Send President Bush a Message (6/13/2006)

President Bush’s actions so belie his words that it would be comical if it weren’t so dangerous. For example:

Bush claims to be pro-life and opposes stem cell research because he believes that frozen fertilized eggs are human beings. Yet tens of thousands of innocent Iraqis, slaughtered by his war, are considered “collateral damage.” He says we are bringing “freedom” to Iraqis; but his war is really bringing them terror and death.

Bush’s version of national security is all about protecting himself and his cronies. He is hell bent on prosecuting journalists who broke the stories about his illegal wiretapping of millions of Americans. But here’s the caveat: Bush supporters are encouraged to use classified information to carry out vendettas against his critics. Columnist Bob Novak blew CIA agent Valerie Plame’s cover because her husband revealed Bush lied about Iraq purchasing materials for WMDs. Novak’s outing of the agent endangered her and her contacts and destroyed certain CIA operations; surely this harmed our national security, but Bush did not condemn Novak.

Bush calls himself a uniter, not a divider. Indeed, he’s united the radical Moslems against us. Polls show that he’s created worldwide dislike of the U.S., and many nations now are coalescing against us. In South America, recently elected presidents of Venezuela, Brazil, and Bolivia have united politically with Iran and Cuba. And Iran, North Korea and China have joined in a defense treaty. Even the Iraqi foreign minister has promised to help Iran if the U.S. tries to invade. (That’s a topic for another time.) In Europe, Spain and Italy have chosen leaders who oppose Bush, and Britain’s Tony Blair is on his way out. Meanwhile, Bush continues to bitterly divide our country by focusing on those issues likeliest to breed hatred. He’s even divided his own party.

He calls himself a compassionate conservative, but his policies show otherwise. He has crippled our children’s financial future because he’s created the greatest deficit in our country’s history, with China holding the mortgage. He has befouled the environment, so we breathe air, drink water and eat fish at our own risk. He’s squandered energy because he sees no need to require cars to be more fuel-efficient. He’s expanded government to pry into our private lives. And, he’s lied to us in order to wage a devastating war. His tax breaks for the rich, while American workers face job insecurity and low wages, is destroying our middle class. Where are compassionate and conservative in all of this?

Bush hypes his so-called family values agenda. But a bumper sticker I saw in Florida defines it best: "Family values means your little brother helps you steal the election."

Send Bush a message this November 7. He’s not running for office, but his supporters are. Find out where all your candidates stand on the issues you care about, especially candidates for Congress. Then vote accordingly. Let them know your words and actions do not belie each other.

- Judith Kohler

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