admin
Former Vice President Dick Cheney died Monday night at 84, his family said, surrounded by his wife Lynne and their daughters Liz and Mary. His passing closes a chapter on a brand of unapologetic, hard-headed conservatism that reshaped how Washington defends the American people.
Cheney’s resume reads like a catalogue of Republican national-security leadership: White House chief of staff under Gerald Ford, congressman from Wyoming, secretary of defense under George H.W. Bush, and vice president under George W. Bush. He transformed the understudy role into what many call the most powerful vice presidency in modern history, wielding influence for what he believed kept the country safe.
After the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, Cheney took the hard decisions others hesitated to make, overseeing sweeping counterterrorism and surveillance measures and defending tough interrogations aimed at stopping further attacks. Conservatives will argue the methods were harsh but necessary; in an age of real threats, timidity is deadly and Cheney chose to act.
He was also a principal architect of American policy toward Iraq, firmly convinced that removing Saddam Hussein was a matter of national security and deterrence. That choice produced a costly, complex war, and reasonable people can debate the execution, but the underlying conservative principle was clear: strength abroad preserves freedom at home.
In his later years Cheney stunned some on the right by putting country above party, condemning efforts to subvert the 2020 election and saying he would support a Democrat in 2024 rather than tolerate what he saw as a threat to the Constitution. He also stood resolutely behind his daughter Liz when she pursued accountability, proving that to him, loyalty to the republic outweighed partisan convenience.
Cheney’s legacy will be fought over for decades — to many on the left he was a villain, but to conservatives he was a consequential guardian who understood that liberty requires vigilance and, sometimes, grim choices. As the pundits on both coasts posture and preen, hardworking Americans should remember the real work of governing: protecting our families, honoring our troops, and never apologizing for putting the nation first.
