Cheney's Passing Spurs Praise — And Reflection — In NH GOP

By Michael Graham, NH Journal

News of the death of former Vice President Dick Cheney at the age of 84 on Tuesday inspired praise for his legacy of service among Granite State Republicans. It also served as a moment to reflect on how much the Republican Party has changed in the first quarter of the 21st century.

Cheney’s résumé stands out even among the nation’s political elites, having served as a member of Congress from Wyoming, President Gerald Ford’s White House chief of staff, and secretary of defense under George H.W. Bush. Cheney is also the only person in U.S. history to have served as both vice president and secretary of defense.

“Laura and I will remember Dick Cheney for the decent, honorable man that he was,” former President George W. Bush said of his VP. “History will remember him as among the finest public servants of his generation — a patriot who brought integrity, high intelligence and seriousness of purpose to every position he held.”

Defense Secretary Dick Cheney, left, and White House Chief of Staff John Sununu, center, arrive at the Columbia, S.C., airport to attend the funeral of Lee Atwater in 1991. (COURTESY: The Richland County S.C. Library)

Cheney is far less popular among the MAGA wing of the GOP, having been an outspoken critic of President Donald Trump.

But former New Hampshire Gov. John H. Sununu, who served as George H.W. Bush’s chief of staff, told NHJournal that, on policy, Cheney was a solid conservative who shared many of the current GOP’s goals.

“A lot of what’s being cited are personality conflicts, not fundamental political conflicts,” Sununu said Tuesday. “If you sifted through the politics, there’s no real difference: America First. Smaller government. Lower taxes. Close the borders. What difference is there?”

Sununu also took part of the credit for Cheney becoming secretary of defense, where he would oversee America’s successful role in pushing Saddam Hussein’s army out of Kuwait.

Sununu had feedback that George H.W. Bush’s first nominee for secretary of defense, Texas U.S. Sen. John Tower, was not going to get through the Senate. “I had done some homework, and I came to the conclusion that Dick Cheney, who was minority whip at the time, would be a good choice.”

When Sununu recommended Cheney, “The president told me to talk to Vice President Dan Quayle and National Security Advisor Brent Scowcroft. We met in Quayle’s office, talked a while, and we came back five minutes later and told the president that the three of us thought it was a good choice. We were able to send up a new nomination within hours.

“And Cheney was confirmed — 92 to nothing.”

One job Cheney didn’t have was president, though he did visit the Granite State in 1993 while flirting with a 1996 bid.

Longtime Granite State political guru Tom Rath said Cheney had “one of the most consequential and significant public careers of anyone of my time. He was beyond smart, loyal, and as perfect a VP choice as I can remember. His relationship with George W. Bush served both the president and nation well.”

Like many of the former vice president’s friends and foes, Rath acknowledged Cheney “was not a warm and fuzzy public figure.”

Sununu, who was referred to as “Bush’s bad cop” by Time magazine and a “pit bull” in The New York Times, shared a similar reputation while serving in the White House. Asked about it, he said it was part of the job.

“One of the problems we (Cheney and Sununu) had in the White House is we served the nicest, kindest, most friendly president in history. In order to compensate, to show that there was some accountability required in dealing with the White House, I was not able to be my warm and charming self.

“I didn’t suffer fools gladly,” Sununu added. “Dick never let the fools get started. He always stated what he wanted done and expected it to be done that way.”

This story was originally published by the NH Journal, an online news publication dedicated to providing fair, unbiased reporting on, and analysis of, political news of interest to New Hampshire. For more stories from the NH Journal, visit NHJournal.com.