Prune the Shrub in '04 #10

[4ABRUZN]

REVERSING POSITION, BUSH USES 9/11 IN POLITICAL AD

Less than 19 weeks after the tragic attacks of September 11th, President Bush reassured America that he had "no ambition whatsoever to use [the war on terror or 9/11] as a political issue."(1) Today, however, "President Bush's re-election team unveiled his first campaign advertisements [which] in part use the events of Sept. 11, 2001...Two ads refer to the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001...One ad, entitled 'Tested,' shows, among other images, a damaged building from the World Trade Center ruins behind an American flag."
(2)

The ad is already provoking outrage among 9/11 victims' families as well as firefighters who were at the scene that day. "It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people. It is unconscionable," said Monica Gabrielle, whose husband died in the twin towers. Similarly, firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens Rescue Squad 270 said, "It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place. The image of firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics." (3)

Of course, this is only the latest chapter in the president's efforts to politicize 9/11 for his own personal political gain. Less than 19 weeks after the 9/11 attacks, Bush's top political adviser Karl Rove urged Republicans to "go to the country" on national security issues, claiming Americans "trust the Republicans to do a better job" of "protecting America" against another 9/11-like attack. (4) AP soon reported that the "White House is advising GOP candidates to focus on the War on Terror." (5)

Then, nine months after the attacks, CNN reported that "the White House approved of the Republican congressional campaign committee's plan to use a photograph of President Bush taken on September 11 as part of a GOP fundraising effort. The photograph shows Bush aboard Air Force One, talking to Vice President #### Cheney hours after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon" and was given to "donors who contributed at least $150 and attend a fund-raising dinner with Bush and the first lady next month." (6)

To top it off, the president took the extraordinary step of making the 2004 Republican National Convention the latest in party history in order to have it come three days before the 9/11 anniversary. Even White House advisers admit "they are wary of being portrayed as exploiting the trauma of Sept. 11, a perception that might be particularly difficult to rebut as Mr. Bush shuttles between political events at Madison Square Garden and memorial services at ground zero." (7)

Sources:
1. "Big boost for US military spending", BBC News, 01/24/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20425.
2. "First Bush Ads Focus on 9/11, 'Steady Leadership'", Reuters, 03/03/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20426
ection=news.
3. "Bush TV Ads Anger 9/11 Victims' Families", ABC News, 03/04/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20427.
4. "Rove: Republicans Benefit from War Credentials", ABC News, 01/18/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20428.
5. AP, 6/13/2002.
6. "WH defends GOP plan to sell Bush 9-11 photo", CNN, 05/12/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20429.
7. "Bush strategists planning late campaign for 2004", Charlotte Observer,
04/22/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20430.

[OC Cruzer]

Originally Posted by 4ABRUZN

REVERSING POSITION, BUSH USES 9/11 IN POLITICAL AD

Less than 19 weeks after the tragic attacks of September 11th, President Bush reassured America that he had "no ambition whatsoever to use [the war on terror or 9/11] as a political issue."(1) Today, however, "President Bush's re-election team unveiled his first campaign advertisements [which] in part use the events of Sept. 11, 2001...Two ads refer to the tragedy of Sept. 11, 2001...One ad, entitled 'Tested,' shows, among other images, a damaged building from the World Trade Center ruins behind an American flag."
(2)

The ad is already provoking outrage among 9/11 victims' families as well as firefighters who were at the scene that day. "It's a slap in the face of the murders of 3,000 people. It is unconscionable," said Monica Gabrielle, whose husband died in the twin towers. Similarly, firefighter Tommy Fee of Queens Rescue Squad 270 said, "It's as sick as people who stole things out of the place. The image of firefighters at ground zero should not be used for this stuff, for politics." (3)

Of course, this is only the latest chapter in the president's efforts to politicize 9/11 for his own personal political gain. Less than 19 weeks after the 9/11 attacks, Bush's top political adviser Karl Rove urged Republicans to "go to the country" on national security issues, claiming Americans "trust the Republicans to do a better job" of "protecting America" against another 9/11-like attack. (4) AP soon reported that the "White House is advising GOP candidates to focus on the War on Terror." (5)

