What does this say about the people who still believe him?
"NotBush2004" <notbush@whitehouse.gov> wrote in message
news:252b7a13f8b0147a22012122d8fec008@news.teranews.com...
December 11, 2003
More Presidential Deficit Deceit
President Bush yesterday deployed his budget director to write an op-ed
claiming "We can cut the deficit in half"1. It was a direct attempt to
regain his status as a supposed "fiscal conservative." The problem is that
it is just one in a long line of empty reassurances and dishonest
statements
on the deficit issue.
In 2001, when he was pitching his tax cut, the President reassured the
country that, "we can proceed with tax relief without fear of budget
deficits, even if the economy softens."2 After his tax cuts passed and a
deficit ensued, he promised, "Our budget will run a deficit that will be
small and short-term."3 When that proved not to be the case, he said "I
remember campaigning in Chicago and one of the reporters said, 'Would you
ever deficit spend?' I said, 'Only - only - in times of war, in times of
economic insecurity as a result of a recession or in times of national
emergency.' Never did I dream we'd have a trifecta."4 Even this statement
proved to be a flat out lie: two days later on Meet the Press, Tim Russert
said "We have checked everywhere and we've even called the White House as
to
when the president said [the trifecta caveat] when he was campaigning in
Chicago, and it didn't happen."
Bush then tried to shift the blame for the deficit, saying, "This nation
has
got a deficit because we have been through a war."5 While that sounded
good,
he was contradicting his own budget director, who admitted just a few
months
before that "Even if we had never been attacked, and incurred no costs of
war or recovery from September 11th.we still would have gone into
deficit."6
Because the President has decided to focus on dishonest rhetoric - instead
of action - the deficit now sits at $374 billion - the highest in
history.7
Sources:
Wall Street Journal, 12/10/03
Remarks by the President, 03/27/2001.
State of the Union Address, 01/29/2002.
President Discusses Homeland Security Department, 06/07/2002.
President Discusses Plan for Economic Growth in Ohio, 04/23/2003.
Mitch Daniels, congressional testimony, 2/5/03
"Federal deficit hits record $374.2 billion", USA Today, 10/20/2003.
http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df12112003.html
--
During the last election cycle, while Frist headed the NRSC, the health
care
industry increased its contributions to Republican candidates to just
under
$ 4 million and became the largest industry contributor to the party.
"If you look at the money involved, it would be easy to say the medical
industry has bought itself a Senator and, now, a Senate," says Harleigh.
http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_1470.shtml
.
