Posted on 08/29/2004 8:09:29 PM PDT by GOPcapitalist
According to today's New York Times, disgraced Democrat politician Ben Barnes is once again claiming that he assisted a young George W. Bush in obtaining a slot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam war. According to the story,
Former Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes said he is ``more ashamed at myself than I've ever been'' because he helped President Bush and the sons of other wealthy families get into the Texas National Guard so they could avoid serving in Vietnam.``I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard ... and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it,'' Barnes, a Democrat, said in a video clip recorded May 27 before a group of John Kerry supporters in Austin.
Barnes, who was House speaker when Bush entered the Guard, later became lieutenant governor.
Curiously, the story omits a key portion of the Barnes quote, possibly because it demonstrates a glaring inconsistency in Barnes' story. A video of Barnes' speech shows the full quote as follows, the omitted portion in bold:
I got a young man named George W. Bush into the National Guard when I was Lieutenant Governor of Texas and I'm not necessarily proud of that, but I did it.
The problem with Barnes' story: Bush entered the Texas Air National Guard in 1968 at which time Barnes was Speaker of the House. Barnes did not take office as Lieutenant Governor until 1969 and thus could not have done what he claimed. Some readers may best remember Barnes as a central unindicted co-conspirator in the Sharpstown Stock Scandal that rocked the Texas legislature in 1971.
There is no other reason for a reporter to take that phrase out. He was both misrepresenting to his readers and covering for Barnes.
Maybe they farmed this story out to Jayson Blair.
I think he served as Lt. Gov. from 1969 until the people of Texas kicked him out of office in 1973.
" legislature only meets in odd numbered years"
Even numbered years are reserved for swindling? Is that considered part-time swindling?
Just curious as to the software you used to create the graphic in #15.
Ben Barnes was always swindling, even and odd. Most reps today simply work their normal jobs in even years...er...at least the republican ones do.
Well, not an agreeable relationship -- unless we're talking about Zell who supports Bush and will be speaking at the RNC this week.
Seriously, I think part-time legislatures are preferable and I believe used to be the norm in many states. Now, in many states, the "success" of a legislative session, including Congress, is measured by the number of bills passed, whereas I think the fewer the better.
And I thought it was just Wesly Clark who had the time machine. Those Dems better share it with us!!! Or maybe they did, BEFORE they didn't (think about it, it works).
The demoRats seem to be some kind of time warp. They really need to co-ordinate their calenders, so that the lies match the dates!! :-)
Defeating Kerry is more fun than a human being should be allowed to have!!
Interesting. That story is incorrect though when it downplays Barnes' role in the Sharpstown scandal. If you to some of the oldtimers and state legislators who were there during the thing they'll tell you Barnes was all over it. IIRC the two people who finished ahead of Barnes in his '72 governor bid were the eventual winner Dolph Briscoe - an outsider and moderate democrat in the race - and Sissy Farenthold, the liberal democrat. Farenthold was a state rep. The main reason she did so well was the fact that she had attained high statewide name ID as a leader in the "dirty thirty bastards" - a renegade group of state reps who blew the whistle on Barnes, Mutscher, and all the other Sharpstown cronies (the group was made up of the Republicans - who were fewer than thirty at the time - plus a couple disaffected Democrats including Farenthold). She was the anti-Sharpstown candidate in that race while Barnes was the undisputed Sharpstown candidate.
Good observations.
Wow.
But it's all true! President Nixon DID order Kerry into Cambodia in January 1969! Ben Barnes DID get George W. Bush into the National Guard, also in January 1969!
Here's how Nixon got Kerry into Cambodia in December 1968, and Barnes got Bush into the Air National Guard in 1968: They sent them off in the car below!!!
bttt
bttf!
lobster, you ROCK!
To quote Homer Simpson: "D'oh!"
I would expect that from the NYT. They also downplayed Barnes' intimate fundraising relationship with the kerry campaign. Thanks for the background on this crook.
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