Friday, March 05, 2004
I Didn't Even Know This
From Matt Bivens' The Daily Outrage:
In any case, it seems like the Kerry folks should have plenty of material for some TV ads of their own.
posted by Blicero : 3/05/2004 02:05:00 AM
Remember when President Bush visited Ground Zero to address workers via a megaphone, and threw his arm around a weary fire fighter? This time last year, that weary fire fighter, Bob Beckwith, stood in silent protest at the President's State of the Union speech: The Bush Administration was refusing to release funds Congress had set aside to monitor the health of Ground Zero workers.I guess Bush was too busy "steadying the nation." And:
Harold Schaitberger, who heads the nation's largest union of fire fighters, calls Bush's use of fire fighters as campaign props "hypocrisy at its worst" and "disgraceful."It's stuff like this that really makes me wonder what the hell the White House is thinking. I mean, they're supposed to be ruthless, calculating political geniuses over there. And yet here is an issue--short-changing firefighters, for Christ's sake--that seems both idiotic policy-wise and even more idiotic politically. What am I not getting, here?
"Since the attacks, Bush has been using images of himself putting his arm around a retired FDNY fire fighter on the pile of rubble at Ground Zero. But for two and a half years he has basically shortchanged fire fighters and the safety of our homeland," Schaitberger says. "The fact is, Bush's actions have resulted in fire stations closing in communities around the country. Two-thirds of America's fire departments remain under-staffed because Bush is failing to enforce a new law that was passed with bipartisan support ... to put more fire fighters in our communities. President Bush's budget proposes to cut Homeland Security Department funding for first responders by $700 million for next year."
In a formal resolution, the fire fighters union has declared, "the President's record on Fire Fighter and First Responder issues is one of failure and neglect," and they call upon Bush to discontinue the ads and apologize to the families of fire fighters killed on 9/11.
In any case, it seems like the Kerry folks should have plenty of material for some TV ads of their own.
posted by Blicero : 3/05/2004 02:05:00 AM
