This editorial from www.buzzflash.com articulates the
current situation brilliantly...Over the past 48
hours, the "US mainstream news media" has gone back to
its enabling behaviour, allowing the Bush cabal's to
write the script and marginalizing Sen. John F. Kerry,
just showing footage of him shaking hands, etc.
without showing any of his own remarks in his own
words...Here we go...JFK has said that the Bush cabal
is "lying" and "crooked." JFK has said that world
leaders are hoping that he defeats the _resident. When
visciously attacked, he has refused to back down.I
have no doubt that JFK will rise to the challenge, our
concern is that his response will not be allowed to
reach the US electorate...Here we go...There is no
alternative to victory...The _resident LOST the 2000
election, the _resident KNEW enough before 9/11 to
make a difference but he did nothing, and since 9/11
he has exploited tragedy for political gain while
STONEWALLING any real investigation, the _resident
LIED about going to war in Iraq and led us into a
foolish military adventure, the _resident BLEW the US
federal surplus on a giveaway to the wealthiest
Americans and has presided over a JOBLESS "recovery,"
the _resident has not only failed the country, the _resident has
BETRAYED it, as Al Gole bellowed that night in
Tennessee a few weeks. There was no "intelligence
breakdown," the _resident LIED to the US electorate...The _resident has the blood of 500+ US soldiers on his hands, and brought us a $500 billion budget deficit...The election this November must be a national referendum on *his* CREDIBILITY, CHARACTER and COMPETENCE...
Buzzflash Editorial: This is an administration built upon secrecy and deceit. But they have the money and majorities on the FEC and FCC to control the airwaves, so they figure that they can use their tired old formula of picking some trivial issue, whether true or not, and using it to portray their opponent as "untrustworthy."
Repudiate the 9/11 Cover-Up and the Iraq War Lies,
Show Up for Democracy in 2004: Defeat Bush (again!)
http://www.buzzflash.com/editorial/04/03/edi04018.html
March 17, 2004 SEND THIS PAGE TO A FRIEND
EDITORIAL ARCHIVES
BuzzFlash Message to John Kerry: It's the Golden Hour of Opportunity, Define Bush or Be Defined by Him. There is No Option "B."
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL
At a moment like this, we are tempted -- like a
husband or wife who is awaiting a divorce from a
serial philanderer -- to bitterly try and list all the
perfidies, duplicitous comments and betrayals of the
Bush administration. But that would be an
all-consuming, a self-immolating task that would
divert us from the task of helping return America to
majority rule.
Just remember -- as Bush and Cheney personally attack
John Kerry on the issue of credibility -- that this is
the essence of the Bush Administration political
strategy: "If you tell a lie five times, it becomes
the truth."
Political analysts, the ones who really know what they
are talking about, not the multi-millionaire Bush
suck-up celebrity shills on television, say that now
is the time that offers a window of golden opportunity
for Bush and company to define Kerry in the mind of
the swing voter. Since the "perception" of Kerry's
character is still largely unformed in the minds of
many Americans, the goal of the Bush campaign, at this
time, is to -- and we have to gulp hard just to write
this -- portray Kerry as "untrustworthy."
Yes, this is the administration that has made brazen
lying banal [LINK]. And how will they sway voters? By
trying to implant the image in their heads that Kerry
is, well, a liar. It would be a ludicrous farce, if
this dishonest GOP technique weren't so deadly to
Democrats who haven't known how to fight back.
As much as Bush values lying as a prerequisite for
service in his administration (it's telling the truth
that gets people in trouble when they serve under a
Bush), he is also predictable. Character assassination
has always been the trademark of a Bush campaign.
George W. Bush rode shotgun with the infamous Lee
"Willie Horton" Atwater during his father's 1988
campaign, and Karl Rove has specialized in sliming
opponents since his days as a young Republican.
If anyone thinks this is a new strategy born of
desperation, just ask Al Gore, who ended up being
caricatured as a liar by the media because of
Rove/Bush attacks about the pettiest of comments. Gore
didn't fight back against the image, and he didn't
challenge Bush's credibility. As a result, we had an
election that was the equivalent of Ken Lay pointing
and yelling "thief" at a Boy Scout who accidentally
paid one cent less for a candy bar. And in this
analogy, the Boy Scout didn't attack back.
So don't dismiss as absurd the seeming ludicrousness
of the last few days, in which Bush, Cheney and Powell
have "demanded" that Kerry reveal the names of
"foreign leaders" who support him. First of all, it
turns out that the Boston Globe reporter who
originally wrote that Kerry claimed to have the
backing of "foreign leaders" admitted that he
incorrectly transcribed the quotation, and Kerry
actually said, "I've met more leaders" in general
[LINK]. So the Bush administration is now challenging
Kerry on some frivolous word that was never even said
-- and they continue to do so, despite the reporter's
retraction. And, in any case, one can only assume that
Kerry is the preferred candidate of many European
leaders who can't stomach Bush, including the heads of
France, Germany and now Spain.
Meanwhile, we can't get the truth out of the Bush
Administration about 9/11, Cheney's energy task force,
WMDs and other pre-Iraq war claims, the environment,
the cost of the Medicare Bill, the size of the
deficit, the number of jobs lost, the role of the
Saudis and Pakistan in terrorism, Halliburton
contracts, Ken Lay, actions taken under the Patriot
Act, the Florida 2000 recount, collusion between the
executive and judicial branches, failure to support
our Veterans and fully equip our military, and, well,
you name it. You can't get the truth out of the Bush
administration about virtually anything.
This is an administration built upon secrecy and
deceit. But they have the money and majorities on the
FEC and FCC to control the airwaves, so they figure
that they can use their tired old formula of picking
some trivial issue, whether true or not, and using it
to portray their opponent as "untrustworthy."
We share the frustration of our readers. The ability
of the Republican party, which is built upon
deception, division and greed, to paint honorable
opponents as liars is as mind boggling as it is
shameless. They stop at nothing. They have no
scruples. They are fundamentally immoral.
Yet, they portray themselves -- as Rove has done so
successfully with Bush -- as the people with "values"
and "morality."
It's one of the greatest con jobs in history.
But, here's the bottom line.
Now is the defining moment for John Kerry.
This is the time where either he defines Bush as a
liar who has betrayed the nation -- or he will end up
being defined as a liar.
There is no middle ground with the Bush dynasty. They
can't run on their records or their accomplishments,
because their record is one of ruin and their
accomplishments don't exist.
So they use character assassination to stay in power.
Since BuzzFlash began in May of 2000, our mantra for
Democrats and other progressives has been "define or
be defined." Al Gore didn't listen to our advice.
We hope that John Kerry does.
For a month, Kerry had Bush on the ropes. It was a
heartening sign that business as usual (rolling over
for the Republicans) had ended.
But this is, indeed, the golden hour of opportunity.
Show your stuff John. You have no choice. Either
successfully undercut Bush's credibility now, or
you'll end up looking like Pinocchio. Just ask John
McCain and Al Gore.
The Republicans have refined Samurai character attacks
to a fine art. Besides lining their own pockets with
money, it is what they do best.
The barbarians are no longer at the gates.
They are in the White House.
John Kerry, you must pull Excalibur out of the stone
and vanquish the dynasty of deception and deceit,
before they destroy you and your good name.
The future of democracy depends upon your success.
A BUZZFLASH EDITORIAL