The following is excerpted from an email sent by Ken
Ahonen to the USDemocrat
Yahoo! Group a couple of weeks ago. I would've
posted this sooner, but I got this on the same night the power supply in
PC blew a gasket or something (basically it KICKED THE BUCKET).
Anyhow....Feel free to chew on this for awhile as it's
tonight's REAL DEAL. CONSERVATIVES WELCOME. FLIP FLOP AS YOU
WILL. BUT FLAMES NOT ALLLOWED. :-)
George W. Bush is right
about one thing, the credibility of the president is
a very important issue.
On 10/11/00, then-Gov.
Bush said: "I think credibility is important. It is
going to be important
for the president to be credible with Congress,
important for the president
to be credible with foreign nations."
Let's examine how credible
Bush is on the issues....
1. Social Security Surplus
BUSH PLEDGES NOT TO TOUCH
SOCIAL SECURITY SURPLUS.
"We're going to keep the
promise of Social Security and keep the government
from raiding the Social
Security surplus." [President Bush, 3/3/01]
.less than one year later.
BUSH SPENDS SOCIAL SECURITY
SURPLUS.
The NY Times reported
that "the president's new budget uses Social Security
surpluses to pay for
other programs every year through 2013, ultimately
diverting more than $1.4
trillion in Social Security funds to other
purposes." [The New York
Times, 2/6/02]
2. Patient's Right to
Sue
GOVERNOR BUSH VETOES PATIENTS'
RIGHT TO SUE.
"Despite his campaign
rhetoric in favor of a patients' bill of rights, Bush
fought such a bill tooth
and nail as Texas governor, vetoing a bill
coauthored by Republican
state Rep. John Smithee in 1995." [Salon, 2/7/01]
.about 5 years later.
CANDIDATE BUSH PRAISES
TEXAS PATIENTS' RIGHT TO SUE.
"We're one of the first
states that said you can sue an HMO for denying you
proper coverage... It's
time for our nation to come together and do what's
right for the people.
And I think this is right for the people. You know, I
support a national patients'
bill of rights, Mr. Vice President." [Candidate
Bush, during a debate
with Vice President Gore 10/17/00]
.less than 4 years later.
PRESIDENT BUSH'S ADMINISTRATION
ARGUES AGAINST RIGHT TO SUE.
"To let two Texas consumers,
Juan Davila and Ruby R. Calad, sue their
managed-care companies
for wrongful denials of medical benefits 'would be to
completely undermine'
federal law regulating employee benefits, Assistant
Solicitor General James
A. Feldman said at oral argument March 23. Moreover,
the administration's
brief attacked the policy rationale for Texas's law,
which is similar to statutes
on the books in nine other states." [Washington
Post, 4/5/04]
3. Medical Records
Bush says medical records
must remain private.
"I believe that we must
protect.the right of every American to have
confidence that his or
her personal medical records will remain private."
[President Bush, 4/12/01]
.3 years later..
Bush Administration says
patients' histories are not confidential.
The Justice Department
asserts that patients "no longer possess a reasonable
expectation that their
histories will remain completely confidential."
[BusinessWeek, 4/30/04]
4. Department of Homeland
Security
BUSH OPPOSES CREATION
OF THE DEPARTMENT OF HOMELANDSECURITY.
"So, creating a Cabinet
office doesn't solve the problem. You still will
have agencies within
the federal government that have to be coordinated. So
the answer is that creating
a Cabinet post doesn't solve anything." [White
House spokesman Ari Fleischer,
3/19/02]
.less than 3 months later.
BUSH SUPPORTS CREATING
A DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY.
"So tonight, I ask the
Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent
department with an overriding
and urgent mission: securing the homeland of
America and protecting
the American people." [President Bush, Address to the
Nation, 6/6/02]
5. Weapons of Mass Destruction
BUSH DECLARES WE FOUND
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
"We found the weapons
of mass destruction. We found biological
laboratories...for those
who say we haven't found the banned manufacturing
devices or banned weapons,
they're wrong, WE FOUND THEM." [President Bush,
Interview in Poland,
5/29/03]
.8 months later.
BUSH SAYS WE HAVEN'T FOUND
WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION.
"David Kay has found the
capacity to produce weapons. And when David Kay
goes in and says we haven't
found stockpiles yet, and there's theories as to
where the weapons went.
They could have been destroyed during the war.
Saddam and his henchmen
could have destroyed them as we entered into Iraq.
They could be hidden.
They could have been transported to another country,
and we'll find out."
[President Bush, Meet the Press, 2/7/04]
6. Saddam / al Qaeda Link
BUSH SAYS YOU CAN'T DISTINGUISH
BETWEEEN AL QAEDA AND SADDAM.
