Two years out of office and two years ahead of a heart transplant that would carry him through his twilight years, former Vice President Dick Cheney stood backstage at the Conservative Political Action Conference 2010 in Washington, D.C.
One of his daughters, Liz, stood center stage, several years before she herself would hold federal office, and a decade before she’d cast an impeachment vote against then-President Donald Trump that would effectively end her political career in Wyoming.
“There is one man in particular we all know who certainly has taught me what it means to have the courage of your convictions,” she said, as seen in a C-SPAN clip. “You know who I’m talking about.”
As her father climbed the stairs onto the stage and took to the lectern, the crowd erupted into a two-minute-long standing ovation.
“Knock it off,” he said, chuckling. “A welcome like that is almost enough for me to run for office again.”
It was a surprise appearance, according to reporting by NPR, and it would mark one of the last moments of hearty public adoration for the former vice president whose legacy included representing Wyoming for 10 years in congress, serving as secretary of defense during the George H.W. Bush administration and helping lead the country’s response to the 9/11 attacks as vice president.
Cheney died Monday at the age of 84 due to complications of pneumonia and cardiac and vascular disease.
“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 said in a statement. “We are grateful beyond measure for all Dick Cheney did for our country. And we are blessed beyond measure to have loved and been loved by this noble giant of a man.”
Cheney’s later years would be defined by his staunch opposition to Trump, particularly after the Jan. 6, 2021 riot at the Capitol.
“In our nation’s 246 year history there has never been an individual who is a greater threat to our Republic than Donald Trump,” he said in a campaign advertisement for his daughter Liz, who was then serving as Wyoming’s lone congressional representative.
That opposition led to a dramatic rethinking of the Cheneys. Once seen as arch conservatives, they were quickly vilified by many on the right, including in Wyoming. But many who had criticized Dick Cheney for his actions after 9/11 saw him and his daughter Liz as principled defenders of American democracy and the rule of law.
Response
While the American flags at the White House had been lowered to half-staff Tuesday, the president had not released a statement on Cheney’s death by publishing time.
In Wyoming, Gov. Mark Gordon ordered the lowering of the flags until the day after interment.
“Wyoming has lost one of its own,” Gordon said in a statement. “Former Vice President Dick Cheney served our nation with an unwavering sense of duty shaped by the grit and resolve of this state. Dick carried Wyoming values with him, his steadfast commitment, quiet strength, and a fierce belief in America.”
Other prominent members of the Wyoming GOP weighed in too, including U.S. Sen. John Barrasso, who paid tribute Tuesday on the Senate floor.
“Dick is going to be remembered as a towering figure who helped guide the course of history, certainly in Wyoming and also in the United States and of course, around the world,” Barrasso said. “My prayers are with his wife, Lynne, with daughters Liz and Mary, and with his grandchildren as they celebrate this incredible man.”
Wyoming’s junior senator, Cynthia Lummis, offered her condolences in a press release.
“For more than 10 years, he worked alongside Senators Malcolm Wallop and Al Simpson as the most formidable Congressional delegation in Washington,” Lummis wrote. “As the first Wyoming citizen to be elected Vice President, he holds a defining place in our state’s history.”
When asked for a comment, U.S. Rep. Harriet Hageman, who defeated Liz Cheney in 2022 with Trump’s backing, sent a statement to WyoFile.
“You couldn’t grow up in Wyoming and not know who Dick Cheney was. 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,” Hageman wrote. “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.”
Other politicos shared more critical comments on Cheney’s foreign policy, particularly his role in America’s post-9/11 wars in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Iraq, Syria and Yemen.
“There is no doubt that Dick Cheney was a prominent figure in Wyoming. He had a successful career working towards unjustified wars and the expansion of the power of the executive branch way beyond the scope of the constitution,” the Libertarian Party of Wyoming wrote in a Facebook post.
Cheney “helped lie about weapons of mass destruction that ended up killing thousands of American troops and countless civilians of foreign countries,” the party wrote.
“That being said, the Libertarian Party wishes the Cheney family comfort as they mourn the death of a man that meant more to them than he did to us,” the post reads.
Former colleagues
Though the two didn’t share a political party or many policy positions, former Wyoming Gov. Mike Sullivan said he had a “very positive” experience working with Cheney.
“We had a great congressional delegation that was easy to work with, even across the aisle, and Dick was certainly one of the major players, both in the delegation and in Congress,” Sullivan told WyoFile.
When asked about how the meaning of the Cheney name has evolved in Wyoming in recent years, particularly in GOP circles, Sullivan said “it’s a reflection of how things have changed.”
“That is, you know, ‘If you’re not with me, you’re against me.’ There’s no in in-between, seemingly, anymore,” Sullivan said. “And I think that’s a shame because Dick Cheney did great things for Wyoming.”
They didn’t always agree, Sullivan said, but one place the two were able to meet in the middle involved balancing certain interests.
