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Of Fairy Tale Economics, Hypocrites and Chickenhawk War Profiteers, Day Three of the Republican National Convention

By Anthony Wade

OpEdNews.com

It’s the Economy Stupid – Tonight the GOP finally got around to talking about the economy. It is quite obvious that Bush believes that we have turned a corner, it’s just a shame that he left the rest of us behind. To hear the speakers talk about the economy tonight I became very confused about what country they were all living in. Here are the specific quotes:

            “We have created 1.5 million new jobs in the past year alone”

            “This president inherited an economy spiraling into recession”

 “You don’t help the economy by raising taxes just when the jobs are coming back”

“At 68%, the home ownership rate is at the highest ever”

“Because of this president’s leadership today the economy is strong”

“The national unemployment rate is lower than it was on average in the 70’s. 80’s and 90’s.”

This is a vital issue as we head into the election season. You must not fall for the cute tag lines and the mocking of the Kerry-Edwards plan. You have to dig behind the slogans and catch phrases and really understand the truth.

Tonight they have been BOASTING about the 1.5 million jobs created over the past year. Here is the problem though that they are not telling you. We need to create 1.5 million jobs per year just to keep up with the new job seekers. The truth is that it takes unmitigated gall to applaud such a dismal record that Bush has on the economy. The facts are that Bush needs to create 900,000 new jobs between now and Election Day just to reach ZERO jobs created under his watch. Don’t hold your breath though because in July, he created a paltry 32,000 jobs.

Lets put this next piece of nonsense behind us now. George Bush did not inherit a recession, or an economy spiraling into one. To suggest so flies in the face of what economic experts have said. The economy certainly was not as strong as it had been in the boom of the 90’s but the issue is what you do with an economy that is showing signs of decline? For Bush the answer was to enact ridiculous tax cuts and spend like a drunken sailor according to some republicans. The fact of the matter is that under Bush we have seen a negative 800 BILLION dollar turnaround. We are currently at a 440 billion dollar deficit, which is mostly tied up in his tax cuts.

This next attack on Kerry is a flat out lie. John Kerry has a plan to repeal the tax cuts on the top 1% of this country which are people earning more than 1.2 million dollars per year. Over the next two months we will continue to hear the right spout this nonsense that Kerry will raise your taxes. Don’t you believe it. He will make the tax cuts make more sense. I am sure the millionaires will be upset, but I think they will be ok. The bottom line is that one third of all of Bush’s tax cuts go to the top 1% and that is simply unfair to the middle class who bear the true burden of taxes in this country. The second part of this statement is also a lie, as jobs are clearly not coming back (see above).

Home ownership seems to be the only positive statistic that Bush can point to and it has been drummed home all convention long. What they are not telling you of course is that foreclosures are at an all time high. According to homeboundmortgage.com: “In the last few years, mortgage rates have been at a historic low. That means more people go out and buy homes, get their loans refinanced or get second mortgages. More people buying homes is a good thing because it puts money into the economy. But there is a flip side to it. With the number of people getting first or second mortgages rising, so has the number of mortgage foreclosures. When rates are down, all kinds of people get mortgages," said Jonathan Tolentino, a lawyer who specializes in credit counseling in Collier County. But many of these are people who can only get mortgages because rates are so low and the economy is down. In normal times, they wouldn't get a mortgage. Someone in the family loses a job or lands in the hospital or someone dies. I see a rise in number of clients when there are job losses in the economy," Tolentino said. "They slip up in a few payments and that's all it takes for a bank or lending institution to come in and initiate foreclosure proceedings.” This is the truth behind the rise in home ownership. It is directly because of the poor economy, that more are being granted mortgages that they eventually cannot afford because of the economy.

The next point is again just words without substance. The economy is strong because of Bush? Ask yourself if that is really true. Ask yourself if this president’s policies have helped or hindered economic growth. Don’t believe the hype that has no import behind it.

The last point is the ridiculous way that the unemployment rate is calculated today. Once someone loses their unemployment benefits, they are no longer counted in the rate, even though they are still unemployed. The true unemployment rate is actually around 10%. I might add here that Bush tried to count fast-food jobs as manufacturing jobs in order to cover up his horrific losses in the manufacturing sector. You want fries with that?

The Hypocrite

He is known now as Zig-Zag Miller. He once was the staunch democrat who stood side by side with Bill Clinton. Now, he has seemingly flip-flopped his beliefs and betrayed his constituents who elected him by siding with Bush. Realizing that this could grant Bush the appearance of being a uniter, the GOP is using Zell Miller as the Keynote Speaker tonight. Of course this proves nothing since Bush also lost one republican senator to the democratic side, so the scorecard is even (Jim Jeffords). When you take a closer look at Zell Miller however, you see someone who has apparently changed their entire being, which brings into question his credibility.

