(7/22/03) Just as the corporate media's propapunditgandists and
the Green Party fantasists drew a caricature of Al
Gore and then pilloried the caricature while ignoring
the man, propapunditgandists and Green Party
fantasists have also drawn a caricature of an
enfeebled and spineless Democratic Psrty. Well, there
is some spinelessness and some cravenness in the
Democratic Party. Dick LoseHeart (D-Misery) who sold
us out by making a deal with the devil on Iraq, Sen.
Tom DuckIt (D-SD) who seems as if he never recovered
from having to take all that Cipro, and Sen. Joe
Lieberman ("D"-Sanctimonicutt), well, I do not even
know where to begin talking about what Leiberman has
not done over the last two and a half years...But
there is also tremendous strength, courage and
principle. For example, Sen. Byrd (D-WV), Rep. Waxman
(D-CA) and the entire Black Caucus...but also several
Presidential candidates: Graham (D-Fraudida) who is
relentless in speaking out on BOTH 9/11 and Iraq and
who is not afraid of discussing the kind of misdeeds
that rise to the level of impeachable offenses, Dean
(D-Jeffords) whose gut fighter instincts and caustic
remarks are energizing, and Sen. John Kerry (D-Mekong
Delta)who has advanced in a tough and disciplined way,
pacing himself for the long distance, building an
unassiable foundation for the actual race against the
_resident (if the _resident runs) with his call for
"regime change" in D.C., his set-up that if Bush lied
Iraq "he lied to me personally," his charge that Bush
was "trafficking in untruths" on Iraq, and his taunt
yesterday that the _resident's "false pride" was
preventing him from doing what he must (i.e, involve
the UN, etc.), saying that his "blood boiled over,"
Kerry meticulously made the vital link (i.e.
Iraq=Vietnam), as Reuters reported Kerry, a decorated
Vietnam War veteran, said half of the names of the
dead enshrined on the Vietnam war memorial in
Washington stem "from the time that that kind of pride
began to cloud the decisions in Vietnam."
One of the most vital Democratic leaders in this
critical and dangerous period is Terry McCauliffe, the
DNC Chairman, who luckily has proven to be smart,
dynamic and brave. He never speaks without reminding
his audience of the theft of the 2000 election and he
is not afraid to fight...Please read this very
important story and as Marc Crispin Miller says, "PICK
A FIGHT!"
http://www.buzzflash.com/buzzscripts/buzz.dll/sub3
Republican National Committee Tries to Intimidate TV Stations Not to Run DNC Ad About Bush Lies
July 23, 2003
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
A lawyer from the Republican National Committee has
now sent a threatening letter to TV stations in
Madison, Wisconsin (where a TV ad from the DNC
critical of the administration is currently running)
trying to intimidate stations into not running the ad.
(The text of the letter is below.) The DNC ad,
however, is 100 percent true -- the President misled
the public during the State of the Union.
The Republican National Committee is trying to
intimidate TV stations into not running the ads.
Here's the letter its lawyer sent to TV stations.
Intimidating Letter from the Republican National
Committee to Madison, Wisconsin, Television Stations
Dear Station Manager:
It has come to our attention that your station will
begin airing false and misleading advertisements on
July 21, 2003, paid for by the Democratic National
Committee. The advertisement in question misrepresents
President George W. Bush's January 28, 2003, State of
the Union address. The advertisement states that
President Bush said, "Saddam Hussein recently sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
In fact, President Bush said, "The British government
has learned that Saddam Hussein recently sought
significant quantities of uranium from Africa." By
selectively quoting President Bush, the advertisement
is deliberately false and misleading. Furthermore, the
British government continues to stand by its
intelligence and asserts that it believes the
intelligence is genuine.
The Democratic National Committee certainly has a
legitimate First Amendment right to participate in
political debate, but it has no right to willfully
spread false information in a deliberate attempt to
mislead the American people. These advertisements will
not be run by legally qualified candidates; therefore,
your station is under no legal obligation to air them.
On the contrary, as an FCC licensee you have the
responsibility to exercise independent editorial
judgment to not only oversee and protect the American
marketplace of ideas, essential for the health of our
democracy, but also to avoid deliberate
misrepresentations of the facts. Such obligations must
be taken seriously.
This letter puts you on notice that the information
contained in the above-cited advertisement is false
and misleading; therefore, you are obligated to
refrain from airing this advertisement.
Respectfully,
Caroline C. Hunter
Counsel
Republican National Committee
A BUZZFLASH READER COMMENTARY
Posted by richard at July 24, 2003 12:23 PM