A Culture of Distortion, Fear and
Attack
The Bush Administration has engaged in
a pattern of distortion, fear and attack,
that is so pervasive, they probably don’t even realize how much they do it. Sadly,
the media seldom challenges their distortions.
The most obvious is the 237 misleading statements made by this
Administration prior to invading
A lengthy NY Times article dated
as its source.
Go
to https://pencandle.tripod.com/Reclaim/nuclearwmdfraud.htm for full details.
But
Condoleeza
Rice
trying to say the
How
about the 9-11 commission, that found no
Then
there is the domestic agenda.
A “Clear Skies” initiative
that allows polluters to pollute more, or a “Secure Forests” plan that gives loggers free run on previously protected
forests.
Then
there are plenty of cuts in domestic programs, that benefit the
middle class and the vulnerable, to help pay for tax cuts that benefit the
wealthiest more than anyone else. This
is sold to us as giving us more of our own money. But we
are losing more than we gain, with increased health care costs, taking on a
greater percent of the tax burden from the wealthy, while they get wealthier,
and we get squeezed financially, while many of us are losing jobs. What
about the growing deficit, and us approaching our legal debt ceiling.
Then
there is the fear factor, like how we will be attacked if Bush isn’t elected for 4
more years. This is an underlying theme,
woven into the distortions and attacks.
How
about, the attacks against opponents and dissenters?
We all know about the attacks against Dukakis, Ann Richards, John McCain, Max
Cleland and others. The only way the Bush family seems to be
able to win an election is to vilify their opponents. All they have to do is cause enough doubt
about a decent opponent who campaigns clean and fairly, and they can win by
default, no matter how flawed their record, decisions or plans.
They are doing it again with Kerry, but we will not allow them to get
away with it.
Then there are former members of his
Administration, that are raked over the
coals on Fox News and other media, once
they courageously exercise their right to be a whistle blower on this
Administration. Remember former
Treasurer Paul O’Neil, and Counter
–terrorist specialist, Richard Clarke
for several Presidents
(the only one to officially apologize to those
who lost loved ones on 9-11), both were subject to an attack campaign by this Administration
and its friends in the media.
But when people likes Rudy Guliani,
When the chair of the Republican National Committee is a former Enron lobbyist,
a company that told its employees to hang onto their company stock, while the
company executives sold theirs, before the company fell, you have to wonder, what has happened to the once Grand Old
Party?
When associates of the House Majority Leader, Tom Delay, are indicted
for illegally spending corporate money
on
They seem to be pushing for a one party system, with a friendly media,
similar to what Putin has orchestrated in
We
know there are many decent Republicans, but the GOP leadership has been coopted by corporate wealthy special interests,
neo-conservatives and religious right fanatics.
Their 2004 platform largely
praises Bush, but manages some policy statements, including a pro-life amendment, restricting a
woman’s right to choose, even when there is rape or incest. There is another proposed amendment to ban gay marriage and civil unions for same
sex relationships. Since
when are our constitutional amendments, which normally define our rights (like
the first 10 known as the bill of rights), meant to restrict the rights of
Americans.
The Bush Administration has acquiesced to the end of the ban on assault weapons, and now has presided over end of the community cops program, at a time when we
are concerned about terrorists attacking
within our borders. Bush agrees to
more guns and less police on our streets during a war on terrorism. That
doesn’t make any sense. They are so confident in winning the election,
that they are not even being careful
about what they are supporting. Is it arrogance?
These issues transcend party loyalty,
partisan preference or religious affiliation.
These issues are about the well-being of a country,
that we all love, regardless of our differences.
When speaking of the
Shawn
Hannity wrote two books, one titled “Let
Freedom Ring” and “Deliver Us from Evil”.
Of course, He favors Bush, and blames liberals. But those labels like conservative and
liberal seem less important now. Ralph Nader says this President has brought liberals
and conservatives together, against his radical agenda. Conservatives and liberals have voiced protest against the Constitutional
Amendment banning gay marriage, perhaps, for different reasons. I even saw Dick Cheney quoted in a full page
ad to our Congressman, against this amendment.
Bush is fundamentally misguided, and once misguided, he can’t help but mislead. A majority believe we are going in the wrong
direction. A majority of those
supporting Bush hope he will be different In a second
term. They will be sadly
disappointed.
The decision making process for this
Administration is fundamentally flawed.
We have no choice but to vote for John Kerry and John Edwards, and a
Democratic majority in Congress.
The corporate co-opted media tends to feature Republican talking points as
balanced reporting. What is happening to
our freedom? Don’t be demoralized or
fooled by their rhetoric. We have truth
on our side, and we can win.