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Tell Me Lies, Tell Me Sweet Little Lies, Day Two of
the Republican National Convention
By Anthony Wade
OpEdNews.com
Day two did not provide much substance. The
unwavering leadership angle was still hammered home, but this was more of
a day for some social and domestic issues. Unfortunately, the rhetoric
again does not live up to the truth. I will try to hit upon the main
themes.
Education:
Throughout the night we heard about the only piece of education
legislation Bush has enacted in his four years, No Child Left Behind
(NCLB). First we had the nephew of Bush, George P. Bush trumpeting this
new law. Later it was the Secretary of Education, Rod Paige. Ending the
night was the first lady, also applauding NCLB. Here are the essential
quotes:
“He promised results and delivered results.”
“Bush increased Pell Grant funding.”
“Our opponents voted for NCLB and now attack it.”
“NCLB is working”
“NCLB provides historic levels of funding”
Here are the facts:
For 2004, the President has
spent more than $6 billion less in Title I education funding than he
committed to when he signed the No Child Left Behind Act.
Data detailing cuts at the local
level shows over 7,000 school districts – not just in 11 states but
across the nation – will face significant cuts in federal funds to help
disadvantaged kids in reading, math and other subjects. Nearly half of all
school districts and millions of children will be affected.
The president's budget contains
$9.4 billion less than the levels authorized under NCLB. The president
also eliminates funding for 38 existing education programs and level funds
critical programs such as those supporting after-school care and teacher
quality initiatives. Despite the funding crisis in our public schools, the
president has proposed diverting millions of dollars in federal resources
to voucher proposals that exempt private schools receiving federal funds
from the accountability in the No Child Left Behind Act.
The president highlights a $1 billion
increase for Title I and IDEA (the Individuals with Disabilities Education
Act, a program supporting special education), but these increases come at
the expense of other critical education programs. Bush's budget eliminates
funding for 38 existing education programs, including programs supporting
the creation of smaller learning communities, dropout prevention efforts
and school counselors. In addition, the increases for Title I and IDEA
fall far short of the levels promised by the administration in the NCLB.
The funding level for Title I – the program targeted on closing
achievement gaps - is 7.1 billion less than that promised in NCLB, leaving
behind 2.4 million poor children who are eligible for assistance under
this program. The funding level for IDEA is less than half of the amount
promised - 19.7 percent of the national average per-pupil expenditure
rather than 40 percent.
Bush wants to shift cut federal Head Start funding and move it
to state programs with lower quality standards and less accountability.
His 2005 budget freezes enrollment in Head Start programs, meaning the 40
percent of children eligible for Head Start and 97 percent eligible for
Early Head Start who aren't currently enrolled won't ever be.
Bush's budget eliminates the $247 million Even Start program
that encourages young children and parents to read together at home. Laura
Bush herself has promoted these programs, stating, "Family literacy
programs... work on the front lines of the battle against
illiteracy."
The National Governors Association has voted unanimously to
label No Child Left Behind an unfunded mandate. Twenty-two states are
considering challenging portions of the legislation, including the
GOP-controlled legislatures in Arizona, Minnesota, Ohio, Utah and
Virginia.
As he was sending troops to Iraq, Bush proposed cutting $200
million in Impact Aid educational assistance to children in military
families. During the 2000 campaign, Bush has promised to increase this
funding by $310 million, saying, "Our men and women in service put
their lives on the line to defend our freedom. We have a special
obligation to rebuild the schools that educate their children." An
obligation that Bush isn't interested in meeting when the cameras are off.
As
tuitions skyrocket, Bush cuts financial aid. Since Bush took office,
tuition and fees at public colleges have increased by an average of 35
percent, thanks to the failed economic policies that are bankrupting state
governments. In fact, 49 out of 50 states saw college tuitions go up last
year. And Bush isn't doing anything to ease that burden. He broke a
campaign promise to increase the maximum Pell Grant to $5,100, is
proposing to eliminate the LEAP program that provided more than a billion
dollars in federal and state assistance to students in 2000, and is
cutting $100 million in Perkins Loans.
My
thanks to two websites, which have done the actual research on these
issues, Center for American progress and Democrats.org. These facts are
all footnoted and come from government sources, so they are not in
dispute.
There
is a difference between sound bites and practice. We have seen for years
now that Bush can say one thing to you, and then his policy will show you
the true side. It is easy to say, “no child left behind” it is quite
another thing to actually make sure that happens. The key quotes from the
convention tonight that I listed above are just another example of the GOP
saying whatever they think you will buy without any basis in truth.
Education has been one of the least focused areas of Bush’s presidency.
To say otherwise is simply a lie.
