Dick Cheney 6 In 1969, Dick Cheney was a graduate student at the University of Wisconsin, the setting for the Sixties documentary, "The War at Home." On a campus famous for its tolerance of political dissent, home to the New Left journal Studies on the Left, to radical historians such as William Appleman Williams and Harvey Goldberg, to a powerful movement against the Vietnam War which targeted university complicity in the war effort with protests against the napalm-producing Dow Chemical Company--on such a campus, Dick Cheney began his career as a rock-solid conservative politician. Cheney, born in 1943, came out of Caspar, Wyoming, which his high school sweetheart Lynn describes as an "'American Graffiti' kind of place" where "the big thing was to drive cars up and down, and go from one root beer stand to another." But the young Dick Cheney never so indulged: "He worked; he always had a job. He read a lot." One should add that this youthful workaholic was no nerd; he captained the football team and was an avid outdoorsman. Cheney went off to Yale on a scholarship, but did poorly and dropped out after three semesters. He returned to his roots, graduating from the University of Wyoming, marrying Lynn and proceeding to Madison for a master's in political science. His key breakthrough was a one-year internship in the Washington office of a local congressman, where he impressed the up-and-coming Donald Rumsfeld. Cheney moved with Rumsfeld from the Office of Economic Opportunity staff to first Nixon's and then Ford's staff, where, when Rumsfeld became Defense Secretary, Cheney was promoted to Chief of Staff. He was thirty-four. When Carter defeated Ford, Cheney, already suffering the first of three heart attacks, successfully ran for Congress from his home district in Wyoming. As a six-term Congressman, Cheney was consistently conservative, hard-line on defense, committed to Contra aid and to Star Wars. What is intriguing about this utterly uncharismatic, efficient, hawkish Defense Secretary is the fact that he never served in the armed forces. He says that he was generally supportive of the Vietnam war and opposed to the demonstrators. But his hawkishness didn't lead him to volunteer; instead he accepted student deferments which allowed him to avoid military service. All Cheney will say is, "As did most other Americans, I watched the war from afar." There remains something odd about this hard-line Cold Warrior's evasion of what would seem to be his patriotic duty. One must note that, by conventional estimate, Cheney is not a baby boomer. Of course, neither are most of the founders of SDS, the New Left initiators of Second Wave feminism, or the leading voices among the counter-cultural hippies. Cheney is a war baby, like the CIA's Robert Gates, Dick Darman, and Newt Gingrich. Pat Caddell's expanded framework for baby boomers, which includes those born during World War II, seems most appropriate here. <A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/">www.ctrl.org</A> DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis- directions and outright frauds—is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector. ======================================================================== Archives Available at: http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html">Archives of [EMAIL PROTECTED]</A> http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/ <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/">ctrl</A> ======================================================================== To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email: SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED] Om
