Thursday, June 17, 2004

Kerry garners endorsement of battleground state newspaper The Philadelphia Daily News yesterday endorsed John Kerry for president of the United States. The Daily News says it is "the first [newspaper] in the nation" to endorse Kerry for president, and, as the Daily News notes, with its 21 electoral votes, Pennsylvania is an important battleground state. (Note that I endorsed Kerry on this weblog a year ago this week; I just might be the first blog to have endorsed him. If not, I'm one of the first few, I'll bet.) Here is a copy-and-paste (with formatting changes) of the News' endorsement of Kerry from the News' Web site (the link to the Web page is http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/8933725.htm?1c): Kerry for prez: Why him, why now -- and how to put him in the White House Last week, the nation looked to the past with the death of President Ronald Reagan. This week, the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush and John F. Kerry, suspended out of respect to the deceased 40th president, start fresh. In that spirit, this newspaper, the first in the nation, endorses John Kerry for president. Unlike the current White House occupant, Kerry can lead America to a brighter, better future. He has shown the personal courage, compassion, intellect and skill to lead this country in a time of war abroad and economic troubles at home. He is a serious man for a serious time. Why make this endorsement now, when the election is months away? Because this race promises to be close and Pennsylvania is one of 18 swing states that can go to either candidate. For Kerry supporters to prevail they must do more than just vote, they must bring a ringer into this contest: the more than a million people in the region who did not vote in the last presidential election. We believe these non-voters -- who will have to be mobilized over the next few months -- are the key to victory. On the next page, we outline a strategy to make sure Pennsylvania lands in the Kerry win column. We will further make the case for Kerry in future editorials. For now, let's concentrate on the current president and why he must be defeated. The case against Bush George W. Bush received -- and deserved -- praise for his leadership during the dark days immediately following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. But since then, the Bush administration has been marked by failure -- failure to shepherd the country through a tough economic downturn, failure to keep the nation focused on the true enemies to our security. He has failed in even the one challenge he set out for himself at the beginning of his administration -- to bring the country together. His has been one of the most ideologically driven and divisive administrations in recent times. Instead of moving forward, the country has been on the wrong track. These last four years have been wasted. Bush wasted the opportunity to lead an international movement against al-Qaeda, the real terrorist threat. Instead he has led us, with false intelligence, into a senseless war. In less than two weeks, the United States will hand over control of Iraq to the Iraqis. But our troops will remain -- and will have to remain for years to come. After the Sept. 11 attacks, there was a sense of national unity. Bush wasted the moment by deciding to appease the most strident in his conservative base, opposing gay marriages, gagging abortion information and giving comfort to the more irresponsible voices in the National Rifle Association. Bush was left with a trillion-dollar surplus at the end of the Clinton administration. The president took the money and wasted it with tax cuts for the wealthiest. As the deficits rose to record levels, the "tax cuts fix everything" ideology prevented his administration from changing what clearly is the wrong course. While the last three months have seen an increase in new jobs, there still is a net downturn for the Bush years. Many of the new jobs pay less. Healthcare costs are skyrocketing, the number of uninsured is rising. People are struggling and, in a second Bush administration, would struggle even more. The Office of Management and Budget has warned federal agencies of big cuts to veterans benefits, Head Start and -- yes -- homeland security. Conveniently for Bush's campaign, those cuts will occur after Americans vote Nov. 2. The case for Kerry Given the challenges, whom should we trust to lead the nation for the next four years? The man whose incompetence helped create some of the problems? No. We have a much better choice in Sen. John Kerry. John Kerry's long life in the national spotlight has been defined by steadfast support for the principled and intelligent use of American power in the world. His proposals -- not to mention the administration that he will create -- promise new hope for America. Like Bush, Kerry was born to wealth and privilege. Like Bush, he went to prep schools and then to Yale. But in little else since then has Kerry been like Bush, who acts as if his presidency is a birthright left over by his father. Kerry acknowledges that his privileges left him with a responsibility to serve and an ambition to lead. And he has -- from combat in the Navy, then as the clean-cut (and therefore highly effective) leader of the Vietnam veterans' anti-war movement, as a prosecutor in Boston, and in four terms in the U.S. Senate. He is not the indecisive waffler the Bush team would have you believe. Instead, he is offering a concrete, pragmatic direction for the nation. On the issue of high unemployment he is proposing changing the tax laws that give U.S. companies incentives to outsource jobs to India and China. Kerry promises to roll