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To: Ol' Dan Tucker

1999 GW Bush wanted to limit free speech? Context of that statement is what?


148 posted on 07/14/2008 6:27:48 AM PDT by svcw (There is no plan B.)
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To: svcw; Elsie
1999 GW Bush wanted to limit free speech? Context of that statement is what?

I'm not sure how anyone could've missed this story in the run-up to the election in 2000. It just goes to show how little people pay attention to the candidate for which they vote.

In 1999, a parody website of Bush's 2000 campaign website was put online. Bush's lawyers first sent a cease-and-desist letter to the site's owner. When that didn't work, Bush's campaign (read: Karen Hughes) then started lying to the press saying that the reason they wanted the site shut down was because the site contained links to other pornographic sites.

When that didn't work, Bush's campaign filed a complaint with the FEC arguing that the site atttempted to influence the presidential election and therefore deserved to be treated as a political committee subject to federal election laws.

Bush later filed a second complaint with the FEC demanding the site put up a disclaimer and disclosure of funding sources by asserting that the site's owner had violated election laws by not registering as a Political Action Committee (PAC).

The FEC told Bush to go pound sand.

As a result, Bush held a press conference and said "There's a lot of garbage in politics, and, obviously, this is a garbage man." and that "There ought to be limits to freedom."

(See: Bush criticizes Web site as malicious)

So, not only is Bush an enemy of free speech, but he also is an advocate of using the power of the federal government to suppress it.

151 posted on 07/14/2008 7:32:38 AM PDT by Ol' Dan Tucker (While the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power.)
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