ENOUGH ALREADY WITH THE LIES!
By Anthony Wade
You should expect more from your elected leaders and even more so from your president. The bottom line is that George Bush has NO record to run on so all he can do is keep repeating lies over and over again with the hope that eventually the lies will stick. It is a strategy that he used successfully with Al Gore and it is time for us stand up and tell him NO MORE.
The story today is this. John Kerry made this statement:
"We want those troops home, and my goal would be to try to get them home in my first term."
This seems like a fair enough statement for a political candidate for president to make about a foray that most Americans feel they were misled into. Bush could try to make his point for the continuation of his war and let the voters decide. Unfortunately, Bush lies reflexively so his response today was:
"After voting for the war, but against funding it, after saying he would have voted for the war even knowing everything we know today, my opponent woke up this morning with new campaign advisers and yet another new position, suddenly he's against it again. No matter how many times Senator Kerry changes his mind, it was right for America and it's right for America now that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power."
Lets tear this nonsense apart:
Lie Number 1 - "After voting for the war, but against funding it" - This tripe has been refuted so much I cannot believe that Bush still insists on regurgitating it. John Kerry voted to grant war powers to Bush if he went to war only as a last option and if the international community was with us. When he reneged on both conditions, he correctly felt that he could no longer support it. The funding issue is another piece of garbage from Bush. John Kerry supported a version of the 87 billion dollar vote that would have separated out the 20 billion going to Halliburton for better accountability. This seemed particularly prudent considering that Halliburton still cannot account for 8 billion dollars. Here is the point - GEORGE BUSH SAID HE WOULD VETO THIS VERSION OF THE BILL. That means that Bush also did not want to "fund the troops." I might add that considering Bush sent our kids out there without body armor for the first year, he is not one to be talking about not funding the troops.
Because the republicans control congress, the Bush version of the bill was the one that passed. Once it had a sufficient amount of votes to pass, Kerry cast a "no" vote in protest. Kerry also wanted to repeal tax cuts for the top 1% to pay for it, and Bush said NO. Kerry also wanted some of the monies to be in the forms of loans, and Bush said NO. Who is on the right side of this argument??? Bush has repeated the lies and misdirection about this 87 billion dollar vote for months now and it is time to tell him to STOP LYING.
Lie Number 2 - "After saying he would have voted for the war even knowing everything we know today." - What the hell is the point of saying this? Kerry has said that knowing what he knows today he still would have supported the war. Fine. Now he says, it is time to bring the kids home within his first term. These are oppositional statements. Is it possible that he would have supported the war but NOT supported the occupation beyond the next four years? Bush is hoping that if he says things with enough incredulity, that people will not look deeper into his words. He is wrong because we are sick of having him lie repeatedly when faced with a legitimate campaign issue.
Lie Number 3 - "My opponent woke up this morning with new campaign advisers and yet another new position, suddenly he's against it again." - I understand that maybe Bush should have actually paid attention when he went to school, but this is utterly juvenile. Saying that you want the troops to come home within four years is NOT saying you are against the war. Bush is hoping that by beating the "flip-flop drum" he will get it to stick in the mind of voters, as he did with Gore being branded a liar in 2000. We need to be ever vigilant against such tactics because all they really show is that Bush will stop at nothing to get re-elected.
Lie Number 4 - "No matter how many times Senator Kerry changes his mind." - When has he changed his mind!!! He said he supported the war under specific guidelines that Bush did not follow through on. After assessing the results, he felt he still would support the war. He wants the troops home within four years. Where is the "changing his mind" that Bush likes to keep referencing? I tell you where it is, nowhere. Bush just hopes you won't bother checking.
Lie Number 5 - "It was right for America and it's right for America now that Saddam Hussein is no longer in power." - Hmm, I am not sure what the hell this has to do with anything but I know Bush is going to spit this up as much as possible down the stretch. Saddam Hussein had nothing to do with 911, and no ties to al Qaeda or bin Laden. Despite that, Saddam has ABSOLUTELY NOTHING TO DO WITH THE STATEMENT BY KERRY, WHICH BUSH IS SUPPOSED TO BE RESPONDING TO!!! Kerry said he would be committed to getting our troops back home in his first term. He said nothing about Saddam and nothing about not being happy that he has been removed from power. Yet another Bush lie.
Summary - Every day we see Bush responding in such a fashion. He is asked a fair question and he responds with a slew of lies designed only to smear Kerry and NOT answer the question. I know the real reason why Bush had to respond in this manner. You see, John McCain stated a few days ago that he would not be surprised if we were in Iraq for another 10-20 years. That is the side where George Bush finds himself on. George Bush will need to keep your kids in Iraq for another 10-20 years and that does not even take into consideration his war plans with Iran and Syria. John Kerry has now come out and said that he wants our kids home within his first term, no more than four years.
There should be a healthy debate on this issue between the candidates, instead when asked about it, he responds with a five-sentence misdirection, of which EVERY word has now been proven to be a lie. That is because he does not want to look you in the eye and say your kids will need to be there far longer than four more years. It is time to hold Mr. Bush accountable for his lies, as well as his positions. Anything less will do a disservice to our country and out troops.
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
