Bush is Out of Touch With Americans
In Touch With Special Interests
January 23, 2004
For Immediate Release
Washington, DC –
Today, Republican National Committee Chairman Ed Gillespie used an appearance at a conservative public affairs forum to attack John Kerry and claim he was “out of sync” with voters. Clearly, the fact that the RNC is attacking John Kerry means the RNC is worried about something.
“Ed Gillespie spent some time attacking John Kerry’s record and ignoring George Bush’s assault on the environment, special interest tax breaks, cutting combat pay for troops, undermining of civil rights, corporate tax breaks and failure to fulfill promises on health care and education,” said Stephanie Cutter, spokesperson for the Kerry campaign. “With that kind of Record George Bush is the one who is out of touch with real Americans.”
With George Bush behind in polls to a “generic Democrat” [Sunday’s CBS/New York Times poll, has George Bush losing to a generic Democrat 43% to 45%.], the Republican high command is clearly running scared – and running in circles, recycling the stale, old arguments that just won’t work against John Kerry.
The Kerry campaign released the following “Top Ten” examples of how George Bush is out of touch with America and in touch with the Special Interests and the Right Wing.
Top Ten Examples of How George Bush is Out of Touch with America and in TOuch with the Special Interests and the Right Wing
(1) MORE ARSENIC IN OUR DRINKING WATER. George Bush’s Environmental Protection Agency wanted to allow greater levels of the poison arsenic in the public’s drinking water. The effort was eventually turned back.
(2) NO-BID CONTRACTS FOR HALLIBURTON. The Bush Administration awarded an exclusive contract to Halliburton that overcharged the U.S. government by $61 million. At the same time, Halliburton is still making annual payments of as much as $1 million a year to Cheney. The perks for lobbyists are so great that last September, Bush-Cheney 2000 campaign official and former FEMA director Joe Allbaugh opened a lobbying shop “created specifically with the aim of assisting clients…to take advantage of business opportunities…following the conclusion of the U.S.-led war in Iraq.”
(3) CUTTING OVERTIME PAY. While families are working harder to make ends meet, the Bush Administration wants to take away overtime pay away from up to eight million hardworking Americans.
(4) INVITING BIG OIL IN TO REWRITE ENVIRONMENTAL AND ENERGY LAWS. George Bush appointed a secret energy task force with close ties to the oil and energy industry led Vice President Cheney. The Administration refused to release information about the meetings, but the Bush energy bill provides at least $50 billion in subsidies to polluting industries like oil and gas.
(5) APPOINTING EXTREMIST RIGHT-WING JUDGES WITH VIEWS SUCH AS: “CONCEPTIONS FROM RAPE OCCUR WITH APPROXIMATELY THE SAME FREQUENCY AS SNOWFALL IN MIAMI.” This statement was made by Bush judicial nominee Leon Holmes who argued against abortion for rape victims. According to the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, each year in America over 30,000 women become pregnant as a result of rape or incest; snow falls in Miami roughly once ever 100 years. This is just one of the many outrageous statements and rulings by Bush nominees who want to roll back civil rights, women’s rights, and workers rights.
(6) CUTTING COMBAT PAY FOR TROOPS. While our soldiers were in Iraq, the Bush Administration wanted to roll back recent modest increases in imminent-danger pay and family-separation allowance for troops.
(7) GIVEAWAYS TO HOOTERS. George Bush’s energy plan consists of little more than giveaways to his friends in the energy industry. His energy bill would provide millions of dollars to the oil, gas, and nuclear industries and even includes $180 million to build an “energy efficient” Hooters Restaurant in Louisiana.
(8) $100 BILLION FOR 16 CORPORATIONS WHILE AMERICANS LOSE JOBS. Bush proposed to repeal the corporate AMT, which would have lavished $100 billion on 16 corporations. At the same time, since Bush took office, over three million jobs have been lost. Last month, the economy created only 1,000 jobs. At that rate, it will take 192 years for the economy to return to the number of jobs at the beginning of George Bush’s term of office.
(9) SUPPRESSED THE TRUTH ON CLIMATE CHANGE. The Bush Administration suppressed scientific information about climate change from a key Environmental Protection Agency report. The editing eliminated references to many studies concluding that warming is at least partly caused by rising concentrations of smokestack and tail-pipe emissions and could threaten health and ecosystems.
(10) AN ATTORNEY GENERAL WHO SPECIALIZES IN ABUSING RIGHTS. Ashcroft and his Republican friends in Congress used the Department of Homeland Security to locate a number of Democratic legislators, whose presence was necessary to push through a controversial redistricting plan that would assure more Republican seats. He has also granted permission to FBI agents to attend church meetings, anti-war protests, rallies and other political organizing simply on their own initiative.