On Taxes – In 1996 Zell Miller had this to say about republican economics: “Republicans sold us out with a generation of trickle-down economics that blew the deficit sky-high, drove poverty through the roof, and squeezed the middle class like a lemon at a county fair. They gave themselves the goldmine, and they gave the rest of us the shaft." [Source: Zell Miller speech, 2/25/96]. Fast forward to this presidency and we see Miller voted for almost $2 trillion in tax breaks, the majority of which go to wealthy Americans. Those tax cuts he voted for created the largest deficit in American history, at the same time poverty rose for two straight years for the first time in almost a decade. Miller said, "I'm proud that I was a part of [the tax cuts] as a principal cosponsor." [Source: Zell Miller's book, 2003]. Quite the epiphany, or as the right likes to say, flip-flop.

Now onto his speech, if you can call it that. What it really seemed like was a diatribe, a rant, and a vent. Miller appeared so angry that it was unclear if he was trying to convince himself of the words he was saying. It was vile, disgusting, and vitriolic. Here are the specifics, with Mr. Millers quotes in italics and my commentary following:

“Nothing makes this marine madder than to have someone call our soldiers occupiers and not liberators.”

While I realize that the GOP must be positively giddy after finally having someone who actually served in the armed service, this point is ludicrous. We currently are not liberators as FOX is so kind to point out most Iraqis surveyed are not grateful and do not want us there. We occupy Iraq right now to keep it from imploding. The same is true in Afghanistan.

John Kerry voted against the B1 Bomber, B2 Bomber, F14 A Tomcat, F14 D, Apache Helicopter, F15 Eagles, Patriot Missile, Trident Missile, the list goes on and on and on.”

These are the RNC talking points for the past few months. Kerry was on the wrong side of the cold war, blah blah blah. Look, the reality is that the votes they keep referring to were parts of appropriations bills. These are large bills stuffed with pork projects and one must take into consideration the budget and how expensive the appropriations bills are. Voting against the appropriations bill is not a DECISION against the weapons systems that may be contained in them. This is the same strategy that Bush used against McCain in 2000 when he ran ads that said McCain voted against breast cancer research. This of course was silly because what McCain voted against was an appropriations bill. It was also insulting because McCain’s sister had breast cancer. Of course that mattered little to the Bushies.

“This is the man who wants to be the Commander in Chief, with what SPITBALLS!!!”

More angry venom from a man who had a lot of sound bites but no substance. Miller laughed about the comment later on MSNBC, showing that the comment was only for effect, not truth.

“How you vote, tells the people who you are.”

Indeed. Lets take a look at Dick Cheney’s voting record:

            Cheney Proposed Cutting F-16 Aircraft

            Cheney Proposed Cuts to B-2 Program

            Cheney Proposed Cutting AH-64 Apaches

            Cheney Proposed Cutting M-1 Abrams Tanks

            Cheney Proposed Cutting B-52 Bombers

Did you notice some of those were the same that Kerry voted against?

Additionally, as Secretary of Defense, Cheney has the following record:

In January 1990, Cheney banned the hiring of any new civilian personnel in the Defense Department through the end of September, which left more than 65,000 jobs vacant. Under the budget proposed in 1990, the Pentagon would have reduced active military personnel by 38,000; selected reserves would have fallen by 3,000. The budget called for the deactivation of two Army divisions. Long range, the Pentagon planned to reduce its work force by 300,000, including about 200,000 military personnel and 100,000 civilians. In 1991, he called for reduction of 200,000 active and reserve military personnel over two years. In 1992, Cheney called for cutting 500,000 active-duty people, 200,000 reservists, and 200,000 civilians over five years. [Minneapolis Star-Tribune, 2/2/92; Chicago Tribune, 2/20/91; 1990 CQ Almanac, p. 672; Washington Post, 1/13/90; Boston Globe, 1/30/90]

In 1990, Cheney proposed the closure of 72 domestic military installations and 12 overseas facilities. On April 12, 1991, Cheney proposed to close 31 major domestic military bases. The plan also called for shutting 12 smaller bases and reducing operations at 28 others. He submitted his list of closures to a commission on base closings on April 15, 1991. In 1992, Cheney proposed 70 overseas military base closures, three of which were in Turkey. [Aerospace Daily, 8/17/92; 1991 CQ Almanac, p. 427; Chicago Tribune, 1/30/90]

As Vice President, his record does not get much better:

