
If that's the case, it's not only DC residents footing the bill.
It's the Vice President for christ's sake. He's going to have a security detail wherever he goes, love him or hate him.
Seriously, this is a funny post. Whoever wrote this was not really thinking it out. Do you have any idea about security work? Do you know what kind of detail is needed to plan a route? Evasive tactics? Hell, I'm a Democrat but I see some sense in a motorcade versus a subway. Sheesh.
Everyone's neglecting the potential of a *special, different* VP subway train that goes 75 mph through the Metro tunnels, blasting Doppler-shifted Hail to the Chief, firing red white and blue confetti at timed intervals, covered with Gatling guns and bunting and painted with a screaming bald eagle on its nose.
In short, we have failed to apply the principle of Awesome's Razor. The most awesome solution is probably the right one.
Yes, we all love good old Dick skirting about town eating crabcakes and spending out money!
I'm sure if we totaled up all the taxes paid on his $94 million net worth and the taxes he will be paying once he cashes out in 2 years, it would more than cover the cost of this and many more motorcades.
StO, isn't Cheney a resident of Wyoming? I don't think he's paying DC income tax or property tax, and I doubt he's paying hundreds of thousands a year in DC sales tax.
As others have said, the point isn't that Cheney shouldn't be protected but that protecting him is a federal function and should be paid for by all Americans. The burden shouldn't fall more heaviliy on DC residents.
The whole idea of getting the VP to public transit is like straight out of the Onion. Upper middle class people (or even middle class) won't take the bus (or metro) if they have parking (which people on the hill and in many gov't buildings do). This comment has nothing to do with this post, probably.
people, it was sarcasm to make the point that dc shouldn't carry the burden.