Bush makes fun of Kerry

iVillage Member
Registered: 05-11-2003
Bush makes fun of Kerry
2
Tue, 09-28-2004 - 12:24am
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (Reuters) - President Bush on Monday mocked his Democratic rival John Kerry for shifting his positions on Iraq so many times he could "debate himself" in this week's face-off between the two candidates. FLIP FLOPS

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-23-2004
Tue, 09-28-2004 - 12:52am
Ncswanson, are you related to the folks who make them tv dinners?

fyi: don't believe everything you hear at a bush rally, and remember, just because you sign the loyalty oath at the door doesn't mean you can't come to your senses. the indecisive one has always been bush.


BUSH is FLIP-FLOP KING

September 24, 2004, 11:38 AM

Well, he can’t windsurf – hell, the former cheerleader can’t seem to stay on his bike or a Segway – but George Bush is no stranger to shifting with the political winds:

1. Osama Bin Laden

FLIP: Bush wants Osama - dead or alive.

“I want justice. And there’s an old poster out West, I recall, that says, ‘Wanted: Dead or Alive.’”

FLOP: Bush not concerned about Osama.

“I don’t know where he is. You know, I just don’t spend that much time on him… I truly am not that concerned about him.”


2.Strategic Petroleum Reserve

FLIP: Bush refused to tap oil reserves.

“President Bush said yesterday that he opposed tapping the reserve to address rising gasoline prices. ‘We will not play politics with the Strategic Petroleum Reserve,’ Mr. Bush said after meeting with his Cabinet at the White House. ‘The idea of emptying the Strategic Petroleum Reserve would put America in a dangerous position.’”

FLOP: Bush taps oil reserves.

“The Energy Department today said it plans to tap into the nation’s Strategic Petroleum Reserves…. The announcement comes after the White House has turned down calls to draw down the strategic reserves — which total more than 666 million barrels stored in salt caverns along the Gulf Coast— or stop filling them to help boost supply and lower surging prices.”



3. Winning the War on Terror

FLIP: Bush is adamant that “we will win.”

The day after the September 11 attacks, Bush pledged to us, “This battle will take time and resolve. But make no mistake about it: we will win.”

FLOP: Bush says we can’t win.

“Asked ‘Can we win?’ Bush said, ‘I don’t think you can win it.’”

4. WMD in Iraq

FLIP: Bush says no war needed if Iraq has no WMD.

“If the Iraqi regime wishes peace, it will immediately and unconditionally forswear, disclose and remove or destroy all weapons of mass destruction, long-range missiles and all related material.”

FLOP: Bush says invading Iraq was right regardless of WMD status.

“Knowing what we know today, we still would have gone into Iraq. We still would have gone to make our country more secure…. Although we have not found stockpiles of weapons of mass destruction, we were right to go into Iraq.”

5. 9/11 Commission

FLIP: Bush opposes creation of 9/11 Commission.

President Bush took a few minutes during his trip to Europe Thursday to voice his opposition to establishing a special commission to probe how the government dealt with terror warnings before Sept. 11.”

FLOP: Bush supports establishing commission.

“President Bush said today he now supports establishing an independent commission to investigate the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks.”

FLIP: Bush opposes time extension for commission.

“President Bush and House Speaker J. Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) have decided to oppose granting more time to an independent commission investigating the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks.”

FLOP: Bush supports time extension.

“The White House announced Wednesday its support for a request from the commission investigating the September 11, 2001 attacks for more time to complete its work.”

6. National Intelligence Director

FLIP: Bush opposition to 9/11 Commission’s “central priority” draws fire from both parties. 9/11 Commissioner Slade Gorton said that a national intelligence director (NID) with full budget authority and subject to congressional oversight was, “perhaps the central priority” the commission identified but Bush’s plan for the a new NID “received a skeptical reception from Congress on Tuesday, as Democrats and Republicans argued that Bush’s opposition to letting the director have budgetary authority could diminish efforts to improve the nation’s security.”

FLOP: In a “sharp shift,” Bush caves on budget authority. “President Bush said on Wednesday that he wanted to give a new national intelligence director ‘full budgetary authority,’’ a sharp shift from an earlier position and an acquiescence to a major recommendation of the Sept. 11 commission. Mr. Bush was acting after weeks of intense election-year pressure from Democrats and members of his own party, who have repeatedly told the White House that an intelligence director without budget authority would be powerless to push through significant reform.”

7. Department of Homeland Security

FLIP: Bush opposes establishing a Department of Homeland Security.

“Bush initially opposed the creation of the Department of Homeland Security proposed by Sen. Joe Lieberman (D-Conn.), then supported it once its creation by Congress was inevitable.”

FLOP: Bush proposes establishing a Department of Homeland Security.

