Bracing the Faithful
To: Bush-Cheney '04 Grassroots Team
From: Ed Gillespie, Republican National Committee Chairman
Subject: BRACE YOURSELVESIn response to President Bush's Agenda for America's Future and a critique of his policies and Senate record, Senator Kerry's campaign is implementing a strategy of vicious personal attacks against the President and Vice President.
Translation: You're going to be hearing a lot about George Bush's Air National Guard service in the next couple of days. Ignore it! It's all just a vicious personal attack devised by the Kerry campaign. See, George and Dick were just playing nicely, critiquing Kerry's policies like teacher said (and NOT coordinating with the SwiftVets), when all of a sudden, Kerry and his campaign gave George a wedgie!
So, who exactly from the Kerry campaign is viciously attacking the President and Vice President? Per Ed's memo, it includes "campaign surrogate John Glenn," "Democratic strategist [for Fox News] Susan Estrich," Kitty Kelley, and apparently rocker Moby.
Ed says that Estrich indicated that "a forthcoming book by Kitty Kelly raises questions about whether the President has practiced what he preaches on the issue of abortion." This causes Ed to remark:
Interestingly, the New York Daily News reported back in February that the Kerry campaign intended to spread such a rumor in pro-life chat rooms late in the campaign
Ed, Ed, Ed. As we noted in February, the NY Daily News reported nothing of the kind -- the whole thing was just Moby talking to Rush & Molloy, the gossip columnists, about what mischivous people COULD do to make some of Bush's supporters question him. Here's part of that item, which they entitled "Punk the Prez?":
Moby suggests that it's possible to seed doubt among Bush's far-right supporters on the Web."You target his natural constituencies," says the Grammy-nominated techno-wizard. "For example, you can go on all the pro-life chat rooms and say you're an outraged right-wing voter and that you know that George Bush drove an ex-girlfriend to an abortion clinic and paid for her to get an abortion."Then you go to an anti-immigration Web site chat room and ask, 'What's all this about George Bush proposing amnesty for illegal aliens?'"
Ed, you know that Moby isn't part of the Kerry campaign any more than Pastor Joseph Grant Swank* of "BushCountry.org" speaks for George Bush.
But back in February (when, coincidently, questions about Bush's Air National Guard service were all over the papers), this is what Ed said in a speech in Reno, as reported by the GOP Times (emphesis mine):
We now know that some time this fall Kerry campaign supporters intend to go into pro-life chat rooms on the Internet to spread a scurrilous story that President Bush drove a former girlfriend to an abortion clinic, and paid for her abortion, according to the New York Daily News.
However, per the Moonie Times and Newsmax, Ed said, "Kerry campaign operatives" were the ones who intended to go into the chat rooms and spread that scurrilous story. So, either the GOP Times retroactively changed the text of Ed's speech, or Ed gave an advance copy of it the friendly media, and then at the last minute changed his mind about calling Moby a "Kerry campaign operative" -- probably upon the advice of his lawyer.
However, I find it noteworthy that now that things aren't looking good for Bush, Ed is back to claiming that Moby's idea is part of a "Kerry campaign" operation.
And, as we all know, Moby didn't just make up the "scurrilous story" -- it was first reported by Larry Flynt, back in 2000. In February he told the NY Daily News' Lloyd Grove, "I've tracked down the doctor who did the abortion, I tracked down the Bush people who arranged for the abortion. I got the story nailed." But later, he said he couldn't get the woman to confirm the story, so he didn't print her name in his book, which came out this summer.
Anyway, back to that February speech in Reno, where Ed also said:
Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but they are not entitled to their own facts.
Very true. And that facts are, the NY Daily News did NOT report that the Kerry campaign intended to spread rumors about Bush's ex-girlfriend's alleged abortion. But I guess Ed figured that the best defense against the Texas Air National Guard records is a good offense, consisting of lying.
But the "true facts" Ed was talking about were George Bush's military records:
Again on Tuesday, new documents proved again that the President served honorably in the National Guard:
But, of course, Campenni can't account for the disupted time in 1972, so his letter didn't resolve things, and the released records didn't prove that Bush did anything during those 6 months in Alabama except go to the dentist -- and they don't say why he didn't take his flight physical.
