Rooftop Revolt – By the People

The Daily Howler

What’s the history here? Barnes’ first public statement about Bush-and-the-Guard occurred in 1999 — back in a time when the national press was avoiding this topic for all it was worth. Barnes was forced to testify in a court case about his role in this matter. George Lardner reported the story for the Washington Post:

LARDNER (9/28/99): Former speaker of the Texas House of Representatives Ben Barnes said under oath today that he recommended George W. Bush for a pilot’s slot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War at the behest of a Houston businessman close to the Bush family.

Testifying in a deposition for a lawsuit that has stirred up allegations of preferential treatment for Bush, now the governor of Texas seeking the Republican presidential nomination, Barnes said he relayed that information to a top Bush campaign official, Don Evans, more than a year ago.
—–
To the Editor of the New York Times:

Re “Portrait of George Bush in ’72: Unanchored in Turbulent Time” (front page, Sept. 20):

Surely the simplest way to determine whether President Bush fulfilled his duties as a pilot in the Texas Air National Guard is to ask him to produce his personal pilot’s log book.

As a former Navy fighter pilot, I am aware that all military pilots are required to keep a log book that is a detailed record of the pilot’s activities, both in the air and on the ground, while in uniform. Not only is each flight recorded by date, aircraft, mission and flight time, but also all ground drills, flight physicals, qualifications and training are entered as well.

Production of Mr. Bush’s log book would reveal how much flight time he had in the F-102 and whether he fulfilled his duties. In the interest of the American public, he should now provide full details of his Guard service.

Richard Moody
Princeton Junction, N.J.
Sept. 20, 2004

USATODAY.com – Plan isn’t a takeover, despite Bush claimsBy William M. Welch, USA TODAY

President Bush’s charge: Taking aim at one of the Democrats’ favorite issues, Bush charges that John Kerry’s plan to improve health care coverage amounts to a federal takeover of the nation’s health care system.

“A massive, complicated blueprint to have our government take over the decision-making in health care” was the way Bush described Kerry’s plan this week. It would, Bush said, “have bureaucrats become the decision-makers.”

Democrats’ response: Kerry structured his plan to extend health-insurance coverage to more Americans in a way intended to avoid just the charge Bush levels. He would make it easier for middle-income Americans to purchase private- insurance coverage and expand existing government programs providing coverage for children and the poor. …

Another view: Bush’s characterization of Kerry’s plan is a misrepresentation, said Jeffrey Lemieux, executive director of Centrists.org, a small bipartisan think tank that seeks moderate solutions to policy issues.

Kerry’s plan, he said, seeks to avoid the pitfalls of President Clinton’s failed 1994 health care plan, which was based on requirements that employers offer health insurance. Instead, Kerry would provide tax incentives for employers to offer health coverage to workers.

“They seem to have learned the lessons of the Clinton plan and not over-regulate,” Lemieux said. “It’s all voluntary.

“I really don’t see a government takeover here,” he said. “It’s still not a national health plan.”

MSNBC – Young voters register heavily in key states
18- to 24-year-olds are nation’s newest swing voters
The Associated Press

Voter registration drives aimed at young people are turning 18-to 24-year-olds into an important variable in the presidential election, especially in decisive battleground states such as Michigan — where nearly 100,000 young people have registered in recent months — and Wisconsin, where the numbers are even higher.

They are the nation’s newest swing voters, with polls showing their support for the major candidates has vacillated in recent months. A Harvard University poll found that, in a five-month period, 19 percent of young potential voters changed their minds about whom they’d support.

“It’s a big population of fluid voters, and they’re largely unknown,” says Ivan Frishberg, outreach and communications coordinator for the nonprofit New Voters Project, which has registered tens of thousands of young people across the country. …

Officials in several other battleground states — New Mexico, Ohio and Florida among them — see clear signs that more young people are interested in this election. And some election experts believe that polls of “likely voters” often miss young people because the population is so mobile. …

At that rate, he says Rock the Vote’s registration numbers may surpass those from 1992 — a year when young voter turnout topped 50 percent for the first and only time since 1972.

One political scientist says he’s particularly interested to see what happens this time in Minnesota, New Hampshire and Wisconsin, where voters can register on Election Day. Data has shown that young people are particularly likely to take advantage of same-day registration.

Home – New Voters Project

The New Voters Project Presidential Youth Debate

President Bush and Senator Kerry have agreed – in writing – to address your 12 greatest concerns through The New Voters Project Presidential Youth Debate. We’re proud to give under-35 year olds their first-ever opportunity to choose the questions answered by the top presidential candidates.

Rock the Vote – Welcome
789,905 People Registered!

Greens For Impact

Greens for Impact is an organization of principled, pragmatic Green Party members and progressive populists dedicated to the goal of defeating George W. Bush in his bid for a second term as president, while simultaneously furthering the growth of the Green Party as an independent alternative to the corporate-dominated parties.

Dump Bush photos by mjh

Further scrutiny lessens doubts on Bush memos / Some skeptics now say IBM typewriter could have been used Francie Latour, Michael Rezendes, Boston Globe

The controversy over the authenticity of the documents has all but blocked out discussion of their content. They say Killian was under pressure to “sugar coat” Bush’s record, and Bush refused a direct order to take a required medical examination and discussed how he could skip drills.

Fiscal Conservatives Challenge Bush By Adam Entous, Reuters.com

President Bush, who accuses his Democratic rival of keeping his budget plans secret, has yet to offer plans of his own for funding his campaign promises and cutting the deficit in half, fiscal conservatives said on Friday. …

But even fiscal conservatives, traditionally allied with the Republican White House, were skeptical of Bush’s plans.

“While it’s true that Kerry hasn’t provided a detailed plan, neither has the president,” said Heritage Foundation budget analyst Brian Riedl.

William Niskanen, chairman of the Cato Institute, said Bush’s warnings about Kerry’s spending plans were “inconsistent” with his own proposals. “There’s no way to accomplish (Bush’s) major new measures, including tax reform, without substantial increases in spending,” Niskanen said.

Stephen Moore of the Club for Growth, a group that raises money for conservative political candidates, said Bush was not being “very forthright” about his plans. He called Bush’s fiscal record “abysmal” …

This week congressional analysts warned the deficit will balloon to a cumulative $2.29 trillion over the next decade.