“I’ve always said that the most difficult position the governor has is walking that fine, bright line between conservation and development,” Sullivan said. “And those were issues that we shared. He was a conservationist in so many ways, an outdoorsman, and cherished the same things most of us cherish in Wyoming.”
In the 1980s, Phil Hocker, a Jackson resident and former board member of the Sierra Club, worked with Cheney on the Wyoming Wilderness Act. The state’s delegation had heard widespread outcries against unbridled drilling, including in roadless areas, and was open to compromise, Hocker recalled.
The legislation, which added 1.1 million acres of national forest lands to the Wilderness preservation system, forever preventing development and motorized use, was complex and could have faltered but “Dick kept it going,” Hocker said.
When it became law, Cheney followed up with a letter to Hocker characterizing the measure as “a fine addition to Wyoming’s great wilderness resource,” Hocker said.
“Courtesies mean a lot,” Hocker said, “and he always got them done.”
Former Wyoming Gov. Jim Geringer, a Republican whose time in office overlapped with Cheney’s vice presidency, told WyoFile Cheney “always had a quiet demeanor.”
“He was just quiet, and very articulate in the way he could express or sum up an issue,” Geringer said, adding it stands in contrast to some of today’s politicians “that feel like yelling and confrontation are the best way to do things.”
Like others, Geringer lamented the loss of Cheney so soon after the passing of former U.S. Senator and storied politician Al Simpson.
“Alan and Dick really represented that era of a quieter and more thoughtful approach to resolving issues,” Geringer said, adding that each also brought a sense of humor to difficult conversations.
Part of Cheney’s legacy, Geringer said, was “he made sure he was extremely well informed. He didn’t just plow headlong into an issue and let the chips fall where they may.”
When Eli Bebout, former state Senate president, ran for governor in 2002, Cheney “really helped us a lot, and did some wonderful things for my campaign.”
Ultimately, Bebout came up short to Democrat Dave Freudenthal, but his relationship with Cheney extended beyond the campaign trail.
“I would consider him a friend,” Bebout said, adding that he and Cheney were part of a group that for many years went on both annual fishing trips and pheasant hunts.
Bebout admired Cheney’s “grasp of the issues,” but also his quick wit.
There was once a political radio show in Riverton, Bebout said, called “Chit Chat” that was a must-stop for statewide candidates, including Cheney when he was running for Congress.
Unbeknownst to Cheney, Bebout said, the radio station, located in a small house, had a year earlier moved to another location. But running late, Cheney barged into the house only to find a woman in robe, bewildered by the strange man standing in her living room.
“She says, ‘Well, who in the heck are you?’ And he said, ‘Well, I’m Al Simpson. I apologize.’”
Cheney’s death is largely the end of an era in Wyoming politics, Bebout said.
“The name ‘Dick Cheney’ is more than just Wyoming, or Casper, where he was raised,” Bebout said. “It’s our country, the world. It’s a legacy for sure.”
WyoFile’s Angus M. Theurmer Jr. contributed reporting.
Correction: This story has been updated to correct a misspelling of Lynne Cheney in one instance. —Ed.
From 1993 until 2000, Dick Cheney was CEO of Halliburton oil service company in Texas and lived in Dallas. But on July 21, 2000 — four days before becoming George W. Bush’s running mate — he flew to Jackson, Wyo., and changed his voter registration to Teton County, Wyoming. He did this because the 12th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution would have prohibited the Texas electoral college electors from voting for Texas residents for both president and vice-president. Lawsuits in Texas and Florida challenging the sudden change in voter registration were rejected by the federal courts on grounds, among others, that the challengers had no “standing” to bring their suit. This avoidance of the merits brings to mind the Wyoming Supreme Court decision in the 1972 case Schieck v. Hathaway, 493 P.2d 759, where some Democrats challenged the eligibility of Dean Prosser to be a member of the Wyoming House of Representatives. At the time of the 1970 election, Prosser owned ranchland in both Wyoming and Colorado but resided in a residence located just south of the Wyoming state line. There was no question but that Prosser would have been fully qualified to be a member of the Colorado legislature if he had run in that state. But the Wyoming Supreme Court essentially refused to address that issue, ruling that the Legislature had determined that Prosser was qualified to serve in the Legislature and that was the end of the matter.
From “Wyoming in Mid-Century: Prejudice, Protest and The Black 14”
Thanks for another nice piece on Dick Cheney Maggie.
Our three representative’s comments following his death ring hollow in relation to Mr. Cheney’s time in Washington. Their craven terms in Washington, in deference to this president, and the questionable and dangerous direction that he’s taken this country, is a direct result of their cowardly behavior and reluctance to stop it when they could.
As controversial as vice president Cheney may have been, not many people can question his love for this country and wanting to protect it instead of trying to profit off of it like this administration and the politicians aiding and abetting their efforts.