I'm sick of bush campaigning on our money!

[rasputin1952]

I think one of the things that should be brought up far more often, is the fact that bush keeps going to the fundraisers and photo-ops on the public dole.

You and I are paying for this. bush has $100+ mil, and he uses AF One to go to events that he should be paying for out of his "War Chest".

The guy who has to pay the $50 or so to go to a NASCAR race, (I don't know what the cheap seats go for), cheers this guy on? He is most likely making less than $30,000, yet thinks this is just fine to use a few hundred grand to fly bush to NASCAR races.

Now, I am not a fool, I know that others have done this as well. But I cannot recall anytime another administration has been so blatant about it. A 10 minute speech costs the U.S. Taxpayer a million dollars, and then bush has the audacity to go to a fundraiser! Enough already, just how stupid are we supposed to be?

:grr:

[RobertSeattle]

1. Agreed

Someone needs to do some analysis of press reporting of the 1996 campaign (the closest comparison) when Clinton was running for re-election. I'm pretty sure the RW was foaming at the mouth everytime Clinton went somewhere on Air Force 1 that vaguely was like a campaign trip.

[bryant69]

2. Well . . .

But I cannot recall anytime another administration has been so blatant about it.

I think what you might mean is that you can't remember a time when it seemed to matter as much. All president's have this problem. They have to use the government provided transportation because of security concerns. And it would be unreasonable for us to expect President Bush not to campaign (although it would be nice if he didn't, one has to admit).

On the other hand Republicans used it against Clinton in his 96 run, so it's probably fair to point it out.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com

[rasputin1952]

3. My point is...

they just don't care how obvious it is. If there was realistic expectations of something coming out of these "political junkets", I could be at ease with that. But the current administration chooses an area it needs to go to, figures out how much money can be made at a fundraiser, (a beans and hot dog dinner for $1000 a plate), then adds a policy agenda to it. They are just plain foolish about the entire situation. Show a little concern for the taxpayer, at least make the trip LOOK legitimate!

O8)

[loudnclear]

4. Remember how the Rethugs complained whenever Clinton rode in AF1?

Bush, who has all the money he needs to campaign still does it on the public dole.

[ComerPerro]

5. Yeah, suddenly they don't give a shit anymore

Now that their guy is in there, its ok.

[rasputin1952]

17. I see that as typically republican...

they want ever type of perk there is, but they want someone else to pay for it.

AF One is there for the president's OFFICIAL use. So they tack on a speech, with the usual WMD/taxcut spiel, and they call it 'official'.

This individual has money pouring out of his ass, he's a typical cheap-ass republican pig. Every time I think the GOP can't get any lower, it finds a new way.

These are the people that make a point out of being, "The Party of Lincoln", yet the closest thing to Lincoln they ever get, is when they are squeezing that last penny from some poor bastards fingers.

I could not live like that, I would rather give the last of what I had to help someone, as opposed to making their life a living hell, and being unemployed, I am just about as poor as they get.

O8)

[evil_orange_cat]

6. well, Clinton did it...

I can't exactly fault Bush for something Clinton did.

[ComerPerro]

7. I can

Bush was going to restore honor and dignity to the White House, and he was going to stop spending so much because its not his money.

Turns out he was just a lying asshole, and none of his supporters care that he is a hypocrite (making them hypocrites as well).

[rasputin1952]

9. Precisely the point...

It is the blatant hypocrisy of this administration that I truly abhor.

There was such an outpouring of hubris about ANYTHING that Clinton did, that it became almost an everyday occurrence to find something to screech about, (most of which was a lot of hype and no substance).

Now that this bunch of knuckledraggers is in charge, everything that is mentioned about them seems to be off limits. There has never been a poor administration as far as doing things that actually benefit the nation as a whole. They are in this for themselves, and they don't care if they sell the entire nation, just so that they increase their net worth.

To put this into perspective, Gingrich squealed because he was placed to the rear of AF One, and there was a huge flap over Bill getting a haircut. Now bush can do a flyover at a NASCAR event, and no one seems to care. I will not say that Clinton did not use AF One as a route to re-election, that would be absurd; but he didn't do it with such an air of arrogance. Clinton could also go and give a speech and go on for quite some time, and in some detail. All bush does, is a ten minute speil on how great it is to cut taxes, and a brief mention of WMD's that don't exist. Then it is off to the races to gather up more cash.

Here's a question that I have no answer for, where does the money in the "War Chest" go if bush spends $75 million, but has $50 million left after he loses? Does it go to the treasury, or perhaps homeless programs, or a faith based charity? If the candidate is permitted to keep the cash, there is something wrong with this picture. Does bush do this just so he can leave the WH w/$50 mil? Is there a precedent that shows that a previous admin gave the proceeds to something other than themselves? I know what I would do, I would distribute the money amongst various groups I thought were doing good for the nation. Volunteer groups, that are hard strapped after the donations to them dried up because the average American that gives to such groups can no longer afford to do so.

That's just me, I'm sure that these cretins will be sitting around divvying up the lucre after this next election. It is what republicans do best, line their own pockets at the expense of anyone else.

O8)

[ComerPerro]

10. You nailed it

Now bush can do a flyover at a NASCAR event, and no one seems to care. I will not say that Clinton did not use AF One as a route to re-election, that would be absurd; but he didn't do it with such an air of arrogance. Clinton could also...

That is precisely what the problem with this administration.

Their arrogance

Their sense of entitlement.



Maybe it comes from being wealthy and living a life of luxury, maybe it comes from their desire to have an aristocracy, or maybe it is just really bad parenting.

But these assholes are just so arrogant it makes me want to scream.