Cheney admitted one year after Iraq War began that troops lacked body armor. The war on Iraq commenced in March 2003. In an interview with Brit Hume of Fox News on March 17, 2004, one year later, Cheney said, "I believe the chief of staff of the Army and the vice chief -- vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs have testified recently that all of our troops in Iraq are now properly equipped with the newest body armor. So there were -- the main problem had been just the sheer capacity to produce these items early on." [Fox News Special Report with Brit Hume, 3/17/04]

Bush Administration made at least five separate promises to provide body armor; despite recent claims, some troops still are waiting. The Bush Administration first promised that all troops would be fully equipped with body armor by the end of November 2003. They continued to extend the deadline to the end of December, January, and then February, until they finally claimed in March 2004 that all troops were equipped with body armor. However, Major General Charles Swannack, commander of the 82nd Airborne Division, reported in March that, "We are still short a significant amount of vehicles, radios, and body armor to properly equip [soldiers]." The AP reported in late March, "Soldiers headed for Iraq are still buying their own body armor - and in many cases, their families are buying it for them - despite assurances from the military that the gear will be in hand before they're in harm's way." [House Appropriations Committee, Subcommittee on Foreign Operations, 9/24/03; UPI, 12/3/03; Hartford Courant, 1/11/04; House Appropriations Committee, Defense Subcommittee, 2/12/04; Senate Armed Services Committee hearing, 3/2/04; NY Daily News, 3/11/04; AP, 3/26/04]

Gee, I wonder why ole Zig-Zag Zell isn’t as upset at Cheney? There is only one word to describe this, hypocrite.          

“John Kerry will let Paris decide when we should attack.”

This is more nonsense based on a comment that Kerry made over 30 years ago when he returned from Vietnam. Not content to just being a hypocrite, Miller moves on to being a liar.

“John Kerry has been more wrong, more weak, and more wobbly than any other national figure.”

Really Zell? Lets say we take a look at a man who has an opposite opinion, you know just for contrast:

"John Kerry is one of this nation's authentic heroes, one of this party's best-known and greatest leaders – and a good friend. John Kerry has fought against government waste and worked hard to bring some accountability to Washington…He fought for balanced budgets before it was considered politically correct for Democrats to do so. John has worked to strengthen our military, reform public education, boost the economy and protect the environment."

You remember this quote don’t you Zell? You should because they are your words from a speech you gave just three years ago. How much did they pay you Zell? What have you been promised to sell out your party, your constituents, and your soul? You know what your new party, the GOP, calls this type of change Zell? That’s right, you are now not only a hypocrite and a liar, but also you are now a flip-flopper.

I will finish on Miller with this little fact he doesn’t want you to know. As a new whore for the GOP he has called Kerry’s voting record on national security “shameful”. Well, Zell, I guess you are ashamed of yourself because you have the EXACT SAME VOTING RECORD on intelligence funding according to the Associated Press.

Zell Miller has been exposed as a man who betrayed his constituents and will lie for whatever the GOP has promised him. He is a hypocrite who does not deserve the attention he has thus far received.

The Chickenhawk War Profiteer

The antithesis to the scathing speech from Miller, we were entertained by a very deliberate, calculated speech by Dick Cheney. Here are some quotes from his speech, Cheney’s remarks in italics and my commentary follows:

            “The results are clear, the Bush tax cuts are working”

Well, they have certainly worked for Mr. Cheney who had a tax cut of over $88,000 last year alone. How much did you get America? I got about $300. Yes, those tax cuts sure are working but let me proffer this suggestion. Cheney did not need the $88,000 break and people who earn, as much as he does should not have had their taxes cut. That is not class warfare; it is common sense.

But lets look at the economy. Net loss of jobs, 45 million people without healthcare, record high in foreclosures and bankruptcies, increase in the percentage of people living in poverty, outsourcing… yes Dick, you hit it right on the head. The Bush tax cuts are working.

            “We signed the most significant education reform in 40 years.”

Yes, yes you did Mr. Cheney. It is just too bad you didn’t fund it. It would have made it so much better.

            “John Kerry speaks about his service in Vietnam, and we honor him for it.”

Well that’s sweet of you Mr. Cheney. Exactly which part of the Swift Boat ads is honoring him? Now that three members of the Bush apparatus had to resign because of ties to the swifties and the revelation that Bush had awarded a 40 million dollar contract to one of the top swifties, you cannot exactly plead innocent anymore. Has it been honorable to question the depth of his wounds? Was it honorable to have your party pass out Purple Heart band-aids to convention-goers? The fact is that Dick Cheney has no honor.

