Bush Agenda Is AWOL By Michael Cudahy, AlterNet. Posted August 30, 2004. A former staffer for Bush I says that the RNC isn't the best place to look for a clear sense of the GOP's agenda. While aides say that Bush will present a a detailed second-term agenda in his nomination speech, viewers are likely to find themselves questioning the president's sincerity. Will we see the tax-cutting George Bush who seeks severe restrictions on stem cell research, a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, and who is working to replace the IRS tax code with a national consumption tax? Or will he be someone else? Like the rest of this year's chaotic and increasingly disingenuous Republican presidential campaign, the Republican National Convention looks like it will be carefully crafted to attract and reassure millions of moderate Republicans and independents. These are supporters who were attracted to George Bush's 2000 mantra of "compassionate conservatism," and who now wonder whether to continue trusting in a vision that has yet to materialize. These are votes the President desperately needs to win re-election in the Fall. And one thing voters can be certain of – when this president is desperate he will do whatever is necessary to achieve his ultimate goal. That is why television viewers will be served up significant portions of shameless bait and switch, presented by moderate keynote speakers who are a pale reflection of this administration's hard line neoconservative agenda. Moderate surrogates who seek to soften and reinterpret the train wreck that has been the last three and a half years of George Bush's presidency. The four-day $100 million infomercial has been designed to advance the image of a strong and compassionate leader who has nothing but the best interests of the American people in his heart. The gallant commander-in-chief who is this nation's most impenetrable shield against the worldwide threat of mindless terror. A president who has reinvigorated the American economy, strengthened health care and education, and provided limitless opportunities for millions of Americans seeking a better life. The RNC prime-time lineup is filled with faces one will not normally associate with the daily operations of the Bush administration. Scheduled for prominent speaking appearances are: former Democrat and New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg; ongoing national spokesperson for pro-choice organizations and moderate Republicans Rudolph Giuliani; Republican voice of reason and integrity, Senator John McCain; pro-choice, pro-gay, and increasingly bipartisan California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger; and opponent to the President's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage Lynne Cheney. Equally significant is the fact that convention organizers have sidelined prominent evangelical Christian leaders – voices they worry could polarize an already tight presidential race. Longtime Bush supporter the Reverend Jerry Falwell did not seem troubled by the seemingly deliberate oversight. Speaking on CNN Falwell said, "I just believe George Bush is as fine a president as we've had in my lifetime. If condemning him will help him, I'll condemn him; if applauding him will help him, I'll applaud him. All I care is that he is back in the White House in November." John Green, a specialist in religion and politics at the University of Akron, said that after decades of activism in Republican national politics, conservative Christians are now party insiders with major influence and power who do not require a specific and highly visible role at a national political convention. In the mid 1990s, as National Communications Director for the Republican Coalition for Choice, I worked with thousands of other traditional party members to fight the emergence of what we now know as the neoconservative agenda. The tool our opponents used so effectively was a weapon they learned from Bush friend and mentor Lee Atwater – stealth. Work invisibly, say whatever needs to be said, and when the occasion demands call upon nameless, faceless surrogates to do your dirty work for you. Atwater protege and Bush political advisor Karl Rove learned well from his old boss. If transparent dishonesty and insincerity advances the team's agenda then Rove will do whatever is required. Never mind that Lynne Cheney has opposed the president's constitutional amendment banning gay marriage saying, "...[P]eople should be free to enter into any relationship they choose.... to recognize that has been historically what the situation has been, and that when it comes to conferring legal status on the relationships that is best left up to the states." Or that Senator John McCain has called on the president to specifically condemn the "dishonest and dishonorable ads" attacking Senator John Kerry's Vietnam war record, only to have White House spokesman Scott McClellan decline to do so saying the president "deplores all that unregulated soft-money stuff." Or that self-described "compassionate libertarian" Arnold Schwarzenegger defends gay rights saying, "I have no sexual standards in my head that say that this is good and this is bad. Homosexual only means to me that he enjoys sex with a man and I enjoy sex with a woman. It is all legitimate to me." These voices do not align well with this administration's track record. But no matter, in the end it's the message and the image – not reality or truth. Protests don't even seem to be a concern to Republican leaders. Opening night speaker, New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg,has figured out a way to make a profit on the protesters he anticipates descending on his city. Saying that, "It's no fun to protest on an empty stomach," the mayor is offering "peaceful political activists" discounts at select hotels, museums, stores and restaurants around New York City. And, one senior convention organizer said in a New York Tines story, "You know the protesters are going to be here. You know they're going to be a story. I look at that as a wave: not a wave to stand in front of, but a wave you have got to ride and take advantage of." The unaswered question is whether Americans suffering from economic and unemployment worries at home, and deep concerns over George Bush's interventionist foreign policies abroad will be fooled by the Republicans' shameless abuse of the truth. It is a cynical strategy that has worked well for them repeatedly in the past. What's to keep it from working now?
Economic Reality Bites If anyone required further evidence that President Bush's fiscal policies have not worked the way he says they have, this week's report from the Census Bureau provided it. In brief, from 2001 through 2003, poverty increased, income stagnated and the ranks of the uninsured grew, while the United States spent some $400 billion on tax cuts, which mainly benefited wealthy families. The Bush administration seemed intent on minimizing the political impact of the report, releasing the data on Thursday, instead of the usual date in late September, to get it done before the convention. But the numbers spoke for themselves. Since Mr. Bush came to power, 4.3 million people have fallen below the poverty line, set at $18,660 for a family of four in 2003, bringing the total number of people living in poverty in 2003 to 35.9 million, or 12.5 percent of the American population. The poor will always suffer most from recession and job losses. But one sure way to stem the slide into poverty is by bolstering state programs that directly benefit the poor, like job training, health care and child care. The administration devoted only 3 percent of its stimulus spending to aid for state governments. Congress and the administration have also done nothing to enhance the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program. As a result, while the number of children living in poverty increased by 11 percent over the past three years, the number of children receiving welfare declined by 10 percent over the same period. Adding to the gloom, median family income - $44,853 in 2000 - fell by $1,535 during the administration's first three years, while the number of Americans without health insurance, according to the Census Bureau, grew by 5.2 million, to 45 million in 2003. The president and Congress have largely ignored this problem, while leaving little room to address it later by ballooning the deficit with tax cuts. A Bush campaign official suggested that the census report was misleading because it did not reflect the economic growth of the past 11 months. In fact, the report covers all of 2003. And in three of the seven months of 2004 for which data is available, job growth has not been strong enough to even keep up with population growth. Moreover, a Commerce Department report released yesterday showed that economic momentum slowed in the spring, with the economy expanding at a rate of only 2.8 percent, the slowest advance in more than a year, versus 3.0 percent as originally reported. The downward revision reflects June's record trade deficit of $55.8 billion. It remains to be seen whether this week's bad economic news turns out to be bad political news for Mr. Bush. But for tens of millions of Americans, it is already old news. http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/opinion/28sat1.html
