Waking to the news that former Vice President Dick Cheney has died at age 84 is making for an interesting election day.

His family issued the following statement:

Cheney, who served two terms as vice president under former President George W. Bush — including during the Sept. 11, 2001, terror attacks — died overnight “due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease,” his family said in a statement.

“His beloved wife of 61 years, Lynne, his daughters, Liz and Mary, and other family members were with him as he passed,” the Cheneys said.

“Dick Cheney was a great and good man who taught his children and grandchildren to love our country, and to live lives of courage, honor, love, kindness, and fly fishing,” his family added.

Through the rest of the day and likely for several days, there will be new analysis and rehashing of Cheney’s long and varied political career. From former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, to President Bush, to Congresswoman Harriet Hageman who trounced his daughter Liz in WY’s Republican primary. 

“You couldn’t grow up in Wyoming and not know who Dick Cheney was,” she said in a statement. “He dedicated most of his life to serving his country, working across multiple administrations and finally capping his public career as an extremely consequential vice president.

“He was known as a meticulous, detail-oriented planner who prioritized his family. Dick Cheney had an undeniable impact on American policy, both foreign and domestic, for decades, and will be studied and remembered for many years more than that.”  

But as Ed points out here, one thing that we should remember about Dick Cheney is his consistency and his love for this great Republic. 

His time as Secretary of Defense will be rehashed and re-litigated. Others will take a different view from the 30,000 foot level. Others will be blunt in their animosity.

Dick Cheney did on occasion swim against the political tides. 

Mr. Cheney supported tax cuts and defense spending increases, like nearly all Republicans, but he joined the rightmost wing in voting against a federal holiday honoring the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. as well as the Equal Rights Amendment, creation of the Education Department, a ban on armor-piercing bullets, and anti-apartheid sanctions on South Africa. He likewise opposed Head Start for preschool children, the Superfund program for toxic-waste cleanup, the Clean Water Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act and the Endangered Species Act.

Although social “wedge issues” were not his main interest, Mr. Cheney cast votes against affirmative action and for prayer in school. He sought to ban abortion without exception for rape, incest or danger to the mother’s life. But on gay rights, Mr. Cheney departed from orthodox conservative tenets, breaking with Bush in 2004 to endorse the legalization of same-sex marriage. Mr. Cheney’s daughter Mary is married to a woman, Heather Poe.

He cast many of those NO votes because he flat out knew that a Department of Education nor the Endangered Species Act as examples would be detrimental to Wyoming citizens. 

Most of the time Dick Cheney was a listener who would only speak when necessary. But there was a particular time when his speaking sent the Democrat/media establishment into an even greater frenzy than usual. 

Washington is abuzz with the latest political contretemps. Cheney, taking offense at Sen. Pat Leahy’s imputation of improper vice presidential conduct regarding Halliburton contracts in Iraq, let the senator know as much during a picture-taking ceremony on the floor of the Senate. The F-word was used. Washington is scandalized.

The newspapers were full of it. Lamentations were heard about the decline of civility. The Post gave special gravitas to the occasion, spelling out the full four letters (something that it had done only three times previously). Democrats, feeling darned outraged, demanded apologies. The vice president remained defiant, offering but the coyest concession — that he “probably” cursed — coupled with satisfaction: “I expressed myself rather forcefully, felt better after I had done it.”

Thanks to Guy Benson for reminding me of that great pearl-clutching. 

The clip: pic.twitter.com/5yHWuZsoXM

— Guy Benson (@guypbenson) November 4, 2025

Especially in light of the Democrat’s childish glee over their own potty-mouth antics in recent months. 

The Democrat/media complex was beside themselves with jubilation over Cheney’s rejection of President Trump and endorsement of Kamala Harris. They are willingly forgetting a few things. 

Your outlet accused him of war crimes. https://t.co/koxavgtg2b

— Bonchie (@bonchieredstate) November 4, 2025

And literally called him Hitler. The fact that he found all of it funny just really chapped their hides. 

Cheney even came to relish all the comparisons to dark lords of the “Star Wars” franchise. He had a Darth Vader trailer-hitch cover put on his truck. In 2015 he took the stage for a speech in Florida to “The Imperial March.”

“Am I the evil genius in the corner that nobody ever sees come out of his hole?” Cheney said to USA Today in 2004. “It’s a nice way to operate, actually.”

Of course, even with this being election day, the vile knives will be out against Cheney and his family. 

It has not yet been two months since Charlie Kirk was murdered. It's been exactly one month since @AudreyFahlberg revealed that Jay Jones wished death upon his Republican colleagues. Still, this was @mattyglesias's reaction to Dick Cheney's passing. pic.twitter.com/F6pUJG3kgE

— Isaac Schorr (@isaac_schorr) November 4, 2025

That’s one of the milder ones across social media. 

Agree with Dick Cheney or not, and believe me having grown up in WY and helping campaign for him at the start of his very first run for Congress in 1978, there were many times of agreement and disagreement, Dick Cheney built quite a political career and legacy. I still don’t understand how he could let one man break him thus leading to his endorsement and vote for Kamala last year. 

That said, Dick Cheney had a major and profound influence across decades of politics. He served Wyoming well as a Congressman and beyond. 

Our prayers to his wife Lynne and his family at this time. 

Feature Photo Credit: Cheney aboard USS Kitty Hawk via Flickr, public domain, cropped and modified