Then, nine months after the attacks, CNN reported that "the White House approved of the Republican congressional campaign committee's plan to use a photograph of President Bush taken on September 11 as part of a GOP fundraising effort. The photograph shows Bush aboard Air Force One, talking to Vice President #### Cheney hours after the attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon" and was given to "donors who contributed at least $150 and attend a fund-raising dinner with Bush and the first lady next month." (6)

To top it off, the president took the extraordinary step of making the 2004 Republican National Convention the latest in party history in order to have it come three days before the 9/11 anniversary. Even White House advisers admit "they are wary of being portrayed as exploiting the trauma of Sept. 11, a perception that might be particularly difficult to rebut as Mr. Bush shuttles between political events at Madison Square Garden and memorial services at ground zero." (7)

Sources:
1. "Big boost for US military spending", BBC News, 01/24/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20425.
2. "First Bush Ads Focus on 9/11, 'Steady Leadership'", Reuters, 03/03/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20426
ection=news.
3. "Bush TV Ads Anger 9/11 Victims' Families", ABC News, 03/04/2004,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20427.
4. "Rove: Republicans Benefit from War Credentials", ABC News, 01/18/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20428.
5. AP, 6/13/2002.
6. "WH defends GOP plan to sell Bush 9-11 photo", CNN, 05/12/2002,
http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20429.
7. "Bush strategists planning late campaign for 2004", Charlotte Observer,
04/22/2003, http://daily.misleader.org/ctt.asp?u=1985100&l=20430.

Want to see some interesting connections you might not believe ?

Go to http://daily.misleader.org click on "who we are"

You'll see --"a service provided by moveon.org"

Go to www.moveon.org (remember that site)

Then go to,

***The Communist Party U.S.A. website***

www.cpusa.org/article/articleview/515/1/103

On the page that comes up, click on www.moveon.org and you're back on the moveon website.

**** WHY, is there a link to Moveon.org,
on the COMMUNIST PARTY U.S.A. website ??? ****


Glance at this and see if it doesn't sound familiar
www.cpusa.org/article/static/13/
www.cpusa.org/articleview/562/1/27/


-------------------------------------

[4ABRUZN]

Originally Posted by OC Cruzer

Want to see some interesting connections you might not believe ?

Go to http://daily.misleader.org click on "who we are"

You'll see " a service provided by moveon.org "

Go to www.moveon.org

Then go to,

www.cpusa.org/article/articleview/515/1/103

The Communist Party U.S.A. website

Then click on www.moveon.org and you're back on the moveon website.

**** WHY, is there a link to Moveon.org,
on the COMMUNIST PARTY U.S.A. website ??? ****


Glance at this and see if it doesn't sound familiar
www.cpusa.org/article/static/13/
www.cpusa.org/articleview/562/1/27/


-------------------------------------

OH MY GOD! COMMUNISTS! Just three clicks away from the PTE forum! I had no idea I was dancing with the Red Devils! If I self-immolate will that atone for my sins?

[OC Cruzer]

Originally Posted by 4ABRUZN

OH MY GOD! COMMUNISTS! Just three clicks away from the PTE forum! I had no idea I was dancing with the Red Devils! If I self-immolate will that atone for my sins?

I understand "The Party" used to have a big pretty link on their homepage but they got rid of it.

---------------------------------

[JOEM]

Bush used the 911 events not as a political issue but as a campaign point. He was in the saddle then. That's all the ad said.

[lisa]

Originally Posted by JOEM

Bush used the 911 events not as a political issue but as a campaign point. He was in the saddle then. That's all the ad said.

He sure was. Good thing Rudy Guiliani was running the show, though. Heard ole bush got a tiny bit cranky because Rudy got more face time than he on the issue!

[saxonburgcruiser]

Originally Posted by 4ABRUZN

[If I self-immolate will that atone for my sins?

No, but it would be a start!

[4ABRUZN]

Originally Posted by JOEM

Bush used the 911 events not as a political issue but as a campaign point. He was in the saddle then. That's all the ad said.

Wow! That's a stretch even for you, JOEM. Since the presidential race is something we have traditionally called a political campaign; doesn't that imply the use of the 9/11 issue was at least a teensy bit political, if it was used in said campiagn?

[dreamer]

I have certainly been hearing what some of the family members of those lost in 9/11 had to say on this issue. Call me silly, but I believe their opinion is what we should listen to. And they were offended by the ads.