back the Bush tax cuts for people making more than $200,000 to help cut the federal deficit and help pay for his healthcare program, which seeks to expand coverage. He will withdraw the special privileges given to polluting industries and the oil companies as we work toward freeing ourselves from dependence on oil from the Middle East. On homeland security, Kerry understands that if we are attacked again, the first to respond will be firefighters and emergency medical teams, which have been largely ignored by the Bush administration. Kerry is proposing recruiting an additional 100,000 firefighters. Bill Clinton did the same with police during his term. Afterward, crime went down across the country. Coincidence? Hardly. On Iraq, there's little evidence that Bush can enlist the international help necessary to bring more of our troops home. There's reason to believe that Kerry, who understands the human cost of war, will. Kerry's personal style is, to put it mildly, reserved in public. But outside of the public eye, Kerry shows an engaging and energetic Yankee spirit as he rides a motorcycle, skis and snowboards, plays hockey and flies his own plane. Because he respects the intelligence of the American people, he rarely talks in sound bites. He understands that sound bites aren't solutions. Kerry's positions, while sometimes complicated, are grounded in reality, not in doctrines developed in think tanks. He has surrounded himself with advisers, many from the Clinton administration, who have real-world experience on the economy, national security and on fighting terror. They know how to win wars. They did it in Bosnia and Kosovo, wars where we actually had an exit strategy. Kerry, who fought in the swamps of Vietnam, can lead us out of the quagmire of the Bush administration -- but for that to happen, he will need your help. The strategy Past presidential election strategies focused on the "undecided" or "swing" voters. This election, we're pushing a different strategy: We're focusing on the people poll-takers call "unlikely" voters. According to polls, actual swing voters -- people who could vote for either President Bush or Kerry -- have dwindled to an overrated few. But there are 18 "swing" states that are the keys to victory for John Kerry. These are the states that Bush or Al Gore won by 6 percent or less of the vote, states where the number of likely voters for Bush or Kerry are evenly matched. These are the battleground states. Several important states, like New Jersey, are firmly in Kerry's corner. Pennsylvania, with its 21 electoral votes, is one of the most critical and hotly contested. Four years ago in Pennsylvania, Gore got 2.4 million votes, Bush got 2.2 million and Ralph Nader 103,392. But 4 million people didn't vote for any of them. The goal is to find among those 4 million non-voters new Kerry supporters and get them to register by Oct. 4 and then vote on Nov. 2. In this goal, the Philadelphia region is crucial. While the rest of the state tilts heavily Republican, Philadelphia has a rich vein of Democratic votes, which has not always been mined. It's because of Philadelphia voters that Clinton and Gore have won the state in the past. For sure, workers for President Bush are busy registering voters and working hard on turnout in other parts of the state. The contest is engaged. What you need to do now Make sure you are registered to vote. The deadline is Oct. 4, but do it now. If you haven't voted in the last several elections or you've moved, call your county board of elections to make sure you're properly registered. To get a list of addresses and phone numbers for each county, check the Web site of the Committee of Seventy (www.seventy.org) or the the state (www.dos.state.pa.us/voting). If you know you're not registered, pick up a registration form at a state store, library or post office, fill it out, sign it and send it to your county board of elections. (Find the address on either of the above Web sites.) You also can get a registration form online by going to www.dos.state.pa.us/voting. Make sure you fill in all the blanks and sign the form. You must use regular mail to send it in. A quick recommendation from Bob Lee, Philadelphia's voter registration administrator: Download the blank form and fill it in by hand. Don't use the form that you can fill out on the computer. It's a different size from the standard form and takes more time to process. For more information about registering, voting, or the election process in general, check out the Web site of the Committee of Seventy listed above. What you need to do soon Get others to register to vote. You can do this on your own: Talk to friends, relatives, fellow members of your church, synagogue or mosque. Or you can volunteer for an organized voter-registration effort. AmericaVotes.org is a national coalition of progressive organizations spearheading national voter registration and mobilization. At least two affiliates are active in Philadelphia: • Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), the longtime community activist organization. To get involved, call (215) 765-0042. • ACT (America Coming Together) is a coalition of nonpartisan, progressive organizations joined in a voter registration and turnout drive that they say is unprecedented, using new technology to identify voters. ACT intends to follow up registrations with personal contact with voters to talk about the issues. Its trial run was the Philadelphia mayoral race, in which it claimed a higher-than-average turnout. The coalition can be reached at (215) 922-0112 or its Web site (www.act4victory.org). Other organizations -- unions, anti-gun groups, environmental, civil-rights, pro-choice -- have their own voter mobilization drives. Join one. Finally, you can learn more about Kerry, make a donation or volunteer to help through his Web site: www.johnkerry.com. You can help Kerry win Pennsylvania. Act now. The commonwealth -- indeed the nation -- cannot afford another four years of George Bush. 8:02:23 PM    Comments []