And here's what the new documents indicate, per Ed's favorite paper, the NY Daily News:
A battery of new documents obtained by CBS' "60 Minutes" and the Boston Globe allege that Bush:
In his memo to us grassroots, Ed doesn't address the records, but does warn us about Barnes's "60 Minutes" interview:
And tonight on CBS, longtime Democratic operative Ben Barnes-a friend of, major contributor to and Nantucket neighbor of Senator Kerry's and vice chair of the Kerry Campaign--will repudiate his statement under oath that he had no contact with the Bush family concerning the President's National Guard service. (Anyone surprised that Barnes would contradict a statement he made under oath probably doesn't know his long history of political scandal and financial misdealings.)
But Ed is pulling another fast one, because of course, Barnes DIDN'T tell CBS that he had contact with the Bush family concerning George's National Guard service -- he said he had contact with a Bush family friend.
Mr. Barnes maintained, as he has since 1999, that he had contacted his friend who headed the Texas Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. James Rose, not at the behest of anyone in the Bush family, but rather a Houston businessman, Sidney A. Adger, a friend of the Bushes who has died."Yes, I called Rose to get George Bush into the Guard, I've said that," Mr. Barnes said in his office last week in Austin. "I called Rose for other sons of prominent families, and I'm not proud of it now."
Oh, and just for fun, let's review part of that Campenni letter that Ed was crowing about back in February:
Another frequent charge is that, as a member of the Texas ANG, Lt. Bush twice ignored or disobeyed lawful orders, first by refusing to report for a required physical in the year when drug testing first became part of the exam, and second by failing to report for duty at the disciplinary unit in Colorado to which he had been ordered. Well, here are the facts:
First, there is no instance of Lt. Bush disobeying lawful orders in reporting for a physical, as none would be given.
"On this date I ordered that 1st Lt. Bush be suspended from flight status due to failure to perform to USAF/TexANG standards and failure to meet annual physical examination (flight) as ordered," says an Aug. 1, 1972 memo by Lt. Col. Jerry Killian, who is now dead.
So, I can see why Ed is trying to get his people all het up about Kerry operatives planting abortion rumors in chatrooms instead of focusing on the fact that Bush evaded his Reserve duties, and then later, when it became polically inconvenient, he and others covered up the facts.
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* Now might be a good time to review some selections from Pastor Swank's latest column:
United States President George W. Bush is marinated in old-fashioned American patriotic conviction. Yes, he’s a mortal with flaws, as are we all. But there’s one flaw he does not carry. He does not carry the flaw of lack when it comes to his belief that this country is the grandest nation on the planet.
Say what you will about George, he does not carry the flaw of lack when it comes to belief. That pretty much sums up his presidency.
That grandeur is due to America’s freedoms. It’s because of America’s spiritual heritage. It’s because of America’s commitment to patriotic excellence.
America's Mission Statement: Building grandeur through a commitment to patriotic excellence.
Mr. Bush gives himself totally to his office. And that office is draped in prayer, moral dedication, and liberties for all.
I wonder if the "prayer, moral dedicated, and liberties for all" drapes were specially made for the Oval Office by the same seamstress who covered up Lady Liberty's shame?
It’s that patriotic conviction that drove Mr. Bush to see through the three-week win war of Iraqi Freedom Operation.
A lesser president, lacking Mr. Bush's patriotic convictions, wouldn't have had the fortitude to see through a three-week war operation.
Mr. Bush has awakened mornings to see through an executive agenda that had patriotic conviction written all over it.
Andy Card has to do that (with brightly colored markers) in order to get George to even glance at the agenda.
It’s frightening to the core even to contemplate that Kerry would sit as president of the United States of America. His very existence for the next four years as chief executive would guarantee the decease of this great nation.
So, as you can see, while Swank doesn't speak for the Bush campain, he may indeed speak for Dick Cheney. Or write his speeches for him. Anyway, as Dick would undoubtedly tell us grassroots, "Now go brace yourself!"
7:16:17 AM
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