From The New York Times:
WASHINGTON — Colin L. Powell challenged Dick Cheney on the legacy of the Bush administration and the future of the Republican Party on Sunday, declaring that Republicans should not bow to “diktats that come from the right wing.”
The remarks by Mr. Powell, a former secretary of state, amounted to a public rebuttal of Mr. Cheney, the former vice president, and Rush Limbaugh, the conservative radio commentator, who have questioned Mr. Powell’s Republican credentials and suggested that he should leave the party.
“Rush will not get his wish,” Mr. Powell said Sunday on “Face the Nation” on CBS. “And Mr. Cheney was misinformed. I am still a Republican.”
Oh those crazy Rethuglican scamps!
Mr. Powell’s appearance underlined an extraordinary public struggle among Republicans over the future of the party and the legacy of the Bush administration, particularly on national security. Mr. Powell broke with Mr. Cheney on the prison camp at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, saying that he agreed with President Obama that it should be closed and that Mr. Cheney disagreed as much with his former boss as with Mr. Obama.
“Mr. Cheney is not only disagreeing with President Obama’s policy,” Mr. Powell said. “He’s disagreeing with President Bush’s policy. President Bush stated repeatedly to international audiences and to the country that he wanted to close Guantánamo. The problem he had was he couldn’t get all the pieces together.”
…snip…
In another indication of Republican discord, Tom Ridge, who was a secretary of homeland security for Mr. Bush, said on CNN that he disagreed with Mr. Cheney that the nation was less safe because of Mr. Obama’s national security policies. He, too, supports the closing of Guantánamo. The comments from Mr. Powell and Mr. Ridge come as Republican Congressional leaders are pushing to capitalize on concerns about national security and housing terrorism detainees from Guantánamo in local prisons.
But Karl Rove, who was Mr. Bush’s senior political adviser, saluted Mr. Cheney for leading the fight in challenging Mr. Obama, saying he was doing what other Republicans were not. “The vice president feels very strongly that the administration has mischaracterized and distorted the Bush administration’s record,” he said in an interview.
…snip…
Liz Cheney, a Republican strategist and Mr. Cheney’s daughter, said, “This isn’t complicated.”
“Conservatism is conservatism,” Ms. Cheney said. “Republicans have led the nation to greatness when they’ve been true to fundamental principles, such as a strong national defense, limited government and low taxes. None of those are things President Obama believes in.”
…snip…
On Sunday, Mr. Powell called for an “after-action review” by Republicans of why the party had fared so poorly in the November elections, and what the party needed to do going forward.
…snip…
He made clear that he thought a major threat to the party were suggestions by Republicans like Mr. Cheney and Mr. Limbaugh that there was no room for Republicans like Mr. Powell.
The recent exchanges underscored the turmoil in the party as it tries to assess the losses last year and judge the extent to which it needs to disassociate itself with the policies of Mr. Bush. Mr. Powell’s call for expanding the party was embraced by Newt Gingrich, the former House speaker and a leading conservative in the party, who said Republicans would be doomed to minority status if they adopted a small-tent view.
…snip…
Still, other Republicans said that while they agreed with Mr. Powell’s argument that the road to success was not in pushing people out of the party, there were clear signs of animosity toward him.
“There are a lot of Republicans and conservatives who are frustrated with Colin Powell because of his endorsement of President Obama,” said Gov. Tim Pawlenty, Republican of Minnesota.
Oh no! Little Timmy is frustrated! 
And Mr. Rove said that while he thought Mr. Powell’s views were welcome in the party — “If you want to describe a vision for the Republican Party, you are welcome to do that” — he suggested that Mr. Powell, a former Army general who served as secretary of state under Mr. Bush from 2001 to 2005 and who was chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under the first President Bush, had not gone the next step in finding candidates and helping to put the party back into power.
HYSTERICAL RAISINS 
Really, though, what does General Powell, the former chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Adviser, and Secretary of State know about national defense?
I wonder how many of the Righties who hate Powell now were the same ones who were calling for him to run for President before. Hmmm …
I’m no fan of Tom Ridge, so I’ll leave that alone rather than pretend that I like him any more just because he’s saying something with which I agree today.
yeah, wickle, why listen to a 4-star general when some chickenhawks are flapping their beaks? 🙄
Sometimes, “boys will be boys” is just a euphemism for testosterone poisoning.
in this case, boys will be noise. let them scream at each other at the same time so that nobody can hear any of them.
g’day nonnie! we’re in auckland and had a lovely wednesday! winding down now.
love the pajama party pillow fight, and esp the super-wedgie.
kia ora, jenn!!!
what a nice surprise to hear from you so soon. take lots of pictures! can’t wait to hear about your adventures down under.
Ya know..god friggin forbid the moderates of the Rethug party can express their pov without fear of being drawn and quartered by the extremists of the party.
Personally, I hope the extremist mutha fucka’s keep yappin..it will hopefully drive more of the moderates to the Democratic party…although those jerkwads aren’t always endearing themselves to me either.
I am cranky tonight..sorry! 😉
dusty,
i’m glad they’re all afraid. they win elections by instilling fear in people. i like when the tables are turned.
All this GOP bickering and backbiting is catnip for us Democrats.
It’s like watching two neighbors you can’t stand get into a fist fight in front of your house.
It’s like watching David Hasselhoff and Fabio in a hair pulling fight.
It’s like seeing your bitchy boss with toilet paper on the heel of her stiletto.
It’s like Ann Coulter biting Sarah Palin’s nose off.
I love it. May the hard right demolish the moderates and make the GOP a bunch of Dick and Rush robots.
😆 i won’t even try to come up with any as good as those (though i keep thinking of the great princess sarah/levi johnston war of unintelligible words of 2009)!
Nonnie, the wedgie pic pretty much topped anything I had to say.
Brava!
when we write our book, you do the text, and i’ll do the illustrations. 😉
God forbid a Repub should actually support a Democratic POTUS. There must be a chapter in their GOP Bible that forbids such a thing.
it goes both ways. however, when the dems objected to something a rethug potus wanted to do, it was usually for a good reason, not the nonsense the present opposition comes out with.
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The Democrat in me enjoys seeing the credibility of the Republican party disintegrating under the weight of chicken hawks like Cheney and Limbaugh who dare cast aspersions on men who served and sacrificed for their country like Powell and McCain.
The american in me hates to see the direction of the party being guided by two men who see no value in honor and service and have instead placed a premium on personal profit that benefits only them in the active destruction of their party.
That being said if the more sane elements of the GOP are afraid to publicly dissent…To hell w/ them.
hello carraway!
welcome to the raisin! 😀 i feel the same way you do. i love seeing the present rethugs trip over their own tongues. however, there is a need for an opposition party that can dissent with respect, common sense, and a sense of doing what’s best for their constituents. instead, we have mudslinging, rabble rousing, and complete disrespect for the american people. i don’t know if the present rethug brand is salvageable. maybe they need to just disappear quietly and make way for a new independent party.