E-mail from Gee Dubya I recently joined "President" Bush's "re"-election campaign's e-mail list. Thought it would be interesting to see what bullshit they're pushing, and I'm sure that the denizens of the Dark Side are monitoring John Kerry's campaign's e-mails. Here is a copy-and-paste of my first e-mail from Gee Dubya's "re"-election campaign, which I received today:   Dear Robert, The campaign is in high gear.  A tough opponent is running against me; we cannot take him lightly.  This is going to be a close election.  I appreciate all you have done for my campaign already.  I have been able to get my message to the American people because of your generous support. www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute/  Everywhere I go, I remind people of our country's ability to transfer challenge into opportunity in the past three and a half years.  It is the President's job to confront problems, to speak clearly and lead with strength.  And that is how I will continue to lead this country. We came to office with the stock market in decline and our economy headed toward recession.  But we acted.  We delivered historic tax relief:  Over 1.4 million new jobs have been created since August and our economy is the fastest growing of any industrialized nation.  We saw war and grief arrive on a quiet September morning.  While we comforted those who had lost family or friends, we pursued the terrorist enemy across the world.  We've captured or killed many key leaders of al Qaeda and the rest know there is no cave or hole deep enough for terrorists to hide from American justice. In Iraq, we acted to remove the threat of Saddam Hussein and freed 25 million Iraqis from the tyranny of a madman.  Now illegal militias, foreign fighters and terrorists are trying to take control by force what they could never gain by the ballot.  They know a free Iraq will be a major advance in our War on Terror.  But we will defend Iraq and defeat these enemies. Because we acted, nations like Libya got the message and voluntarily disarmed.  Because we acted, an example of democracy is rising at the very heart of the Middle East.   Because we acted, the world is freer, and America is more secure. In the fight against terror we worked with Congress to pass the Patriot Act and brought down the artificial wall so law enforcement and intelligence officers could talk with each other to help prevent future attacks.  We are working hard to keep terrorist attacks limited and outside of America's homeland. At home, we have left more money in the hands that earned it by passing the largest tax relief in a generation.  By spending and investing and helping create new jobs, the American people used their money far better than the government would have. We passed the No Child Left Behind Act to reform an education system that has failed the neediest students in our nation's classrooms.  Every child must learn to read and no child will be left behind. But there is more work to do and as the campaign enters the summer, I need your help again.  Your continued support today will mean the difference in a close election.  I hope you will make a donation of $2,000, $1,000, $500, $250 or even $100 or $50 today. www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute/ The man who sits in the Oval Office will set the course of the War on Terror and the direction of our economy.  So there is a lot at stake in this coming November election. My opponent has built up quite a record in nearly 20 years in Washington, D.C.  In fact, he's been in Washington long enough to take both sides on nearly every issue.  He reminds me of a saying we have about the weather in Texas -- If you don't like it at the moment, just wait a few minutes...it'll change. That is no way to lead a nation, particularly when so much is on the line.  My opponent hasn't offered much in the way of strategies to win the War on Terror or to expand prosperity.  But he has certainly got his liberal allies all stirred up to attack me. These groups, funded by large "soft money" donations from wealthy left-wing liberals have been running television commercials against me for months now.  That's why I need your help.  Federal law allows gifts up to $2,000 per person or $4,000 per couple:  I would greatly appreciate it if you'd send $2,000, $1,000, $500, $250 or even $100 or $50 today. www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute/ Mindy, we still have work to do.  We must win the War on Terror; the world is counting on America.  We must spread prosperity to every part of our nation.  We must work together over the next four years to make America a safer, more prosperous and better place -- and encourage the spirit of service and compassion that makes America the finest country on the face of the Earth. History has given us great challenges.  Let us welcome these challenges and let our actions testify to the greatness of America.  Thank you for your friendship and your prayers.  