Thanks for the ping !
See my post just above too !
Posted on 03/04/2004 8:59:42 AM PST by The South Texan
9/11 Victims' Kin Angered by Bush Ads 12 minutes ago Add Top Stories - AP to My Yahoo!
By LIZ SIDOTI, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - Relatives of victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks and a firefighters union said Thursday they're angry that President Bush (news - web sites)'s new campaign ads include images of the destroyed World Trade Center and firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher through the rubble.
They say the ads are in poor taste and accuse Bush of exploiting the attacks. Bush's campaign defended the commercials as appropriate for an election about public policy and the war on terror, saying they were a tasteful reminder of what the country has been through the last three years. The campaign had said in the past that it would not use the attacks for political gain.
"It makes me sick," Colleen Kelly, who lost her brother Bill Kelly Jr., in the attacks and leads a victims families group called Peaceful Tomorrows, said Thursday. "Would you ever go to someone's grave site and use that as an instrument of politics? That truly is what Ground Zero represents to me."
"September 11th was not just a distant tragedy. It's a defining event for the future of our country," Karen Hughes, a Bush campaign adviser, told "The Early Show" on CBS on Thursday. "Obviously, all of us mourn and grieve for the victims of that terrible day, but September 11 fundamentally changed our public policy in many important ways, and I think it's vital that the next president recognize that."
The first ads started running Thursday on broadcast channels in about 80 markets in 18 states, most of which are expected to be critical to the election, and nationwide on select cable networks. The ads do not mention Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry (news - web sites), focusing instead on improving Bush's image after criticism by Democrats in recent months. Bush is expected to spend a large part of his $100 million war chest on ads.
One of the ads shows the charred wreckage of the twin towers with a flag flying amid the debris. Another ad — and a Spanish-language version of it — use that image as well alongside firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher through the rubble as sirens are heard. Firefighters are shown in all the ads.
Harold Schaitberger, president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, on Thursday called the ads disgraceful and said they should be pulled.
"We're not going to stand for him to put his arm around one of our members on top of a pile of rubble at Ground Zero during a tragedy and then stand by and watch him cut money for first responders," Schaitberger said. He said his union is politically independent even though it endorsed Kerry and has donated money to Republicans.
Barbara Minervino, a Republican from Middletown, N.J., who lost her husband, Louis, in the attacks, questioned whether Bush was "capitalizing on the event."
David Potorti, an independent from Cary, N.C., whose brother Jim died in the north tower, called the campaign's use of the images audacious.
"It's an insult to use the place where my brother died in an ad," Potorti said. "I would be just as outraged if any politician did this."
Until Bush cooperates with the federal commission that is investigating the nation's preparedness before the attacks and its response "by testifying in public under oath ... he should not be using 9/11 as political propaganda," said Kristen Breitweiser, of Middletown Township, N.J., whose husband, Ronald Breitweiser, 39, died in the World Trade Center.
"Three thousand people were murdered on President Bush's watch," Breitweiser said. "He has not cooperated with the investigation to find out why that happened."
*Good* ears. :^)
"BTW...Bush's ads just came out in the last coupla days, and they aren't nation-wide, but this attack on them as insensitive to the dead is all over the airwaves. You'll never convince me that this wasn't premeditated by the Vast, LeftWing Medyuh Whore'd and these grieving widows were set up to complain at the first hint of bringing up 9/11/01!!"
Why would I wanna convince you it wasn't when if fact, it was.
They came up with a few relation of people lost in the dasterdly attack to say what they were told.
Now, this POTUS' people must counter by finding kin of those murdered saying what Bush did in response was the *kind* of "justice" they wanted to see coming from the government of their dearly lost loved ones, that anyone who would advocate anything less must have rocks in their head.
That'll pull the rug outa the holier than tho' imaginary high ground the 'Rat masters think they're creating for themselves.
The GOP shouldn't delay another minute doing so, either.
Bush led us through an extremely dark period in this nation's history & that's just a fact and he's not finished.
The counter-ads must reinforce that idea, too.
"This tells me the RATS are runnin' scair't..."
I dunno if they're scared, in fact I get the distinct impression the filthy rodents are feeling pretty cocky right about now; which, plays into a *sound* strategy very nicely.
I read the Toe Sucker's take on what it'll take for this POTUS to destroy the Kerry Klown & he makes some excellent points; which, would not require the administration from getting into the mud alongside the 'Rat miscreants.
Using the truth can do that, y'know.
The truth about *who* this 'Rat candidate really is, *what* he's done past & present, and asking if this is really the kind of man we want leading the nation for the next two years.
It's really that simple.
"...and we oughtta just redouble our efforts to make this election about the War on Terrorism!!"
We need to redouble our efforts anyway, because we can never get too much of a good thing like beating the snot outa a Liberal-Socialist.
...at their own game.
I sent an email to the shill masquerading as a reporter.
I disagree. 9/11 is the new reality. To say we can;t speak of it, to say we can't remind ouselves of it, to say it is off limits to the future of this nation is to hide our heads in the sand.
Maybe the pundits are right and this election will come down to the economy, but if it does we should all be concerned as the threat to our freedoms from the ups and downs of the free market are trivial compared to the threats from terrorism.
While I don't want to relive this tragedy on a daily basis, I am concerned that the general level of apathy on the issue is increasing. People are quickly turning over the responsibility to demand our nation be held secure.
And EVERY Vast LeftWing Medyuh Whore'd member to make it the Top Story of the day...SHEEEESH!!! I'm offended that Hanoi John Kerry got three Purple Hearts in four months of service and never missed a day of work...you think I can get the Mediots to plaswter that all over the place?!
FReegards...MUD
I agree, that it would be better for people to just understand the level of importance that is being discussed - I just believe most people would rather put it out of their minds and think about something else.
I don't like shock jocks, or the sound byte times, but they are what we live in. The visual impressions of 9/11 are everlasting and unifyingly distinctive. Anyone can get up and preach about what should be done under the cloak of I would have done it better, but this President did it the best he could and never made excuses.
I believe it is easy to talk about what should have happened, it is much tougher to remember what did happen, how you felt, how you wanted to shield your kids from the pain, how you knew something had to be done when you see the pictures. The issue is grave, the images are real, and the uncomfortable feeling they invoke is there for a reason. Avoiding the reality of the situation in the name of "proper politics" marginalizes the discussion, the solutions, and puts off that which must be done.
As with you, this is only my opinion (not worth much).
Take care.
Cicero, GoldStateGOP: Your comments are worth repeating, imho. Thanks !!
9/11 is out of boundsI understand why you may have said that, but if you think it over you can see it's absolute nonsense.
Did FDR forget about Pearl Harbor during the Second World War? Of course not. He constantly reminded Americans of it, to remind them why they were fighting.
Do the Jews forget the Holocaust? Of course not.
We will remember 9/11 forever. The proper response for Kerry and his sycophant media is not that 9/11 is out of bounds, but that he remembers it too, and plans to do something about it. But the very thought is laughable. No wonder AP doesn't want Bush to talk about it. _______________________________________________
Its out of bounds for the President to defend his record. Its kosher for the Democrats to attack him on it. That's what this "furor" is really all about - to deprive the President of one of his strongest cards for re-election as the general election campaign gets underway. Friends and Freepers, our Democratic friends are good with thuggery and intimidation. The President should ignore their howls and keep on screening the commercial.
Thanks for the ping !
See my post just above too !
Swell. Now let's poll the 260,000 firefighters and see what they think.
Oh, I absolutely agree. If the effin' media and the effin' Democrats and John effin' himself is screaming about it, I'd call that a direct effin' hit!
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