"You can't distinguish
between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the
war on terror." [President
Bush, 9/25/02]
.one year later.
BUSH SAYS SADDAM HAD NO
ROLE IN AL QAEDA PLOT.
"We've had no evidence
that Saddam Hussein was involved in Sept. 11."
[President Bush, 9/17/03]
7. Osama Bin Laden
BUSH WANTS OSAMA DEAD
OR ALIVE.
"I want justice. And
there's an old poster out West, I recall, that says,
'Wanted: Dead or Alive.'"
[President Bush, on Osama Bin Laden, 09/17/01]
.6 months later.
BUSH SAYS HE IS NOT CONCERNED
ABOUT OSAMA.
"I don't know where he
is.You know, I just don't spend that much time on
him. I truly am not that
concerned about him."[President Bush, Press
Conference, 3/13/02]
8. Timelines For Dictators
Bush sets timeline for
Saddam.
"If Iraq does not accept
the terms within a week of passage or fails to
disclose required information
within 30 days, the resolution authorizes 'all
necessary means' to force
compliance--in other words, a military attack."
[LA Times, 10/3/02]
.less than 2 years later.
Bush says he's against
timelines.
"I don't think you give
timelines to dictators." [President Bush, 8/27/04]
9. WMD Commission and
the Intelligence Failure of the CIA
BUSH RESISTS AN OUTSIDE
INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE.
"The White House immediately
turned aside the calls from Kay and many
Democrats for an immediate
outside investigation, seeking to head off any
new wide-ranging election-year
inquiry that might go beyond reports already
being assembled by congressional
committees and the Central Intelligence
Agency." [NY Times, 1/29/04]
.8 days later.
BUSH SUPPORTS AN OUTSIDE
INVESTIGATION ON WMD INTELLIGENCE FAILURE.
"Today, by executive order,
I am creating an independent commission, chaired
by Governor and former
Senator Chuck Robb, Judge Laurence Silberman, to look
at American intelligence
capabilities, especially our intelligence about
weapons of mass destruction."
[President Bush, 2/6/04]
10. Creation of the 9/11
Commission
BUSH OPPOSES CREATION
OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION.
"President Bush took a
few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to
voice his opposition
to establishing a special commission to probe how the
government dealt with
terror warnings before Sept. 11." [CBS News, 5/23/02]
.4 months later.
BUSH SUPPORTS CREATION
OF INDEPENDENT 9/11 COMMISSION.
"President Bush said today
he now supports establishing an independent
commission to investigate
the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks." [ABC News,
09/20/02]
11. Time Extension for
9/11 Commission
BUSH OPPOSES TIME EXTENSION
FOR 9/11 COMMISSION.
"President Bush and House
Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to
oppose granting more
time to an independent commission investigating the
Sept. 11, 2001, attacks."
[Washington Post, 1/19/04]
.2 weeks later.
BUSH SUPPORTS TIME EXTENSION
FOR 9/11 COMMISSION.
"The White House announced
Wednesday its support for a request from the
commission investigating
the September 11, 2001 attacks for more time to
complete its work." [CNN,
2/4/04]
12. Bush's 9/11 Commission
Testimony
BUSH LIMITS TESTIMONY
IN FRONT OF 9/11 COMMISSION TO ONE HOUR.
"President Bush and Vice
President Dick Cheney have placed strict limits on
the private interviews
they will grant to the federal commission
investigating the Sept.
11 attacks, saying that they will meet only with the
panel's top two officials
and that Mr. Bush will submit to only a single
hour of questioning,
commission members said Wednesday." [NY Times, 2/26/04]
.2 weeks later.
BUSH SETS NO TIMELIMIT
FOR TESTIMONY.
"The president's going
to answer all of the questions they want to raise.
Nobody's watching the
clock." [White House spokesman Scott McClellan,
3/10/04]
13. Condoleeza Rice Testimony
BUSH SPOKESMAN SAYS RICE
WON'T TESTIFY AS 'A MATTER OF PRINCIPLE'.
"Again, this is not her
personal preference; this goes back to a matter of
principle. There is a
separation of powers issue involved here.
Historically, White House
staffers do not testify before legislative bodies.
So it's a matter of principle,
not a matter of preference." [White House
Press Secretary Scott
McClellan, 3/9/04]
.just 3 weeks later.
BUSH ORDERS RICE TO TESTIFY.
"Today I have informed
the Commission on Terrorist Attacks Against the
United States that my
National Security Advisor, Dr. Condoleezza Rice, will
provide public testimony."
[President Bush, 3/30/04]
14. Nation Building
CANDIDATE BUSH OPPOSES
NATION BUILDING.