After Bush’s hesitation delayed the department for months, Bush finally relented. “So tonight, I ask the Congress to join me in creating a single, permanent department with an overriding and urgent mission: securing the homeland of American and protecting the American people.”

8. WMD Investigation

FLIP: Bush resists outside investigation of WMD intelligence failure.

“The White House immediately turned aside the calls from Kay and many Democrats for an immediate outside investigation, seeking to head off any new wide-ranging election-year inquiry that might go beyond reports already being assembled by congressional committees and the Central Intelligence Agency.”

FLOP: Bush supports WMD investigation.

“Today, by executive order, I am creating an independent commission, chaired by Governor and former Senator Chuck Robb, Judge Laurence Silberman, to look at American intelligence capabilities, especially our intelligence about weapons of mass destruction.”

9. Funding for Iraq

FLIP: Bush Administration says no more funds needed.

“We do not anticipate requesting supplemental funding for ‘04”

FLOP: Bush requests more funds.

“I am requesting that Congress establish a $25 billion contingency reserve fund for the coming fiscal year to meet all commitments to our troops.”

10. Iraq / al Qaeda Connection

FLIP: Bush says the two are impossible to distinguish.

“You can’t distinguish between al Qaeda and Saddam when you talk about the war on terror.”

FLOP: Bush finally admits Iraq had no role in al Qaeda plot.

“We’ve had no evidence that Saddam Hussein was involved in Sept. 11.”

11. War and Peace

FLIP: “I’m a war president. I make decisions here in the Oval Office in foreign-policy matters with war on my mind.”

FLOP: “The enemy declared war on us, and you just got to know nobody wants to be the ‘war President.’ I want to be the ‘peace President.’”

12. Prescription Drug Reimportation

FLIP: In 2000, Bush said he favored drug reimportation.

“Allowing … drugs that were sold overseas to come back and other countries to come back into the United States. That makes sense.”

FLOP: In 2003, the House passed H.R. 2427, a bill that would have required the Bush Administration “to issue regulations permitting pharmacists, wholesalers, and individuals (for personal use) to import prescription drugs into the United States from 25 countries” including Canda. According to a WHITE HOUSE STATEMENT: “The Administration strongly oppose H.R. 2427.” In fact, the Administration even threatened “legal action if cities or states defy its ban on importing cheaper drugs from Canada.”

FLIP: “President Bush said Wednesday that pressure is building in Congress to allow lower-priced drugs to be imported from Canada and elsewhere but that it’s still unclear whether it would be safe… ‘I’m looking at this,’ Bush told supporters. ‘There’s a lot of pressure in Congress for importation’”

13. Dumping Seniors from Medicare

FLIP: Bush pledges not to “dump” retirees.

“If there is a Medicare reform bill signed by me, corporations have no intention to, what they call ‘dump’ retirees into a system they don’t want to be dumped into.”

FLOP: Bush Medicare bill dumps 4 million seniors.

“New government estimates suggest that employers will reduce or eliminate prescription drug benefits for 3.8 million retirees when Medicare offers such coverage in 2006. That represents one-third of all the retirees with employer-sponsored drug coverage, according to documents from the Department of Health and Human Services.”

14. National Sales Tax

FLIP: When asked if the US should abolish the income tax and replace it with a national sales tax Bush said, “It’s an interesting idea…. We ought to explore it seriously.”

FLOP: One day later, Bush was backpedaling furiously. “Administration officials on Wednesday denied that President Bush is considering a national sales tax, a day after the Republican incumbent created a stir by calling such a tax ‘an interesting idea that we ought to explore seriously.’”

FLOP: Bush raids nearly $500 billion from the Social Security surplus.

According to the Social Security Administration, in just three years, Bush has spent $482 billion from the Social Security Trust Fund.

16. Budget Projections

FLIP: White House used 10-year projection to sell tax cut.

In 2001, the AP reported, “President Bush said Saturday that the most important number in the budget he sends to Congress next week is the $5.6 trillion surplus it projects over the next 10 years…. The surplus figure ‘counts more than any other’ in the budget, said.” Shortly after the tax cuts were passed, the White House issued a 10-year budget projection indicating a $3.4 trillion, 10-year surplus.

FLOP: But now says 10-year projections are “terribly, terribly wrong.”

Despite its earlier reliance on the 10-year numbers, when the budget plummeted into deficit, the White House stopped issuing 10-year projections, saying, “The only thing we know about 10-year projections is that they are terribly, terribly wrong.”

17. Gas Prices

FLIP: Candidate Bush promises to “jawbone” OPEC into lowering prices.

“What I think the president ought to do is he ought to get on the phone with the OPEC cartel and say we expect you to open your spigots...And the president of the United States must jawbone OPEC members to lower the price.”