The best example is from The Price of Loyalty. O'Neil discusses how Cheney tells him that deficits don't matter, because running up the deficit is their due because they won the election!!!!

:wtf:

[rasputin1952]

11. It is amazing that the vast majority of the members ...

of this administration, have NEVER done any real work. Yep, they are the privledged class, and if it were up to me, I'd get them all shovels and teach them what it feels like to do some work on a 40+ hr week for $5.50 an hour and zip for benefits.

O8)

[belle]

21. HAHAHAHAHAHA

(wiping away tears) Oh, sorry. That was good. Um, sure. Well, let's see. In the unlikely event that Bush and his cronies don't spend every last dollar in the chest, not to mention going into the red, for more and more outrageous publicity stunts and attack campaigns: I predict, assuming they do lose, that the leftovers will go a) into various pockets or b) into a crack team of lawyers trying to sue to get back the White House. Or, c) for bail money. Not bloody likely, but we can dream...

[rasputin1952]

22. Bail $, I like that idea...

Let's see, if I were being sworn in in Jan, this is what I would do immediately following the actual swearing in:

"Mr. bush, in the name of the American people, I am placing you under arrest immediately for crimes against humanity and the American people. The U.S. Marshall's are hereby ordered to remove you to a place of detention until you can be arraigned by a Federal Court".

I would then proceed w/ an inaugural speech that would set a course to return the nation to the American people. I would promise to push for the full investigation of all "postal box" corporations, and push for the arrest of CEO's that have ripped off the Treasury. And THAT is just the beginning! Rove, Cheney, Wolfowitz, et al, would be brought up on charges of treason!

O8)

[belle]

19. I don't remember Clinton pulling photo op stunts like this clown

That is, I don't remember him doing anything as "looka meeeeee!" as the "Mission Accomplished" crap last year--a photo op which I will bet cost more than all the haircuts Clinton ever got in his *life.* And as for Clinton's trips to Europe--hello, they were *business trips.* He met with world leaders; this is something that Normal presidents are supposed to do. Yeah, so he didn't do it at Naderesque levels of frugality, but, hello, there was a *point* to them besides stroking his own ego. There's a qualitative difference as well as a quantitative one.

Not to mention: I cannot believe that Clinton required a Secret Service entourage nearly as big--or as costly--as Bush does every damn where he goes. Bush's very unlikability has cost us, bigtime.

[BiggJawn]

8. I'm sick of it, too.

Yesterday, he goes to the Daytona 500, and everyone calls it a "camapign trip".
Yet today, he's still down there, making visits and talking about his economic Voodoo, so guess who gets stuck with the tab for the WHOLE weekend?

My employer realises that we might combine personal business with University business, and we are supposed to diferentiate between the 2 on the re-imbursement form.

I'll bet chimpy doesn't have to...

[lebkuchen]

12. King Ludwig II had been declared insane for bankrupting his OWN account

as a result of building Neuschwanstein, Linderhof, and Herrenchiemsee and providing Richard Wagner with a large endowment.

Those castles continue to bring in the bacon for Bavaria, with a million and a half tourists each year, and the Wagner Festival in Bayreuth is all but impossible to get tickets for.

Can Bush say his legacy will provide one iota of the wealth and fame for the U.S. on the taxpayer dole as King Ludwig's has with his own money?

[rasputin1952]

13. Ludwig was also pretty darn smart...

he designed Neuschwanstein to be centrally heated by the kitchens down below, and had running water.

bush, on the other hand, has put people back into the cold by removing thousands from aid for heating costs, cutting the funding.
If it were up to the cretins in the WH, they'd go back to the late 19th cent, and plumbing would be obsolete, replaced by the noble outhouse.

O8)

[lebkuchen]

14. Yep. Ludwig tried NOT to get involved in a war between Austria and Prussia

as he saw the futility of war and preferred to promote the arts instead. He was eventually declared insane without a psychiatrist even examining him.

Meanwhile, though it's falling, Bush's approval rating is still in the high forties after going to war with no legal basis, bankrupting the country in the process, leaving Iraq on the verge of civil war, our soldiers, sitting ducks.

Which ruler is insane?

[smirkymonkey]

18. Good point!

Der Bub Krieger ist geisteskrank!!

[belle]

20. Gahhh! Thank you for reminding me about the heating cuts...

Fuckwit. EPIC fuckwit.

[rasputin1952]

23. I sure hope "Compassionate Conservatism"...

never hits me!

The heating cuts were for the elderly, infirm and poor. I think that one act showed me just how brutal these bastards truly are. Then come back and say they will "increase drug benefits". Why? Maybe it is to help some of those freezing to death get meds to help them get over pneumonia!

God, I really hate this SOB.:grr:

O8)

[indepat]

15. We might as well get used to it. What really has GWB

accomplished on trips within the United States these past 3+ years that wasn't for partisan political purposes, mostly when playing to his base?

[rasputin1952]

16. Absolutely nothing!...

just like his republican predecessors, his father and RR, the infrastructure of the Nation means nothing to them For all of Nixon's faults, he did pass Civil Rights legislation, he got the EPA off to start, and numerous other internal things that helped the country, Ford tried, but sputtered. In contrast Carter and Clinton were both pro-American citizen, and helped push through legislation that benefited this nation.

Typically republican, the only thing RR, Bush 1 & this present pinhead think about are business, (generally BIG business), and selling out the country to the highest bidder. I will give RR credit for one thing,:scared:, he pulled out of Beruit after the bombing of the USMC barracks. bush didn't learn from that experience, and now, rather than go with the UN, he has us stuck in an war w/o end, for no purpose other than to enrich his pals.

O8)