Posted on 08/23/2004 12:28:53 PM PDT by KQQL
CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) - Under pressure from Democrats and Republican Sen. John McCain, President Bush on Monday called for ads attacking John Kerry's record in Vietnam to be stopped along with others run by independent groups, and said Kerry should be proud of his war service.
"That means that ad and every other ad," Bush said when asked if he wanted to bring a stop to commercials by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which accuse Sen. Kerry of lying about his war record in Vietnam.
Bush said Kerry "served admirably" in Vietnam, adding: "He ought to be proud of his record." But Bush stopped short of directly condemning the charge that Kerry lied about his actions.
Unlike previous statements by the White House, Bush this time referred specifically to the ad attacking Kerry's Vietnam service record, though he did not mention the Swift Boat group by name.
Bush did not specify what actions might be taken to stop the advertisements run by independent groups, except to renew his call on Kerry to join him in condemning all unregulated soft money ads.
(Excerpt) Read more at reuters.com ...
- the left is claiming he was forced to announce...what he's already announced so often, and
- the usual suspects are accusing him of caving - for standing firm on his position since day one.
Wow...some folks are soooooo easy.
The media is focusing on the Swift Vets exclusively.
Meanwhile we have numerous examples of illegal coordination between the Kerry Campaign and 527s like MoveOn.
President Bush Outlines Campaign Reform Principles
March 15, 2001The Honorable Trent Lott
Senate Majority Leader
S-230, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20510
Dear Senator Lott:
As the Senate prepares to consider campaign finance reform legislation, I wanted to highlight my principles for reform. I am committed to working with the Congress to ensure that fair and balanced campaign reform legislation is enacted.
These principles represent my framework for assessing campaign finance reform legislation. I remain open to other ideas to meet shared goals.
I am hopeful that, working together, we can achieve responsible campaign finance reforms.
Sincerely,
George W. Bush
Campaign Finance Reform
President Bush's Reform Principles
Protect Rights of Individuals to Participate in Democracy: President Bush believes democracy is first and foremost about the rights of individuals to express their views. He supports strengthening the role of individuals in the political process by: 1) updating the limits established more than two decades ago on individual giving to candidates and national parties; and 2) protecting the rights of citizen groups to engage in issue advocacy.
Maintain Strong Political Parties: President Bush believes political parties play an essential role in making America's democratic system operate. He wants to maintain the strength of parties, and not to weaken them. Any reform should help political parties more fully engage citizens in the political process and encourage them to express their views and to vote.
Ban Corporate and Union Soft Money: Corporations and labor unions spend millions of dollars every election cycle in unregulated 'soft? money to influence federal elections. President Bush supports a ban on unregulated corporate and union contributions of soft money to political parties.
Eliminate Involuntary Contributions: President Bush believes no one should be forced to support a candidate or cause against his or her will. He therefore supports two parallel reforms: 1) legislation to prohibit corporations from using treasury funds for political activity without the permission of shareholders; and 2) legislation to require unions to obtain authorization from each dues-paying worker before spending those dues on activities unrelated to collective bargaining.
Require Full and Prompt Disclosure: President Bush also believes that in an open society, the best safeguard against abuse is full disclosure. He supports full, prompt and constitutionally permissible disclosure of contributions and expenditures designed to influence the outcome of federal elections, so voters will have complete and timely information on which to make informed decisions.
Promote Fair, Balanced, Constitutional Approach: President Bush believes reform should not favor any one party over another or incumbents over challengers. Both corporations and unions should be prohibited from giving soft money to political parties, and both corporations and unions should have to obtain permission from their stockholders or dues-paying workers before spending treasury funds or dues on politics. President Bush supports including a non-severability provision, so if any provision of the bill is found unconstitutional, the entire bill is sent back to Congress for further adjustments and deliberations. This provision will ensure fair and balanced campaign finance reform.
Wrong as can be. But you embellish
really well, so go write fiction.
There is nothing you said here that I disagree with. But, I am sick and tired of each and every time that the stinking socialists accuse a conservative or republican of something, the danged people run for the hills, get weak spined, etc. I am sick of them giving in. They need to grow a backbone. The Bush campaign has said time and time again that Bush has no contact with this group even when the socialists say they have. They have denied it. So, there. But, to come out and say this stuff, it is what the socialists want. They WANT Bush to respond to it. It gives credence to what they are whining about. I would not touch it. I would have simply said: "My fellow Americans, my campaign and I have repeatedly stated that we feel the senator's service in the military was honorable. I will comment no further on his military service. What I WILL comment on his is 20 years in the United States Senate. Which, during those two decades, the junior Senator of the state of Taxsachuttus submitted, cosponsored, sponsored absolutely nothing in the way of legislation to support any program whatsoever. He has basically shown up from time to time and voted from time to time AGAINST everything positive for the military, and voted for every socialist program. That is what I have commented on, and will continue to comment on."
I would give them nothing. They deserve nothing. Absolutely nothing.
And Bush, by making today's comments, give Kerry half the ammo to do just that.
I agree with you. I served in Viet Nam in 1968-1969 (note: a whole year, not 4 months :-)) with a couple of total self-promoting @#$%&'s and the whole group was glad to see them DEROS.
But keep in mind that no matter what Kerry says, the SBVFT ads will still be highly effective. This isn't a criminal court room. If the voters end up with a reasonable doubt about Kerry's honesty and patriotism, that will be enough to convince them not to vote for Kerry.
good move? bad move? time will tell...
Good to distance himself from the ads (but I hope they keep running them...) People need to be informed or they will believe Kerry's lies.
Bad that Kerry will never say Farenheit 911 should stop being played, or that MoveOn's tv ads should stop. Then they'd be the only ads on the air.
Hope it was a good move. Hope it's not a sheeple election!
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