Posted on 08/28/2004 12:29:43 AM PDT by adam_az
Edited on 08/28/2004 12:21:18 PM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
UPDATED 8/28/04 at 8:21 MST
According to an 8/27/2004 article in the the New York Times, a new Swiftboatesque testimonial video was released featuring Texas lobbyist Ben Barnes who claims that he got George W. Bush into the National Guard in 1968.
"I walked through the Vietnam Memorial the other day," Mr. Barnes said, according to a videoclip posted on the Internet this summer, "and I looked at the names of people who died in Vietnam and I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas."The New York Times did not mention Ben Barnes connections with John Kerry's campaign, or the DNC connections with the release of these videos.
Who Is Ben Barnes?CBS News reports that Ben Barnes is one of eight "bundlers" who have raised more than $500,000 for John Kerry's campaign. He is also listed as a Vice Chair of the Kerry campaign on the John Kerry campaign website. According to the Dallas Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Barnes is one of the "gatekeepers and endorsers for Texas appointees and job-seekers" in a potential Kerry administration.
Ben Barnes, then Lieutenant Governor... has admitted that he personally interceded with Guard officials at the behest of a business associate of Congressman Bush. The ex-President says he is "almost certain" he didn’t ask Barnes, directly or indirectly, to intercede for his son; the carefully crumbling denials suggest there is smoking documentation somewhere, and we may yet get a more precise snapshot of how the people who start the wars avoid risking their children to fight them.These claims were already discredited by then. CNN reported in July 1999 that the Los Angeles Times had already investigated them, reporting that the "Los Angeles Times said it found no evidence that either Bush or his father, former President George Bush, had personally tried to influence or pressure anyone to get the younger Bush a place in the Texas Guard. Bush's father was a congressman from Houston at the time."
Who is Distributing This Video NowAccording to the New York Times, the website which released the video, Austin4Kerry.com, crashed when James Moore, the author of "Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential" and "Bush's War For Reelection : Iraq, the White House, and the People" sent an email to his mailing list, with the resuling traffic crashing the website hosting the video.
This paragraph leads me to believe that Bush applied to be a pilot, but of the pilot slots available, he was accepted because he had no qualms about flying the F-102 which was slated for use for National Air Defense against incoming Soviet bombers/fighters. Essentially, air to air combat... Not to mention, the F-102 seems to have been known to be a difficult and dangerous jet to fly.
I think if Bush had known that he would be in public office now, he might have made other decisions. I think he was ready and willing to answer the call of the country in 1968. In fact, on article quotes a fellow pilot of Bush that he and Bush asked to be included in a rotation for fighter pilots to Vietnam but were denied due to a lack of pilot hours.
This points to a man who is not afraid, but nor is he reckless. He considered his options. When he felt confident, he asked to be considered for combat rotation. When it became apparent that he would not serve as a combat jet fighter, and as combat experienced pilots were being rotated back from Vietnam, he finally made the decision to pursue another career option.
To begin with, he chose a transitional occupation. He decided to work for a couple of political campaigns. That led somehow led to an interest in business, which is no surprise, due to the diversity of people who work in campaigns, I would not be surprised if he met others who encouraged him to pursue a career in business.
As a result, he decided to do just that. Nothing in GWB's past suggests that he was ever a malcontent, a live and let be, or a hippie. Everything points to the fact that regardless, he always stuck to what he chose, and even if he didn't always excel he finished it. That is a marker of character.
So, he put in for an early discharge, and in light of the returning fighter pilots, he was no longer in demand in the air national guard. After completing his requirements for that year, he was honorably discharged to pursue an MBA. If you look at his record prior to 1972 you will see a pilot dedicated to mastering his chosen profession. When his profession no longer appeared in demand, he chose to do a little bit of soul searching and thinking.
The record shows that Bush has made no FALSE claims as to his service. It has been exactly as he described it. GWB's life has been one of fulfilling his commitments. Even the DUI charge shows his character. He was amicable, he paid his fine, he didn't challenge the penalty against him... In other words, he took it like a man.
When Bush realized he had a drinking problem... He took it like a man! He didn't enroll in a program. He didn't join AA or a support group. No, he gave his life to God, and he chose the path to which he committed himself and to which he has remained faithful and loyal. It is a path that has led him to the here and now.
