Ex Lt. Gov of Texas Tells How He Got Bush into TX Guard.

Barnes is not someone this Democrat is proud of. Actually, I've never liked him. He was Speaker of the Texas House when he did what he did for Bush's father, which was to get Bush into that spot in the Guard, not Lt. Governor. That was later.

Here's a little more about the story. What was done for Bush is nothing unusual about the times... if you had the influence, most families of young men did what they could. The only story here, in my opinion, is that Bush has always denied any family influence was used. No surprise there. Hell, he's so thick, he may actually believe it.


August 28, 2004

Texan 'Ashamed' on Bush Role
By THE NEW YORK TIMES

The New York Times

HOUSTON, Aug. 27 - Ben Barnes, a former speaker of the Texas House who has said he got George W. Bush into the National Guard in 1968, told an audience of John Kerry supporters in Austin on May 27 that he was ashamed of his role.

"I walked through the Vietnam Memorial the other day," Mr. Barnes said, according to a videoclip posted on the Internet this summer, "and I looked at the names of people who died in Vietnam and I became more ashamed of myself than I've ever been because the worst thing I did was get a lot of wealthy supporters and a lot of people who had family names of importance into the Guard and I'm very sorry about that and I apologize to you and the voters of Texas."

A 45-second video of his remarks, which were not reported at the time, was posted June 25 on a Web site, Austin4Kerry.com, that crashed on Friday from overuse after Jim Moore, an Austin author of books on Mr. Bush, sent out e-mail messages calling attention to it. The video was then shifted to another site: 69.59.167.160/.

Mr. Barnes, a Democrat, did not return calls for comment.

President Bush is on record as denying that family influence got him into the Guard.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/08/28/politics/campaign/28barnes.html

 

Not to be an ass but, didn't we all already know this? And haven't many people already come forth about it, including this guy?

 

How Bush got into the Guard was speculated about, and people in Texas who follow politics may have had a pretty good idea how it was done, but this is the first time anyone has come forward and said, "It was me. I got him out."

Like I said, I don't think his having family influence to get into the Guard is a "big story." The only "story" worth mentioning, considering the nit-picking about what which candidate did when, and with who, and so on, is that Bush denied that family influence got him in. I have no doubt whatsoever that family influence did get him into that Guard unit. I just don't care. Bush should admit it and move on.


Oh, and Barnes is an a**. I believe him on this, but he's still an a**. He's not in jail??

 

I'm pretty sure I have a book or two in my bookshelf with Barnes proclaiming he did indeed get Bush into the Guard unlawfully.

 

Please share! I'd like to know which ones.

 

It'll be interesting to see if Bush's illegal appointment to the National Guard will get the same media attention that Kerry's Swiftboat "controversy" got.

But what happened 35 years should make no significant impact on the 2004 election -- Bush wussed out and used family connections to avoid combat, even going AWOL from 1972-1973; and Kerry volunteered for service, for which he was decorated and later criticized for protesting. Fine. Take from that what you want.

Isn't it more pertinent to discuss the war we're CURRENTLY FIGHTING, rather than one that ended 30 years ago? Americans are allowing ourselves to be manipulated.

 

From Paul Begala's "Is Our Children Learning?"

Friends in High Places: How Bush Got in the Guard in the First Place

Back in 1968, bring in the National Guard was a coveted ticket out of getting your ass shot off in Vietnam. Despite a waiting list of 500, Bush was vaulted to the head of the line. He only scored in the 25th percentile in the pilot aptitude test, yet he was approved for an automatic comission as a second lieutenant and assigned to flight school, a role usually reserved for young men with ROTC and air force experience, Bush had neither.

Both Bush and his father deny they asked for preferential treatment, although such treatment was common for the sons of the weathly and powerful. And then--Texas House Speaker Ben Barnes has testified under oath that he did in fact pull strings to get W into the Texas Air National Guard, "At the request of a businessman from Houston named Sid Adger." Adger lived in the same Midland neighborhood and attended the same clubs as the Bush family while George W. was growing up, Barnes said that Adger gave no indication that the call came at the Bushes' urging.

 

You are on the money. What we need to discuss is the here and now. For this election, I couldn't care less that Bush weasled out or that Kerry volunteered. I want health care, foreign policy, and education on the front pages. Not this tabloid variety garbage.

 

This is as much a non-issue as the Cambodia story.

We need to keep our eye on the ball.

 

I don't care what Bush did 30 years ago.

I don't care what Kerry did 30 years ago.

 

However:

Bush diehards care about what Kerry did 30 years ago.

Kerry diehards care about what Bush did 30 years ago.

 

If they are diehards, no matter what either of them did 30 years ago, it will have no effect on their votes.

 

Doubtful-- ABC, CBS, and NBC will probably take Barnes seriously.

 

This is the roughest campaigning I've ever seen. Although I'm only 24, I can't remember ever seeing anything close to the amount of mud slinging going on in past elections.

 

Normally I might agree with those who say this is irrelevant. However, so much of Bush's support is built around the 'strong President/take no crap/unafraid to kick ass persona that I think it is relevant that during the war of their generation, Bush was awol snorting coke while kerry was at war, and then protesting the war. At least Kerry was involved. It serves as a massive indict of the perception of Bush.

 

Right. The media talking about the Swiftvets nearly non-stop for three weeks isn't taking them seriously at all.

 

I may have come across that way, but it's not that I think it's irrelevent, as far as what was done for him, it's just that it was so unbelievably common among those who had some influence.

And not just the rich and powerful, but people who knew people on the local draft boards. A nod and a wink from a local board member to a solidly middle class father who knew the guy from the Elks and the bowling league might do what was done for Bush. Maybe not an appointment to a unit populated by the scions of the well-to-do, like Bush, but to some kind of Guard unit. Or a surprising "flunked physical." It wasn't everyday stuff, but believe me, it happened.

It's a sad commentary on the times, but it's just how it was, if you were lucky enough to have connections. The vast majority didn't. Hey, as a Democrat, I don't like making "excuses" for Bush on this deal. I still think that he is hypocrital in how he's handled his Guard service, and certainly took full advantage of every break possible. So did Cheney. Kerry didn't. It's a difference, but I'm also not crazy about how he's using his war record. Yes, our history is populated with famous generals becoming President, that's for damn sure, but I think the issues facing the middle class, the uninsured, and on and on... those things are what Kerry should be focusing on. And Bush.

 

I just think its so silly that this is an issue that's becoming at best a draw for kerry and at worst a losing issue. That's crazy. You're right that this was not uncommon (and doesn't ever seem to have been uncommon through history), but in this case you have two rich guys - one volunteers for duty and then spends the rest of his life in public service, and one ducks duty and spends almost NO time in public service. This should be a crush crush crush issue for Kerry and its just not. I think the democratic machine must have accidentally switched from the clinton election manual to the dukakis/mondale manual.

Yes, the election should be about what these guys are going to do now (or say they're going to do now), but that's not generally the way these things work. I'd like to see one of those independent ads with kerry on a boat and a gw lookalike snorting coke in his flightsuit! The democrats need to jump up and smack bush in the face. IMO all this talk about backlash from mudslinging is just that, talk. Its time to roll up the sleeves and brutally cut bush down.