Healthcare:
This
subject has been avoided like the plague, for good reason. Realizing it
had to be addressed, the GOP decided tonight would be the best time to at
least pay it lip service. The main speaker addressing this was Bill Frist,
MD. Here are the main quotes of misdirection from Doctor Frist, whose job
today is as a republican Senator. My comments follow each quote, which are
in italics.
“Bush has righted the wrong of having no medication benefit
under Medicare”
First
of all, Bush and the republicans avoided the mere concept of providing
such a benefit for years. They were brought to the table kicking and
screaming about too much government in the people’s lives. The plan
though, is horrific. Bush lied and undersold the true cost by over 130
billion dollars. The regulations are confusing and the true winners are
the special interests and friends of the president who will make millions
off of this new law. For details see this link:
http://www.democrats.org/specialreports/medicarescandals/payoffs.html
In
addition to this, Republicans Trampled Congressional Rules to Pass
Bush Plan. The Medicare Conference Committee Chair Rep. Bill Thomas (R-CA)
refused entrance to all House Democrats appointed to the committee
finalizing the bill and only allowed two of the four Democratic senators
to attend, describing the group as a "coalition of the willing."
Another
disturbing aspect is that this new legislation explicitly prohibits
Medicare from directly negotiating drug prices with the pharmaceutical
industry, an effective cost control solution "in place for virtually
every other major provider of Medicare services." The provisions will
add an additional $139 billion to the cost of the bill over the next eight
years in increased drug industry profits, according to Ben Peck of the
Medicare Rights Center.
“Our opponents don’t want seniors to get the new Medicare
card”
This
is just nonsense. It is the seniors of this country that have rejected
this new law. It is a boon for the drug companies and confusing for
seniors.
“Our opponents talked about adding a
prescription drug benefit for eight years, President Bush acted”
The democrats have not been in control of Congress for over ten years,
so exactly when should they have passed it? The republicans who for
decades have rued this as more big government controlling people’s lives
thwarted all attempts. Many likened it to socialism, and don’t even
agree with the President on its enactment now.
“True compassion encourages people to take control of their own lives
that is why Bush created Health Savings Accounts”
This
has already been debunked as a scam. Most
American families don't earn enough to make Health Savings Account premium
deductions meaningful. Additionally they increase out-of-pocket costs for
consumers. The truth about this plan is that Health Savings Accounts act
primarily as tax shelters for the wealthy because top-bracket taxpayers
receive the largest benefits. Lastly, Health Savings Accounts threaten
employer-based comprehensive health coverage and they won't reduce overall
health cost inflation. It is no surprise that Health Savings Accounts are
political payback for Bush and GOP contributors. Don’t be fooled this
election season. When he talks about ownership, he is talking about those
who already own most of this country.
“Bush has enacted a tax credit of up to $3,000 for a family to
purchase their own healthcare plan if they do not have one from their
employers”
Bush’s
own numbers belie the truth. Average family healthcare costs today are at $9,068,
which is up 13.9% under Bush. Bush’s tax credit is for $3,000, which is
meaningless to a family unless they pony up the other $6,068.
“The culprits of increased healthcare costs are the trial lawyers and
we oppose those predators”
Ahh,
the ole party line here. I have addressed this before but it is so crucial
in this election. It is not about trial lawyers, it is about legal redress
for wrongs perpetrated upon you. Under the Bush plan, you would have no
opportunity to seek legal action if you are truly injured by someone’s
negligence. The fact is that lawsuits are only one cause out of a myriad
of factors. You have to decide if you truly believe that taking away your
right to seek damages when you have been wronged, is the only answer to
solving healthcare costs. It obviously is not. The truth is that Bush is
so deep in the pockets of the pharmaceutical and HMO lobbies that they are
pushing this agenda, because they are the ones who truly benefit from tort
reform, not you and I.
“You can’t be pro-patient and pro-lawyer”
Another lie the GOP will push this season. A patient who is
seriously injured by negligence will find out quickly that they need to be
pro-lawyer.
“We will keep going back to Congress until the patients and the
American people win”
Allow
me to translate. “…until the pharmaceutical and HMO lobbies win”. To
suggest that average people win by taking away their right to seek justice
when they are wronged is insulting.
“Shame on you John Kerry! What ban on stem cell research?”
Hmm, maybe the ban Bush passed on stem cell research using federal
funds? Shame on you Bill Frist! You are lying again!
“Bush is making healthcare more affordable and accessible”
Bush is what??? There are 45 million Americans without healthcare
right now. Bush has seen this number increase by the millions under his
watch. Most new jobs are not coming with benefits at all. The costs have
increased by 13.9% in the past year alone. If you truly believe that Bush
has made healthcare more affordable and accessible than vote for him. I am
willing to bet there are very few people who truly feel that because the
numbers don’t lie, Bush does.