FLOP: President Bush refuses to lobby OPEC leaders.

With gas prices soaring in the United States at the beginning of 2004, the Miami Herald reported the president refused to “personally lobby oil cartel leaders to change their minds.”

18. Gay Marriage

FLIP: It’s up to States to Decide.

In a 2000 presidential primary debate, candidate George W. Bush said gay marriage was a state’s issue, saying, “The state can do what they want to do. Don’t try to trap me in this state’s issue like you’re trying to get me into.”

FLOP: Bush supports Constitutional Amendment restricting States’ Rights

“If we are to prevent the meaning of marriage from being changed forever, our nation must enact a constitutional amendment to protect marriage in America. Decisive and democratic action is needed, because attempts to redefine marriage in a single state or city could have serious consequences throughout the country.”

19. Steel Tariffs

FLIP: Bush puts restrictions on steel imports.

In 2002, Bush imposed tariffs on imported steel for a time period of three years. “In a decision largely driven by his political advisers, President Bush set aside his free-trade principles last year and imposed heavy tariffs on imported steel to help out struggling mills in Pennsylvania and West Virginia, two states crucial for his reelection.”

FLOP: Bush rescinds steel tariffs 16 months early.

“Daniel R. DiMicco, president of steelmaker Nucor Corp. and chairman of the American Iron and Steel Institute, said the industry incurred considerable debt as it tried to consolidate and restructure and had counted on a full three years of tariff protection.”

20. Assault Weapons

FLIP: Bush Supports Extending Assault Weapons Ban.

“It is my understanding that the president-elect of the United States has indicated his clear support for extending the assault weapons ban, and I will be pleased to move forward with that position.”

FLOP: Bush Opposes Extension of Assault Weapons Ban.

“The White House is opposing addition of assault weapons restrictions to a bill shielding firearms makers and dealers from lawsuits, prompting angry complaints from Democrats that President Bush is reneging on earlier support for the proposal.”

21. Tobacco Buyout

FLIP: Bush supports current quota system.

“They’ve got the quota system in place—the allotment system—and I don’t think that needs to be changed.”

FLOP: Bush shifts gears, endorses buyout.

“The administration is open to a buyout.”

22. Air Pollution

FLIP: Candidate Bush pledges to reduce air pollution.

“, Governor Bush will work to...establish mandatory reduction targets for emissions of four main pollutants: sulfur dioxide, nitrogen oxide, mercury and carbon dioxide.”

FLOP: President Bush refuses to enforce Clean Air Act.

“I do not believe, however, that the government should impose on power plants mandatory emissions reductions for carbon dioxide, which is not a ‘pollutant’ under the Clean Air Act.”

23. Great Lakes

FLIP: Even though experts say “diverting any water from the Great Laeks region sets a bad precedent” Bush “said he wants to talk to Canadian Prime Minister Jean Chretien about piping water to parched states in the west and southwest.” He said, “A lot of people don’t need , but when you head South and West, we do need it.”

FLOP: “We’ve got to use our resources wisely, like water. It starts with keeping the Great Lakes water in the Great Lakes Basin. You might remember what my opponent said earlier this year about Great Lakes water diversion. He said it would be a delicate balancing act. It sounds just like him. My position is clear: We’re never going to allow diversion of Great Lakes water.”

24. North Korea

FLIP: Bush refuses to negotiate with North Korea.

“We developed a bold approach under which, if the North addressed our long-standing concerns, the United States was prepared to take important steps that would have significantly improved the lives of the North Korean people. Now that North Korea’s covert nuclear weapons program has come to light, we are unable to pursue this approach.”

FLOP: Bush decides to meet North Korean demands.

“Well, we will work to take steps to ease their political and economic isolation. So there would be—what you would see would be some provisional or temporary proposals that would only lead to lasting benefit after North Korea dismantles its nuclear programs. So there would be some provisional or temporary efforts of that nature.”


http://www.actforvictory.org/act.php/truth/index/

iVillage Member
Registered: 04-16-2004
Tue, 09-28-2004 - 10:49am
That is about as many positions that Kerry has taken on Iraq to date.

http://media1.stream2you.com/rnc/072304v2.wmv

BTW, the position on the Strategic Petroleum Reserve is nothing political...it is historical, but I guess you dont quite grasp that. The reserves were not tapped into due to the rising cost of gas prices, but to offset the oil that cannot be produced by the damaged facilites due to Hurrican Ivan.

With regards to his remarks about winning the war on terror, I guess you missed that he clarified his statement where he said that since this is not a conventional war, there will be no sitting at a table with the leader of the terrorists to sign a peace accord.

I could go on, but it would be pointless.