In 2000, and the years running up to it, I believe Bush believed the lies the Clinton administration put out about the economy. He thought that he would have a chance to implement his philosophy of compassionate conservatism with an increasing tax revenue, and a growing economy. Independent analysis of the Clinton era shows that they started cooking the Federal books toward the end of his administration.
Bush walked right into a recession, and then a war. Neither of these were his fault, but he isn't one to cry. He pushed through his tax cuts with a few modifications to get the money out to tax payers sooner than the usual tax refund cycle. He found himself fighting a war he didn't know he'd be fighting. Sure, I've checked and he did think that terrorism was a threat, but not the type of threat that proved itself on 9/11. He thought it was something the FBI and the CIA were on top of. He had every reason to believe they were on top of it because they said they were. He'd only been President for a short while, and he had worked hard to get his cabinet appointments in place, and there was no reason to disbelieve what he was being told. Nobody was telling him differently.
George W. Bush is a good man. He is the type of man who would rather be at home with his family than running the most powerful country in the world... Except for the fact that we are his family, and he doesn't tolerate his family heading in the wrong direction. He saw that something needed to be done, and he decided that he should be the one to do it. GWB is the type of man who look at social injustice and thinks about how to fix it... without throwing more money at it unless it is merited. He is the type of American I had hoped would occupy the Oval Office during my life time, and I am proud that it happened while I was still young.
Mr. Bush is a family man, an American, and he cares. He cares deeply, and if it wasn't for God and his Faith, George W. Bush would have tossed in the hanky long before now. God is on his side, but God gave us the Freedom of Choice.... and if we don't turn out and make our choice... who knows what will happen.
John Kerry is a bad man. He is an opportunist. An opportunist is not the type of man we want in charge of our country. An opportunist only looks after number one... themselves. This is on his record.
To think John Kerry can be summed in that one sentence... But he set himself up for it, and Bush - he is complex but simple. Easy to misunderstimate because he is just like the rest of us, but hard to understand because he has lived in politics his entire life. He maneuvers around his opponents with finesse, and he stays true to his convictions.
If there was ever a man I would vote for with my whole heart... It is him. George W. Bush for President in 2004, and four more years.
Who's with me? How silly of me... I'm preaching to the choir.
Yeah, I don't usually go to the 'latest articles' page, and so I figure maybe lots of other freepers (like me) start right at the 'latest posts' page. Since there is little or no text on the 'latest posts' page, I get a quicker glance at a greater number of thread headlines and a broader brush of what the hot topics are (based on how many posts to certain threads show up in front of me on my screen).
By the way, sorry to keep clogging up your pings. I shall try to remember to knock your name off the 'to' section when I bump the thread.
Regards,
LH
No, I saw that. I just wanted you to know that there is a statement from Barnes as well saying that. It was in the Washington Post, in case you haven't seen it:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/aponline/19990927/aponline190140_000.htm
This is nothing new. This has already been factored into the public opinion. They have leveled the "Papi got Dubya a cush NG spot to avoid Nam since 2000."
Not going was common. Committing treason is EXTRAORDINARY. Kerry did the latter.
Barnes is a total hack. What a low life. They are using this dirty SOB to bail Kerry out. FUNNY!!!!
Meanwhile, Kerry has 250 credible Swifty heroes and POWs ( and many millions more) accusing him of poaching medals, selling them out and giving aid and comfort to the enemy. If I'm Bush, I'm not worried!!!
bookmark
You just debunked the entire story. Why not send that info to someone who can get it out to the public? The NYT should be embarrassed for running with this bogus story. They won't be, but they should be.
Good story and debunking, but the good news is, it hardly matters - Bush is running on an actual platform of achievement, not his time in Vietnam! If the NY Times thinks this will calibrate things again, they are in for a disappointing few weeks.
I sent it to the AP and Fox News. I tried sending it to Drudge, but his stupid page automatically reloads too quickly and erases what you've written. I refused to type it again. It's his loss.
Being from Texas, IMO the only person more crooked than LBJ was Ben Barnes.
It is a common misconception that the Air National Guard was a safe place for military duty during the Vietnam War. In actuality, pilots from the 147th Fighter Interceptor Group, as it was called at the time, were actually conducting combat missions in Vietnam when Bush enlisted. In fact, Air Force F-102 squadrons had been stationed in South Vietnam since March 1962.So this was a deliberate choice very much unlike choosing Swift Boats when they had a coastal patrol duty, a duty which could probably also be said about the air defense role of the 102. Therefore, when both Bush and Kerry chose their assignment that would become a source of controversy today, Bush clearly chose the more dangerous assignment. Remember that the Navy only had 3 KIA when Kerry enlisted, way smaller than the number of pilots who lost their life in the 102.