Now for some general observations from tonight:
Party of Exclusion? While last night the GOP tried
last night to pretend to be a big tent party, tonight the true colors were
on display. Elizabeth Dole stated “we believe in life”, marriage is
the cornerstone of civilization”, “we speak against those who seek to
strip God from our schools, money, and courtrooms”. Now, these are all
fine if that is what you believe in. Some of these points I agree with but
trying to play both sides of the fence, Dole finished with “despite what
you hear on the news, these are the values shared by the American people”.
Obviously pro-choice, pro-gay marriage, and pro-separation of church and
state advocates would disagree.
Social Security Lie of the Night: This was turned in
by George P. Bush who stated that GW Bush realizes that social security
needs to be fixed and thus the privatization argument again. This plan is
based on lies within the numbers and will bankrupt social security years
before it is due to be insolvent right now.
AIDS Exploitation: Sam Brownback trumpeted Bush’s 15
billion dollars for AIDS research but the facts are a little more muddy
than that. On January 28, 2003
President Bush promised $15 billion for an emergency plan for AIDS relief.
His pledge was specific to the AIDS epidemic, not other diseases.
The reality though is that the 15 billion is over a period of five years.
Additionally, President Bush
includes funding for research programs as well as for US programs to fight
TB and Malaria in the overall figure. Without this funding the total
program cost would be $13.112 billion over five years, not $15 billion.
This figure shrinks to $12.862 billion (just $1.55 billion for FY 2004)
once all non-AIDS and research spending is subtracted. Not exactly the 15
billion he keeps bragging about. Lastly, even though Congress
recommended a much higher level of spending in an authorization bill, the
President reached an agreement with Republican leaders in Congress that
reduced the overall amount for foreign aid, making it much harder to
achieve the higher funding level.
Despicable Act
of the Convention:
Monday night, the GOP passed out fake “Purple Heart Bandages” to
convention goers tonight, mocking the awards bestowed upon John Kerry.
This is a man carrying shrapnel in his body to this day from his service
and George Bush has been proven to be AWOL. This was disgusting, pure and
simple.
The Yada Yada
Yada Moment of the Night:
Lt. Governor Michael Steele delivered the Kerry quote about voting for and
against the 87 billion dollars tonight. I am waiting with such
anticipation to see who will quote it tomorrow. It’s a shame really
because clearly Steele gave the best speech of the night. He was very
commanding and engaging. He is an up and comer in the party for sure. He
is the new JC Watts for the GOP. Slick talking and African American, to
try and give a diverse face to a very non-diverse party.
The Governator:
Honestly, I was not too impressed with the performance of Arnold.
Unfortunately the media positively GUSHED about his speech. I just didn’t
see it. His speech was filled with sound bites and very little substance.
He also provided some cheap shots such as:
“The democratic convention should have been called true lies”
“To the pessimist on the economy I say, don’t be economic
girly-men”
Moving past the first cheap shot, I find the second one most
appalling. Now, I know he meant it as a joke, but it highlights how out of
touch the GOP is with the average American. This is similar to the Bush
operative who stated last month that people who are upset about the
economy should just take Prozac. I do not think the steelworker who is
unemployed because Bush shipped his job overseas is going to be too
pleased by being called a girly-man by Arnold.
The rest of his speech was relatively uneventful and unmemorable.
The funniest line was when he said, “It doesn’t matter in this country
who your parents are”. Considering that GW got into the “Champagne
Unit” in the Texas National Guard because of who his daddy was, this is
laughable.
The Don’t Quit Your Day Job Moment: Well, they don’t
actually have jobs yet, but this goes to the Bush twins. Their
presentation was an attempt at bad stand up comedy. The jokes were not too
amusing or delivered very well. Arnold used two jokes to get into his
speech, which were funny. The Bush twins went through like ten. They were
dying up there I tell ya! I also could have done without the knowledge
that the pet name Laura has for George is, Bushy. Yikes. Lastly, they
stated they “learned a lot about the true value of integrity and honesty”
from their parents. I assume this does not include the underage drinking
and trying to ditch their secret service details.
Laura Bush: A good enough speech but very contrived
and plastic. Trying to assuage people’s concerns about who her husband
really is, she essentially was saying trust me, I live with him. Like she
might speak poorly of her husband. This was certainly not an objective
endorsement. Case in point is when she tried to sell us on the fact that
GW “wrestled with the decision to go to war”. Please, tell this story
to someone who hasn’t been paying attention over the past four years.
Bush came into office with goal number one of removing Saddam. 911 merely
provided a backdrop. Unfortunately for Bush that backdrop has fallen apart
as his rationales for going to war in Iraq have all crumbled. As for
Afghanistan, it is well documented that the plans to go to war on that
country were drawn up months before 911. I do not think for a second that
Bush wrestled with the weight of the decision but rather when to make the
decision so it would be accepted by the American people.