I will add that I think whoever had been president on 9/11 would have used it. That's the sad part of it all.

[my80volare]

9/11 Family Members With Axes To Grind

As a general rule of thumb, you should start to get VERY suspicious when the mainstream media runs "anecdotal stories". I say that because you can find a handful of people who believe JUST ABOUT ANYTHING. That means it's very easy to decide what sort of story you want write, get a few juicy quotes, and then imply that the people you spoke to represent a majority.

If you want to see a perfect example of how this is done, just look at the "Bush is exploiting 9/11 stories" that the media is playing right now. 9/11 was not only the defining event of the last 4 years, it was one of defining events of the last hundred years. It has been talked about, analyzed, studied, & debated every single day since it happened and it has had a profound effect on America. Yet, Bush runs an ad with a very minimal amount of footage in it from 9/11 & we hear hysterical cries of "exploitation, exploitation"!

But you see, we're hearing that story because that is the story the media wants to tell you. They could have just as easily done anecdotal stories that said "family members of 9/11 victims like Bush ads" or "family members of 9/11 victims have no strong opinion about Bush ads," but that doesn't fit their agenda.

Let me show you a little evidence that'll back-up what I'm saying. I went through an AP article entitled 9/11 Victims' Kin Angered by Bush Ads that features 9/11 relatives who are "outraged" over Bush's ads and I googled every person who had an angry reaction. Interestingly enough, 5 out of the 6 people interviewed had an ax to grind with George Bush. The people who trashed Bush in this one are...

-- Coleen Kelly who is a member of an anti-war group called "Peaceful Tomorrows" & spoke at an anti-war rally with Susan Sarandon.

-- Jeff Zack & Harold Schaitberger are the spokesman and president of the International Association of Fire Fighters Union who "gave Kerry an early endorsement in the presidential race".

-- I found no previous attacks on Bush by Barbara Minervino who "questioned whether Bush was "capitalizing on the event"'.

-- Like Colleen Kelly, David Potorti is part of an anti-war group called Peaceful Tomorrows. Here's a quote from an interview he did at Buzzflash back in October of 2003,

"I feel like the foreign policy of the Bush Administration is almost like a second assault on us. We had this terrorist attack and now it's almost like we have this other attack from our own government which is doing things which clearly are not in our interests, and clearly are not reducing the chances of another terrorist attack happening again. Sometimes I feel quite assaulted from all quarters. And it's just a very odd place to be -- to feel like your own government is not operating in your best interest."

-- Kristen Breitweiser has been claiming for quite a while that the Bush administration is covering up/refusing to investigate 9/11. Read more about it in this 2003 article called "Four 9/11 Moms Battle Bush" -- and yes, Breitweiser is one of the moms battling Bush.

Come on folks, this article is a joke! We don't have any polling data, we don't know how the reporters chose these people to quote, we don't know how many pro-Bush quotes weren't included, all we have are 5 out of 6 people who the reporters MUST HAVE KNOWN were going to trash Bush before they even talked to them.

This piece is liberal bias at its worst and if AP had any integrity, they'd issue a public apology for putting out this sort of slanted bilge.


***Update #1***: The plot thickens! It seems that one of the people criticizing Bush in this article has actually campaigned for Kerry. From "Schaitberger Stumps for Kerry"...

"After Kerry’s surprise victory in Iowa, IAFF General President Harold Schaitberger spent the last week in New Hampshire on the campaign trail helping to keep Kerry’s momentum going.

"I spent a week here in New Hampshire because John Kerry represents our future. In my thirty plus years on the line, no Presidential candidate has ever embraced the fire service and the IAFF like John Kerry. He is our Real Deal," said General President Schaitberger.

...As co-chair of the Kerry for President campaign and President of the first union to endorse John Kerry, Schaitberger’s visit generated significant press coverage.

So they're quoting a "co-chair of the Kerry for President campaign" in the article without even telling their readers about it? Could AP be any more deceptive?

Edited to add: Monica Gabrielle is an associate and co-founder of the the same group that Kristen Breitweiser is part of, and has also criticized Bush in the past over 9-11.

In short, 5 of 7 people thus far mentioned are KNOWN to be against Bush even before this ad aired. Is anyone at all surprised they would be "offended" at the ad?

Yeah, Bush is politicizing this...