“John Kerry said at the Democrat Convention that he would defend America after it was attacked. My fellow Americans, we already have been attacked.”

Funny Dick, I have just reviewed the Kerry speech and I can’t seem to find this quote that you are referring to. Maybe you meant this one:

“I defended this country as a young man and I will defend it as President.  Let there be no mistake:  I will never hesitate to use force when it is required.  Any attack will be met with a swift and certain response. I will never give any nation or international institution a veto over our national security.  And I will build a stronger American military.” – John Kerry

Or maybe you were just lying, eh Dick?

            “President Bush will never ask for a permission slip to defend this country.”

Noble sentiment but you see he does need a permission slip Dick. That permission comes from the American people. Your boss came to us and asked for our support because Saddam had WMD. Now there are none and when asked about it your boss said, “what’s the difference?” The difference Dick, is that without the WMD, he doesn’t have our permission anymore.

            “Kerry opposed funding for our troops after voting for the war in Iraq.”

Ahh, you are factually challenged again. Kerry voted for the war as long as Bush gained an international coalition and if it was the last option. Once Bush did neither, Kerry felt he could no longer support it. Moving past that I again must cut through the lies that this shady team keeps throwing up there. Kerry did not vote against funding the troops. He wanted the portion of the 87 billion (20 billion) that was earmarked for Halliburton to be separated out so it could be managed better. As I am sure you know, Cheney’s former company has lost over 8 billion dollars and Senator Kerry felt that it was equally important to hold his former company accountable for the people’s money. Once Bush stated he would veto such a measure, Kerry voted against it, AFTER there were enough votes for it already cast. I guess the truth doesn’t matter to Cheney much.

“John Kerry voted for No Child Left Behind, now he is against it. He voted for the Patriot Act, now he is against it.”

This is the tact of the GOP. Paint Kerry as a flip-flopper and hope people don’t connect the dots to realize that there may be very valid reasons for the change in opinion. Kerry voted for NCLB, but now is against it because BUSH HASN’T FUNDED IT!!! The country agrees with this, including many republican led states. As for the Patriot Act, everyone voted for it because it was right after 911 and it would have been perceived as treasonous not to. Then we got into the meat of the act and discovered that it allows for far too much abuse by the government, especially when John Ashcroft is the Attorney General. I do not fault Kerry for realizing that snooping into people’s library records and bypassing the judicial branch of government, which is part of the checks and balances system, is probably NOT a good thing. It is certainly not an American thing.

“George Bush makes decisions with wisdom and humility. He has a heart for the weak, the vulnerable, and the afflicted.”

I guess that does not include the 14,000 dead Iraqis and the 1,100 dead American soldiers? I assume you thought it was humble of Bush to scream, “bring em on”, while troops are in harms way? Was it wise to wait two months to pursue bin Laden and then decide that he was not worth thinking about much anymore? Was it particularly humble or wise to land on an aircraft carrier with a big banner saying mission accomplished, when the worst was still ahead? Stop the shill, deal with the facts.

Dick Cheney is real quick to send your kids to off to die. When he had his opportunity to stand up for this country, he sought FIVE deferments. His boss checked the box to not go overseas, had strings pulled to get into the Champagne Unit in the Texas National Guard, and then went AWOL from that unit. There is a term for people like this. They are chickenhawks. Bush and Cheney are not the only ones of course in this administration. Here is the list of chickenhawks who are sending your kids off to die:

George Bush                Dick Cheney                John Ashcroft               Paul Wolfowitz

Richard Perle                Karl Rove                    Rush Limbaugh Sean Hannity

Bill O’Reilly                  Tom Delay                   Jeb Bush                      Andrew Card

There are more, but I think the point has been made. It was made far more effectively though by Iowa Senator Tom Harkin last month in response to Cheney’s questioning Kerry’s ability to protect this country:

"It just outrages me that someone who got five deferments during Vietnam and said he had 'other priorities' at that time would say that," said the Iowa Democrat, a former Navy fighter pilot. "They're running scared because John Kerry has a war record and they don't," said Harkin. "What he (Cheney) is doing and what he is saying is cowardly. The actions are cowardly. When I hear this coming from Dick Cheney, who was a coward, who would not serve during the Vietnam War, it makes my blood boil," said Harkin. "He'll be tough, but he'll be tough with someone else's kid's blood," said Harkin.

Amen. It never ceases to amaze me that the people who are so quick to send other people’s kids off to die in a foreign land, never had the guts themselves and thus do not fully understand the true nature and cost of war.