Then crossing the line, she began to compare these wars to WWII.
This is an asinine comparison. Hitler had global domination as his goal.
He had one of the most impressive militaries in the world at that time.
His country was flourishing. Even with all of this, it still took us 10
years to get into the war. Saddam ran a third world country with no real
military. He posed no threat to us, no WMD, and no terrorist ties. To make
this comparison mocks those who served in WWII. This was nothing more than
a pathetic attempt to legitimize a very illegitimate war.
Ms. Bush finished with her recent stump speech about fairy tales in
Afghanistan. In Laura’s world the women of Afghanistan are going back to
work and little girls are learning to read again. Unfortunately, reports
from that country paints a very different picture. The warlords and
Taliban have taken control of portions of the country and opium production
is back as the number one business. The country is “waiting to implode”
as described by experts.
Media Moments: I watched the MSNBC coverage to see
what the more “mainstream” media were saying about the convention. I
was horrified. The panels on tonight were made up mostly of hardcore
right-wingers such as Scarborough, Buchanan, and JC Watts. The only voice
of reason was Ron Reagan Jr. and he was shouted down at one point by
Scarborough over Kerry’s statements about Vietnam vets committing war
crimes. Scarborough became very agitated and insisted that Kerry lied when
he said that. Now, everyone knows about the atrocities that were committed
by our troops in Nam, so Joe had no point, but it was very unsettling to
see him berate Reagan.
To top all of this off, there were multiple commercials from the
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The right has tried to make this about free
speech but the reality is that it is ludicrous to compare this republican
funded smear group to things like moveon.org and Fahrenheit 911. What’s
the difference? Well, the truth obviously. The SBVT have been exposed over
and over again to be LIARS. As such, why should they be allowed to
continue to spew their venom? Moore’s movie was just that a movie, not a
527 funded action. Moveon.org has also not produced anything that is not
true. It may not be what the right wants to hear, but the truth of the
matters are not in debate. You may not like the way Moore frames his
movie, but the facts remain. Even McCain stated Moore’s discussion about
how the military burden falls on the poorest of our citizens was a
legitimate topic for discussion.
MSNBC spent the night absolutely FAWNING over Arnold and Laura Bush
while spending all other talk about how poor a job Kerry has done in
responding to the attacks by the right. At one point they showed a clip of
Kerry windsurfing and scorned him derisively, laughing the whole time.
There was not much unbiased journalism going on here. This is the true
effect of FOX. We spend so much time screaming at the obvious partisan
nature of FOX News that we think all other media is mainstream. There was
nothing mainstream about the coverage from MSNBC tonight however.
Summary: Thank goodness there is only two more days of
this. To hear Arnold tonight say that Bush is going to “terminate the
terrorists” shows where this debate has gone. The republicans talk about
sacrifice, yet they do not make any themselves. They talk about values but
appear devoid of them. How do you glibly talk about terminating the
terrorists and gloss over the 1000 dead soldiers and 14,000 dead Iraqis?
How do you refer to people who have lost their jobs, their livelihood, and
their healthcare as girly-men? What is worse though is how our media just
allows it go unquestioned. How do you shrug off the ridicule of purple
hearts when your own candidate avoided war and then went AWOL? How do
cripple the economy and say we have turned a corner? How do you say Bush
has made healthcare more affordable and accessible with 45 million people
without it and costs up 13.9%? How do you trumpet education reform when
you haven’t funded it? How do you compare the brave efforts of WWII to a
war that is only for corporate greed? How do you pretend to be for senior
drug benefits but not allow them to buy them cheaper from Canada so our
drug companies can gouge our most vulnerable? How can you just laugh off
the fact that we lost over 8 billion dollars of Iraqi money? How can you
pretend that Bush “wrestled” with the war decision when both wars were
on his agenda at the start of his presidency? How can you say you support
the troops and not go to one soldier’s funeral? How can you say you are
conservative when you have a negative 800 billion dollar turnaround since
his presidency began? How can you say you are compassionate while you use
“shock and awe” to slaughter 14,000 innocent people and then call it a
success and accomplished?
Perhaps Bush said it best when he described this whole sordid affair
as a catastrophic success. The success is for the Halliburtons of the
world and for the millionaires of this country who are laughing all the
way to the bank. The catastrophe of course, that is left for you and I.
Anthony
Wade is co-administrator of
a website devoted to educating the populace to the ongoing lies of
President George W. Bush and seeking his removal from office. He is a
37-year-old independent writer from New York with political commentary
articles seen on multiple websites. A
Christian progressive, and professional counselor, Mr. Wade believes that
you can have faith and hold elected officials accountable for lies and
excess.
Anthony
Wade’s Archive: http://www.opednews.com/archiveswadeanthony.htm
Email
Anthony:
takebacktheus@gmail.com
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