Posted on 02/01/2004 7:46:21 AM PST by Tumbleweed_Connection
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe insisted on Sunday that President Bush "never served in the military," and said that Democrats would make reports that the president went "AWOL" from the Alabama National Guard in the early 1970s a central focus of the presidential campaign. "George Bush never served in our military in our country," McAuliffe told ABC's "This Week," apparently discounting Bush's stint in the National Guard from 1968 through 1973. "He didn't show up when he should have showed up." McAuliffe then echoed the charge by discredited filmmaker Michael Moore, who said three weeks ago that he wanted to see a debate between Gen. Wesley Clark and "the deserter." Said McAuliffe: "I look forward to that debate with John Kerry, a war hero with a chest full of medals, standing next to George Bush - a man who was AWOL in the Alabama National Guard." During the Democratic debate in New Hampshire two weeks ago, ABC News anchorman Peter Jennings said Moore's Bush desertion charge "is not supported by the facts." After the Boston Globe claimed during the 2000 presidential race that Bush had not appeared for Guard service for 17 months, its sister paper, the New York Times, admitted that report was wildly inaccurate. Referring to the May 2000 Globe report, the Times said in Nov., "A review of records by The New York Times indicated that some of those concerns [about Bush's Guard service] may be unfounded. Documents reviewed by The Times showed that Mr. Bush served in at least 9 of the 17 months in question." One document, the paper said, showed that "Mr. Bush served at various times from May 29, 1973, through July 30, 1973, a period of time questioned by The Globe." The Times said that other records showed that Bush received permission from his superiors to make up the drills he missed during the nine month period still in question. Still, despite the fact that the Bush AWOL charge has been completely discredited, McAuliffe insisted that the president's guard service would be a major campaign issue. "The facts are what they are," he told "This Week" host George Stephanopoulos. "[Bush] used his father's contacts to get a spot in the Texas Guard. He then wanted to go work on an Alabama Senate race. He went to Alabama for one year. He didn't show up. Call it whatever you want, AWOL - it doesn't matter."
As a healthy, red-blooded American female, I say bring it on. =o)
The democrats are doing this to defend against republican attacks. When the republicans don't attack, it becomes the dem OFFENSE.
Kerry used a rather obscure "rule" (three purple hearts got you out of combat ..if you wanted....)
Kerry not only jumped at the opportunity to use this rule...but petitioned his commander and used it to get transfered stateside...
No doubt Kerry had some juice in the Pentagon because he got himself a nice cushy assignment there ..and close to home...
Meanwhile back on the "river of death" Kerry abandoned his men to their fate..with a new inexperienced skipper..
A man of courage and character....a real leader...would never ever in a million years abandon his men when they needed his experience and leadership the most...He did not care about them but quite selfishly and cowardly was more concerned with his own comfort than their safety and instead got himself a nice cushy stateside assignment...HE used his men IMO...to feather his political nest..and had plotted to do so...right from the git go..
Why do I say this? If one reads what his classmates at Yale had to say about him...Kerry was reported to be obsessed with politics and with the real JFK
IMO It becomes apparent that Kerry volunteered for "the boats" in order to duplicate JFK's life...He tried to appropriate JFK's persona...He used his men in order to accomplish this task....
And then abandoned them..once he got his medals....and four months in combat....
And took off for higher ground...leaving them to the enemy ..while he retired to safety and began to further his work in making himself a political entity..
Kerry next used VVA to accomplish his next persona The War Hero-Anti War Hero
Now he wants back in the bag of War Hero in his never ending quest of political power...
He is IMO a power junky...and NOT A SERVANT OF THE PEOPLE
Like most politicians Kerry has no interest in being a servant...only a master.......and given his unconscionable using of his men and Vietnam vets...displays imo a complete lack of the kind of leadership character necessary to a President of the United States ...Character is a must have....and not an option...inspite of what the Clinton's may say about it.... I seriously doubt JFK would have abandoned his men...using an obscure rule (the three purple heart rule) given his minor wounds (vs the real JFK's serious wounds) and sought out his own personal comfort...and forgetting them and their needs to pursue his own blind political ambition.. IMO
From McAwful's rant on TV:
"I look forward to that debate with John Kerry, a war hero with a chest full of medals, standing next to George Bush - a man who was AWOL in the Alabama National Guard."
Under the logic that GWB was "AWOL," then Kerry deserted under fire in a time of war by "running away" from his 1 year minimum deployment. He used the pull of his contacts in the Dim party, namely the Kennedy's, to fake an injury for his 3rd purple heart, awarded for an injury that did not lead to any downtime, and got to split after only half the deployment that other, less well connected Americans did. How many American's died in his place because he ran away to protest in the streets of America with Jane and Tom, while calling those that stayed behind baby killers?
Goose. Gander. As in crap through a.
I'm sure the thousands upon thousands of American soldiers buried on foreign soil appreciate your sentiment. I will never forget their sacrifice for our Freedoms.
No, it is not a tough choice for decent and partiotic Americans. You may have a tough time of it though.
Then move here:
-John Kerry- some selected, informative links...--
And finally, plenty of info about Loathsome Terry among these many links:
Bush speaking fees:
Bush agreed to take shares in -- GLOBAL CROSSING LTD. in lieu of an $ 80,000 fee! McAuliffe's Winnick reportedly suggested that Bush take his fee in stock instead of cash, and Bush agreed. The Bush stock, at its high, was worth over $ 14 million. It is not known if he is still holding the scraps.
McAuliffe "deals":
To what extent was McAuliffe the beneficiary of an insider's deal? After all, Global Crossing founder Gary Winnick gave McAuliffe the opportunity to buy into the telecommunications firm on the ground floor in 1997. At the time Winnick extended McAuliffe the timely investment opportunity, a cynic might note, the Democratic Party's chief fund-raiser was universally known as President Bill Clinton's best (male) friend.After Global Crossing's stock went public in 1998, its price soared in the Internet-created stock-market bubble, peaking at $64.25 per share. Cashing out his shares and exercising stock options, McAuliffe netted his astounding capital gains. Then, in 1999, Winnick found himself playing golf with Clinton — a priceless outing arranged by the president's buddy and chief fund-raiser. Winnick soon pledged $1 million to Clinton's presidential library, while his company chipped in more than $1 million in soft money to the Democratic Party during the 1999-2000 election cycle. (As Global Crossing's stock price was plunging toward 7 cents, the firm tossed more than $400,000 in soft money to the Democrats in 2001 before laying off 2,000 workers in January and canceling their health insurance.)
In return, Global Crossing was awarded a $400 million Pentagon contract last spring, the fruits of a questionable bidding process that took place during the Clinton administration. Indeed, after other bidders bitterly complained, the Bush administration rescinded the contract within a month. Meanwhile, the value of Global Crossing continued its plunge, falling from a market capitalization peak of nearly $60 billion, when McAuliffe bailed, to virtually nothing by January. On Jan. 28, Global Crossing declared bankruptcy, essentially destroying all value for its shareholders. But not before McAuliffe's benefactor, Winnick, pocketed $734 million for himself by selling stock that now is worthless.
Richard W.
There was nothing patriotic about supporting the slaughter of American sons and daughters that was taking place in Nam. The mindless "America right or wrong" people didn't want to hear the truth and it ended up costing us 58,000 American lives -- for nothing. Hopefully, we will stop Bush and the neocons before they take us down that losing hole again in Iraq.
Richard W.
The economic aspects are pointless, but consider national defense and foreign diplomacy. The left is telling us NK and other communist countries are entitled to their nukes. Along comes Kerry throwing his hat into the circle in concurrence with the concept that America is the bully.
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