News Is George Bush Misusing Taxpayer Money for His Re-Election Campaign?

  • Thread starter Thread starter schwarzchildradius
  • Start date Start date
AI Thread Summary
The discussion highlights various controversial practices by the George Bush administration regarding the use of taxpayer money for campaign activities. Key points include allegations of government employees conducting opposition research on John Kerry, misleading campaign ads about Medicare, and significant taxpayer funding for Bush's travel and campaign efforts. The administration is accused of using government resources to promote its agenda and support Republican candidates, with critics arguing that this blurs the line between politics and policy. The conversation also touches on the historical context of political practices, with references to former President Clinton, but emphasizes that the extent of exploitation by the Bush administration is unprecedented. Overall, the thread critiques the intertwining of political campaigning and governmental functions under Bush's leadership.
schwarzchildradius
Here are some of the most outrageous ways George Bush is using our tax money to campaign for another four years in the White House:


The Bush-Cheney campaign has used government employees to conduct opposition research on John Kerry. Even a former Republican Treasury official admitted that they had "stepped over the line." [Wall Street Journal, 3/31/04]

The White House directed the Health and Human Services Department to run thinly disguised campaign ads that mislead seniors about Bush's Medicare plan which funnels billions of dollars to giant pharmaceutical companies. [Washington Post, 10/20/02]

The Bush campaign is charging taxpayers $15 million dollars for political forays into battleground states, turning Air Force One into the Bush campaign plane. Bush has even asked for a larger travel budget for 2004, funded by the taxpayers. [Washington Post, 10/20/02]

The White House has billed the federal Office of Family Assistance $210,000 to help pay for five trips in which President Bush promoted welfare reform at official events and made separate fundraising appearances for GOP candidates. [Washington Post, 10/20/02]

"[Bush's] Cabinet secretaries are covering additional ground to spread good news about the Bush administration." [Associated Press, 4/5/04]

"'One hundred seventy million dollars would not be nearly enough for [Bush] to run for re-election if he had to reimburse the full cost of traveling on Air Force One,' Federal Election Commission spokesman Bob Biersack said." [CNN.com, 3/22/04]

The House Resources Committee posted a diatribe against Kerry's "absurd" energy ideas on its taxpayer-funded Web site. [Associated Press, 4/6/04]
 
Physics news on Phys.org
*waits for the inevitable "but Clinton..." posts, and wonders how many of them will be lies*
 
Zero said:
"but Clinton..."
... rented out the White House itself. :cool:

Yeah, Bush is a politician. I'm shocked. :eek:
 
Thanks, Russ, repeating the first "lie about Clinton" for the thread...I was wondering how long it was going to take!

BTW, I agree that it is politics as usual, I think it is wrong when anyone does it...I just don't see the need to bring up other politicians, because if it is wrong when one does it, it is wrong for all.
 
Yeah, Bush is a politician. I'm shocked.

The point is that Bush has put politics over policy in an unprecedented way. It is the degree to which the Bush Administration has exploited policy agencies that is scary.
 
Zero said:
Thanks, Russ, repeating the first "lie about Clinton" for the thread...I was wondering how long it was going to take!
Hmm, well, I guess it makes sense to put "lie about Clinton" in quotes, since its not true itself. I'm sure you know about the Lincoln bedroom.
The point is that Bush has put politics over policy in an unprecedented way. It is the degree to which the Bush Administration has exploited policy agencies that is scary.
I guess you're probably serious when you say this. It seems a lot of people on this board agree with it. Whatever Bush learned from Clinton, he hasn't executed nearly as well. Clinton was the master at whoring out his position, opinions, decisions, etc. No one else has ever come close.
 
ok, cool...mentors pushing to get threads locked? Good job Russ.
 
Back
Top