The bottom line is two-pronged:
1. Pres. Bush does not have a single year in the National Guard for which he did not receive his 50 points for a good year. All his years were good years. His early years, incidentally, were active duty years. I'd be willing to bet that Pres. Bush's active duty time is little different than John Kerry's.
2. John Kerry applied for a deferment and was turned DOWN, so he then applied for the Naval RESERVES! How did he get in the RESERVES SO EASILY and into OCS so easily in time of war? Unfortunately for JfnSKerry, they activated him. And there is excellent reason to believe he missed multiple years of required drills after he received an early exit from service.
Anyone know the breakdown of Republicans v Democrats in the Texas Congressional Delegation in 1968 and 1969?
It has to be skewed Democrat, as the Republicans only controlled 8/150 seats in the Texas house at the time.
The claim that H.W. Bush was a "powerful" congressman at the time is laughable - he was in the vast minority.
This member of the choir appreciates reading positive reports. Thanks for taking the time.
"I walked through the Vietnam Memorial the other day," Mr. Barnes said, according to a videoclip posted on the Internet this summer, "and I looked at the names of people who died in Vietnam and I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas."The New York Times did not mention Ben Barnes connections with John Kerry's campaign, or the DNC connections with the release of these videos.
Who Is Ben Barnes?CBS News reports that Ben Barnes is one of eight "bundlers" who have raised more than $500,000 for John Kerry's campaign. He is also listed as a Vice Chair of the Kerry campaign on the John Kerry campaign website. According to the Dallas Ft. Worth Star Telegram, Barnes is one of the "gatekeepers and endorsers for Texas appointees and job-seekers" in a potential Kerry administration.
Ben Barnes, then Lieutenant Governor... has admitted that he personally interceded with Guard officials at the behest of a business associate of Congressman Bush. The ex-President says he is "almost certain" he didn’t ask Barnes, directly or indirectly, to intercede for his son; the carefully crumbling denials suggest there is smoking documentation somewhere, and we may yet get a more precise snapshot of how the people who start the wars avoid risking their children to fight them.These claims were already discredited by then. CNN reported in July 1999 that the Los Angeles Times had already investigated them, reporting that the "Los Angeles Times said it found no evidence that either Bush or his father, former President George Bush, had personally tried to influence or pressure anyone to get the younger Bush a place in the Texas Guard. Bush's father was a congressman from Houston at the time."
Who is Distributing This Video NowAccording to the New York Times, the website which released the video, Austin4Kerry.com, crashed when James Moore, the author of "Bush's Brain: How Karl Rove Made George W. Bush Presidential" and "Bush's War For Reelection : Iraq, the White House, and the People" sent an email to his mailing list, with the resuling traffic crashing the website hosting the video.
Except for some years in the late 1970's, reserve and guard members were expected to perform 4 drills (2 days) each month, plus 2 weeks (typically Monday to the following Friday) - or 12 days of training. The 48 drills + 15 membership points = 63 drill points - but was truncated to 60 points. Add to the 60 drill points the 12 active duty training points ... and you get 72 points.
72 points is what most every driller would do. They could miss 1 weekend as an excused absence and not make it up ... missing more than 1 weekend (or 4 drills) MIGHT be cause for counseling. BUT ... you needed only 50 points for the year to be counted as "GOOD" ... i.e. - creditable towards getting 20 years for retirement eligibility.
In the late 70's, thanks to Carter's gutting the military, drillers were only allowed 24 drills (1 day per month, 2 drills per day). 24 drills + 12 days active duty training + 15 membership points = 51 points. Miss more than 2 drills - no good year ...NOT GOOD if you want to get your reserve retirement (which doesn't start until you reach age 60). (Fortunately, Pres. Reagan changed this too!)
Also - a reservist can submit a waiver to omit the 12 days active duty training ... which would make a drilling year only 60 points.
Bottom line ... if President Bush had ONLY the minimums of 50 points per year, I would be only slightly worried that he did the minimums, and didn't do what most drillers did. Now, if he based his campaign on his Guard time - regardless of how many drill points he got, I would be much more worried. His record as Governor of Texas and his record for the past 3+ years is far more commendable than ANYTHING that sKerry has done.
Mike
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