BUSH PROTECTS HIS SPECIAL INTEREST GROUPS

"There ought to be limits
to freedom..."

— George W. Bush,
commenting on the website
www.gwbush.com

QUOTE OF THE CENTURY: "If you don't think it's a gamble to put a man in the White House who believes we should have guns in church, who thinks the Taliban is a rock band, who was such a failure as a businessman that his company was nicknamed "El-Busto," who wants to turn our Social Security system into a Wall Street boiler room, who can't name a single thing he disagrees with Jerry Falwell and Pat Robertson on, who smeared a bona fide hero named John McCain, and whose principle policy proposal is to give America's surplus to the idle rich in the form of a $1.3 trillion tax cut, you're either nuts or a Republican."

... Equal Time co-host Paul Begala, shooting the bull.

BUSH: SPECIAL INTEREST PROTECTOR-IN-CHIEF

Coming under increasing fire for his failure to clarify his National Guard record, fix the economy, bring down the cost of health care, and secure post-war Iraq, President Bush has resorted to attacking his political opponents as "beholden to special interests and out of touch with regular Americans."

But a look at the more than $320 million that Bush has raised since 2000 shows that he is the man with the most special interest connections in American history - and that he has rewarded those special interests in kind. Specifically, while the president attacks Senator John Kerry (D-MA) for accepting money from lobbyists, a new study shows "the president accepted more in direct contributions from lobbyists in one year than Kerry did in the past 15 years." All told, Bush collected at least $6.5 million in "bundled" contributions from lobbyists last year alone. But that has not stopped Bush from his ad hominem attacks on opponents for "special interest" connections.

Yesterday, for instance, Bush attacked the US Senate for being beholden to "special interests" for holding up an insurance industry-backed bill to restrict medical patients from seeking legal redress in the event of malpractice. Yet, it was Bush who accepted more than $3 million from the insurance industry before he wrote the bill.

On the campaign trail last year, Bush said, "We can't let the special interests of Washington prevent us from doing what is necessary to protect the biggest interest we have, which is the American people." Yet it was Bush who did the bidding of his friends in the meat processing/meat packing industries by refusing to protect the American people from Mad Cow disease. Specifically, Bush refused to enact stringent meat inspection regulations and delayed country-of-origin labeling laws at the urging of the agribusiness industry which has given him $5.5 million. To make extra sure that the agribusiness special interests were protected, Bush also packed the U.S. Department of Agriculture with agribusiness executives.

Even on issues of war and peace, Bush has put special interests before almost anything else. As the Center for Public Integrity reported, the more than 70 companies and individuals that Bush awarded up to $8 billion in Iraq/Afghanistan contracts have "donated more money to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush  - a little over $500,000 - than to any other politician over the last dozen years." Visit Misleader.org for more about Bush Administration distortion.   http://daily.misleader.org/

THIS PAGE IS INCOMPLETE - MORE TO BE ADDED SOON!!!

NEXT SEE HOW BUSH LEFT TEXAS WITH FEW CHRISTIAN VALUES

BACK TO TABLE OF CONTENTS

DISCLAIMER: The Religious Freedom Coalition of the Southeast (RFCSE) is a non-advocacy Religious site paid for with volunteer labor and edited by Rebecca, a non-affiliated U.S. citizen.  The RFCSE site is being hosted by the Association of Cymry Wicca, a religious organization based in Marietta GA, the RFCSE Web site was published beginning on February 1, 1999.   No Permission is required by the RFCSE, for reprinting.  But permission by originating authors may be needed.  The duration of the working links are not under our control.  RFCSE has not reviewed all of the sites linked to our site and is not responsible for the content of any off-site pages or any other sites linked to our site. Your linking to any other off-site pages or other sites from our site is at your own risk.

Our Original Web Master, an associate died after a threat from a Hacker who did not appreciate Religious Freedom.  Before she died, she asked us to continue her Religious Freedom Page.  We will.  Even though we have been attacked by Right Wing extremists, we still exist because of the First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.  

Ben Franklin and Thomas Jefferson, who were deists (not Christians), helped frame the Constitution of The United States of American and placed language in the First Amendment to guarantee Religious Rights for all Americans.  We will uphold that tradition.