"If we don't stop extending
our troops all around the world in nation
building missions, then
we're going to have a serious problem coming down
the road." [Gov. George
W. Bush, 10/3/00]
.3 years later as president.
BUSH SUPPORTS NATION BUILDING.
"We will be changing the
regime of Iraq, for the good of the Iraqi people."
[President Bush, 3/6/03]
15. Iraq Funding
BUSH SPOKESMAN DENIES
NEED FOR ADDITIONAL FUNDS FOR THE REST OF 2004.
"We do not anticipate
requesting supplemental funding for 04" [White House
Budget Director Joshua
Bolton, 2/2/04]
.3 months later.
BUSH REQUESTS ADDITIONAL
FUNDS FOR IRAQ FOR 2004.
"I am requesting that
Congress establish a $25 billion contingency reserve
fund for the coming fiscal
year to meet all commitments to our troops."
[President Bush's Statement,
5/5/04]
16. U.N. Resolution
BUSH VOWS TO HAVE A U.N.
VOTE NO MATTER WHAT.
"No matter what the whip
count is, we're calling for the vote. We want to
see people stand up and
say what their opinion is about Saddam Hussein and
the utility of the United
Nations Security Council. And so, you bet. It's
time for people to show
their cards, to let the world know where they stand
when it comes to Saddam."
[President Bush 3/6/03]
.only 12 days later.
BUSH WITHDRAWS REQUEST
FOR U.N. VOTE.
"At a National Security
Council meeting convened at the White House at 8:55
a.m., Bush finalized
the decision to withdraw the resolution from
consideration and prepared
to deliver an address to the nation." [Washington
Post, 3/18/03]
17. North Korea
BUSH WILL NOT OFFER NORTH
KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARM.
"We developed a bold approach
under which, if the North addressed our
long-standing concerns,
the United States was prepared to take important
steps that would have
significantly improved the lives of the North Korean
people. Now that North
Korea's covert nuclear weapons program has come to
light, we are unable
to pursue this approach." [President's Statement,
11/15/02]
.a year and a half later.
BUSH ADMINISTRATION OFFERS
NORTH KOREA INCENTIVES TO DISARM.
"Well, we will work to
take steps to ease their political and economic
isolation. So there would
be -- what you would see would be some provisional
or temporary proposals
that would only lead to lasting benefit after North
Korea dismantles its
nuclear programs. So there would be some provisional or
temporary efforts of
that nature." [White House Press Secretary Scott
McClellan, 6/23/04]
18. OPEC
CANDIDATE BUSH WANTS TO
FORCE OPEC TO LOWER PRICES.
"What I think the president
ought to do [when gas prices spike] is he ought
to get on the phone with
the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your
spigots...and the President
of the United States must jawbone OPEC members
to lower the price."
[Governor Bush, 1/26/00]
.4 years later as president.
PRESIDENT BUSH REFUSES
TO LOBBY OPEC LEADERS.
With gas prices soaring
in the United States at the beginning of 2004, the
Miami Herald reported
the president refused to "personally lobby oil cartel
leaders to change their
minds." [Miami Herald, 4/1/04]
19. Involvement in the
Palestinian Conflict
BUSH OPPOSES SUMMITS.
"Well, we've tried summits
in the past, as you may remember. It wasn't all
that long ago where a
summit was called and nothing happened, and as a
result we had significant
intifada in the area." [President Bush, 04/05/02]
.about a year later.
BUSH SUPPORTS SUMMITS.
"If a meeting advances
progress toward two states living side by side in
peace, I will strongly
consider such a meeting. I'm committed to working
toward peace in the Middle
East." [President Bush, 5/23/03]
20. Gay Marriage
CANDIDATE BUSH SAYS GAY
MARRIAGE IS A STATE ISSUE.
"The state can do what
they want to do. Don't try to trap me in this state's
issue like you're trying
to get me into." [Gov. George W. Bush on Gay
Marriage, Larry King
Live, 2/15/00]
.4 years later as president.
BUSH SUPPORTS A FEDERAL
CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT BANNING GAY MARRIAGE.
"Today I call upon the
Congress to promptly pass, and to send to the states
for ratification, an
amendment to our Constitution defining and protecting
marriage as a union of
man and woman as husband and wife." [President Bush,
2/24/04]
21. Science
CANDIDATE BUSH ADVOCATES
FOR STANDARDS BASED ON SCIENCE.
"I think we ought to have
high standards set by agencies that rely upon
science, not by what
may feel good or what sounds good." [Governor George W.
Bush, 1/15/00]
.4 years later as president.
BUSH ADMINISTRATION REGULATIONS
IGNORE SCIENCE.