Worse than being a chickenhawk though, Dick Cheney is a war profiteer. He and his buddies have made billions of dollars from the blood of Americans. When he took office he promised that he had divested himself of all holdings with Halliburton, his former company. The facts however tell a very different story:

Halliburton was awarded a no-bid contract worth more than $7 billion for the rebuilding of Iraq. This contract was "coordinated" by the vice president's own office. That same year, 2003, Dick Cheney received $178,437 in "deferred compensation" from Halliburton.

While Cheney has denied any relationship with Halliburton as vice president, he conveniently forgot to mention that he continues to receive from the company-deferred salary of over $150,000 while maintaining 433,333 shares of unexercised stock options. Certainly, Cheney has a "financial interest in Halliburton" while working as vice president.

Cheney received $205,298 in deferred salary from Halliburton in 2001, $162,392 from the company in 2002 and $178,437 in 2003.

Cheney's deferred compensation and stock option benefits are in addition to a $20 million retirement package paid to him by Halliburton after only five years of employment; a $1.4 million cash bonus paid to him by Halliburton in 2001; and additional millions of dollars in compensation paid to him while he was employed by the company.

Halliburton has seen their stock rise under this administration from $8 to $28 per share.

Reports show that Halliburton drastically overcharged America for gas being imported into Iraq, and skimped on basic services to troops like providing clean working conditions and safe food.

In all, Halliburton has overcharged the U.S. government $186 million. They even used tax dollars to pay an employee in Iraq $82,000 a year to "walk around and look busy."

Dick Cheney is watching out for Halliburton, and Halliburton is watching out for Dick Cheney. A recently filed 2003 financial disclosure form reveals that Halliburton invoked an insurance policy last year to indemnify Cheney for what could be steep legal bills "arising from his service" at the company.

I might add that Halliburton hired Cheney in 1995 as CEO without ANY business experience. I wonder why they would do that? I assume it may be that as Secretary of Defense a few years earlier, Cheney awarded Halliburton millions of dollars in contracts. This would be the beginning of an alliance that exists to this day. But Dick Cheney would have us believe that it is all a coincidence. That Halliburton has no involvement anymore with him. That the no-bid contracts offer no proof of collusion.

Dick Cheney doesn’t want you to look at his record of avoiding military service while he sends your kids to die. He doesn’t want you to see the obvious connections he and his boss have to the Swifties who question how much shrapnel John Kerry carries around in his body. He doesn’t want you to see how much money he has saved under the Bush tax cuts while you cash your $300 check. He doesn’t want you to see how much money his former company is making from the blood of Americans, while providing lousy services to the troops themselves. He doesn’t want you to see that Halliburton billed you $45 per six-pack of soda and has lost over 8 billion dollars. He doesn’t want you to connect the dots and realize that he is just a chickenhawk war profiteer, who wants four more years of deferred compensation.

Now for a couple of general observations…

The Kerry Tax Record Lies of the Night – Speakers tonight were beating the drum about how many times Kerry voted for higher taxes but of course lied about how many. The quoted number was 98. Factcheck.org has debunked this. The actual number in his career was 43 and one has to realize that the Bushies are counting large packages as multiple votes to boost the numbers. They also are counting deficit reduction packages, which end up having the effect of raising taxes.

New Bully on the Block Moment of the Night – Zell Miller appearing on MSNBC after the convention and went BALLISTIC on Chris Matthews. At one point he verbally threatened Matthews and asked him if he would shut up. Rumors say that FOX is looking for Miller to replace Alan Colmes as the liberal voice on Hannity and Colmes. That is of course after Georgia votes his a** out of office.

Summary       

Joe Scarborough brought up the most salient point of the night. He was amazed that we are now three days through the Republican National Convention and it has all been about John Kerry. Scarborough concluded, “what does that tell us about what George Bush has done for the past four years”. What it tells us is that George W. Bush has absolutely no record to run on. What it tells us is Bush does not want you to look at your economy. He does not want you to look at your environment. He does not want you to look at your healthcare. He does not want you to look at education. He does not want you to look at the billions of dollars being made off of his war efforts, not coincidentally are all part of his good ole boy network.

No, he wants you to look at votes that John Kerry cast two decades ago. He wants you to believe the rhetoric, the spin, and the outright lies. He wants you to think that Kerry is indecisive, even in the light of his own horrible decisions. We have had two national conventions so far and all we have heard about is John Kerry. George Bush wants you not only scared of the terrorists, but he wants you to be afraid of John Kerry. Like a good magician, it is all misdirection. It is like the Great Oz bellowing out “don’t look behind the curtain”. Dorothy, we are definitely not in Kansas anymore.

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. 

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