May God continue to bless our nation. Sincerely, P.S. Robert, can you visit our secure server at www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute/ to make a contribution of $2,000, $1,000, $500, $250 or even $100 or $50 today? My opponent and his friends are using vicious rhetoric in key battleground states. The race is close and with your continued support, we will win. Thank you. Bush doesn't acknowledge publicly, to my knowledge, that John Kerry is "a tough opponent" or that it's going to be "a close election," except, perhaps, at fundraisers. I wonder if Bush really believes that or if it's just a tactic to make his zombified followers fearful so that they'll give his campaign $$$, lest we (gasp!) return to the relative peace and prosperity that we had the last time that a Democrat was president! (Similarly, I also wonder if Bush really considers himself to be the legitimate president after the blatant election fraud that the banana Republicans perpetrated in Florida in 2000.) I like how the Bush e-mail capitalizes "War on Terror," acting as though the phrase is something that his propagandists didn't invent but came into being on its own and must be Unnecessarily Capitalized, like how They Like to Capitalize Everything in German... (Speaking of which, the nationalist word "homeland," which the neo-Nazi Bush regime's propaganda machine also churned out, is frighteningly reminiscent of the Nazis, as fellow neo-Nazi-hating American patriot Ted Rall points out in his great new book, Wake Up, You're Liberal!) It's apparent that the Bush regime is going to milk 9/11 for all it's worth (but we knew that). Although it will have been more than three years since 9/11 on Election Day on Nov. 2, the Republican National Convention will be held in late August in New York City, site of the World Trade Center attacks, even though New Yorkers hate Bush. (A Rasmussen Reports poll of New Yorkers taken this month puts Kerry at 57 percent and Bush at 34 percent.) The Republican National Convention being held in New York City is like the Democratic National Convention being held anywhere in Texas, so milking 9/11 for every last drop of political gain can be the Republicans' only motive for having their convention in New York City.     I like how Bush blames the shitty economy on pre-existing conditions. Bush is a "president" who turned the federal budget surplus he inherited from his predecessor into a record federal budget deficit, and there has been a net loss of hundreds of thousands of jobs on Bush's watch, so the "over 1.4 million new jobs" he references is misleading, given the big picture. The "No Child Left Behind Act" has never been funded as promised and, in fact, seems to be, at least in part, a way to funnel U.S. taxpayers' money for public education to private enterprises, just as Gulf War II's main purpose is to funnel U.S. taxpayers' money to private enterprises, such as Dick Cheney's Halliburton. (See Molly Ivins' Bushwhacked: Life in George W. Bush's America.) There still is no evidence that Saddam Hussein posed a "threat" to us, as Bush claims in his e-mail (because to admit that there was no such threat would be to admit that his war on Iraq was launched on false pretenses). And, of course, Bush claims that his regime is winning the "War on Terror," but The Associated Press reported yesterday that "A group of 26 retired U.S. diplomats and military officers said [yesterday] that President Bush should be voted out of office in November for damaging U.S. national security interests and America's standing in the international community." The AP notes that Among the group are 20 ambassadors, appointed by presidents of both parties, other former State Department officials and military leaders whose careers span three decades. Prominent members include retired Marine Gen. Joseph P. Hoar, commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East during the administration of Bush's father; retired Adm. William J. Crowe Jr., ambassador to Britain under President Bill Clinton and chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff under President Ronald Reagan; and retired Adm. Stansfield Turner, former head of the Central Intelligence Agency. ...Also included is Jack F. Matlock, who was appointed by Reagan as ambassador to the Soviet Union and retained the post under the first President Bush, and William C. Harrop, the first President Bush's ambassador to Israel and four African countries. The AP story also names retired Gen. Merrill A. "Tony" McPeak, former Air Force chief of staff, and Charles Freeman, former ambassador to Saudi Arabia during Gulf War I, among the 26 members of the group, which calls itself Diplomats and Military Commanders for Change. So even those who served under Republican icon Reagan and King George I are criticizing King George II's regime. "But [John Kerry] has certainly got his liberal allies all stirred up to attack me," Bush whines in his e-mail. (And like Bush's right-wing nutjob allies aren't "all stirred up to attack" John Kerry and aren't "using vicious rhetoric in key battleground states." I use lots of "vicious rhetoric," but, unlike the Bush Nazis, I back my shit up.) Of all of the many lies in Bush's e-mail, I especially like the part where he promises to "continue" to "speak clearly." "Speak clearly"? He can barely choke out a correct English sentence. (Can you say "Abu Ghraib"? "President" Bush can't! I watched him try!) Of course, Bush ends his e-mail with a religious reference because he is, you know, a good Christian. (Who would Jesus bomb? [Just asking.]) I do agree with Bush, though, on the God thing: God bless America, because we really could use God's blessing right now with the Bush regime at the controls, and if Bush, God forbid, gets a second term, we will really need God's blessing. P.S.: To contribute to John Kerry's campaign, click on one of the many www.GeorgeWBush.com/Contribute/ links above. To visit Kerry's Web site, click on the photo of Bush and his Stepford wife. P.P.S. to George: You are welcome for all that I have done for your campaign. 3:54:58 PM    Comments []