"60 leading scientists-including
Nobel laureates, leading medical experts,
former federal agency
directors and university chairs and presidents-issued
a statement calling for
regulatory and legislative action to restore
scientific integrity
to federal policy making. According to the scientists,
the Bush administration
has, among other abuses, suppressed and distorted
scientific analysis from
federal agencies, and taken actions that have
undermined the quality
of scientific advisory panels." [Union of Concerned
Scientists, 2/18/04]
22. The Environment
CANDIDATE BUSH SUPPORTS
REDUCING CARBON DIOXIDE.
"[If elected], Governor
Bush will work to establish mandatory reduction
targets for emissions
of four main pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen
oxide, mercury and carbon
dioxide." [Bush Environmental Plan, 9/29/00]
.2 ½ years later
as president.
BUSH OPPOSES MANDATORY
CAPS ON CARBON DIOXIDE.
"I do not believe, however,
that the government should impose on power
plants mandatory emissions
reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a
'pollutant' under the
Clean Air Act." [President Bush, Letter to Sen. Chuck
Hagel (R-NE), 3/13/03]
23. Tobacco Buyout
BUSH SUPPORTS CURRENT
TOBACCO FARMERS' QUOTA SYSTEM.
"They've got the quota
system in place, the allotment system, and I don't
think that needs to be
changed." [President Bush, 5/04]
.one month later.
BUSH ADMINISTRATION SUPPORTS
FEDERAL BUYOUT OF TOBACCO QUOTAS.
"The administration is
open to a buyout." [White House spokeswoman Jeanie
Mamo, 6/18/04]
24. Abortion
CITIZEN BUSH SUPPORTS
A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE.
"Bush said he favors leaving
up to a woman and her doctor the abortion
question." [The Nation,
6/15/00, quoting the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal,
5/78]
.more than 20 years later.
CANDIDATE BUSH OPPOSES
A WOMAN'S RIGHT TO CHOOSE.
"I am pro-life." [Governor
Bush, 10/3/00]
25. Campaign Finance
CANDIDATE BUSH OPPOSES
MCCAIN-FEINGOLD.
"George W. Bush opposes
McCain-Feingold...as an infringement on free
expression." [Washington
Post, 3/28/2000]
.2 years later as president.
BUSH SIGNS MCCAIN-FEINGOLD
INTO LAW.
"[T]his bill improves
the current system of financing for Federal campaigns,
and therefore I have
signed it into law." [President Bush, at the
McCain-Feingold signing
ceremony, 03/27/02]
26. 527s
BUSH OPPOSES RESTRICTIONS
ON 527s.
"I also have reservations
about the constitutionality of the broad ban on
issue advertising, which
restrains the speech of a wide variety of groups on
issues of public import."
[President Bush, 3/27/02]
.2 years later.
BUSH SAYS 527s ARE BAD
FOR THE SYSTEM.
"I don't think we ought
to have 527s. I can't be more plain about it.I think
they're bad for the system.
That's why I signed the bill, McCain-Feingold."
[President Bush, 8/23/04]
27. Free Trade
BUSH SUPPORTS FREE TRADE.
"I believe strongly that
if we promote trade, and when we promote trade, it
will help workers on
both sides of this issue." [President Bush in Peru,
3/23/02]
.a year and a half later.
BUSH SUPPORTS RESTRICTIONS
ON TRADE.
"In a decision largely
driven by his political advisers, President Bush set
aside his free-trade
principles last year and imposed heavy tariffs on
imported steel to help
out struggling mills in Pennsylvania and West
Virginia, two states
crucial for his re-election." (sic) [Washington Post,
9/19/03]
28. The Great Lakes
Bush wants to divert great
lakes.
"Even though experts say
'diverting any water from the Great Lakes region
sets a bad precedent,'
Bush said he wants 'to talk to Canadian Prime
Minister Jean Chrétien
about piping water to parched states in the west and
southwest." [AP,
7/19/01]
.3 years later.
Bush says he'll never
divert Great Lakes.
"We've got to use our
resources wisely, like water. It starts with keeping
the Great Lakes water
in the Great Lakes Basin...My position is clear: We're
never going to allow
diversion of Great Lakes water." [President Bush,
8/16/04]
29. Winning The War On
Terror
Bush claims he can win
the war on terror.
"One of the interesting
things people ask me, now that we're asking
questions, is, can you
ever win the war on terror? Of course, you can."
[President Bush, 4/13/04]
.just 4 months later.
Bush says war on terror
is unwinnable.
"I don't think you can
win [the war on terror]." [President Bush, 8/30/04]
.the very next day.
Bush says he will win
the war on terror.
"Make no mistake about
it, we are winning and we will win [the war on
terror]." [President
Bush, 8/31/04]
Cheers for now :-)
Pat
