Bush playing dirty, surprises no one

Well, the first Bush ads have been released, saying such high-road comments as "Some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists."

Great, just great.

In the meanwhile, Move On is attempting to fight this. Here's the e-mail they sent out:

Today the GOP crossed the line. In their first ad for the 2004 election, they implicitly accuse Democratic presidential candidates of "attacking the president for attacking terrorists." The ad doesn't question opponents' ideas, it questions their commitment to America. But there is nothing more un-American than attacking an adversary's patriotism for political gain.

We need to fight back.

Let's show the GOP and the Bush campaign that this kind of dirty politics can only backfire against them. We have to ensure that there are consequences for this kind of un-American attack: otherwise the Republicans just won't stop.

Of course, we'll fight back our way, using the power of the facts and the strength of millions of us working together. When Republicans equate the war on Iraq with the war on terrorism, we'll remind the public of the truth. When Republicans raise money from wealthy donors and corporate CEOs to attack the Democrats, we'll raise it with hundreds of thousands of small contributions from people across America. We won't let the Bush campaign get away with these kinds of attacks. And in the end, we'll take our country back.

Today, we can show the GOP what they're up against. They're paying $100,000 to run their ad. Together, we can raise $500,000 today to run ads that get out the truth in key battleground states. Remember, every two dollars you give will be matched by a dollar from George Soros and Peter Lewis.

Help us reach $500,000. Give now by credit card at:
https://www.moveonvoterfund.org/donate/creditcard.html?id=2139-1855624-88_S51hqIk2EHTZ.e28KTQ

Or by check:
https://www.moveonvoterfund.org/donate/check.html?id=2139-1855624-88_S51hqIk2EHTZ.e28KTQ
(Check contributions take extra time and money to process, so credit card contributions are preferred if possible.)

The ad isn't just wrong, it's also hypocritical. In May of 2002, Vice President Cheney said, "What I want to say to my Democratic friends in the Congress is they need to be very cautious not to seek political advantage [from the 9/11 or the War on Terror]... Such commentary is thoroughly irresponsible and totally unworthy of national leaders in a time of war." Compare that to this paragraph from today's New York Times: "The Republican Party is responding this week with its first advertisement portraying Mr. Bush as fighting terrorism...By indirectly invoking the Sept. 11 attacks, the commercial plays to what White House officials have long contended is Mr. Bush's biggest political advantage: his initial handling of the aftermath of the attacks." (Many thanks to the Center for American Progress "Progress Report" for unearthing the quotes.)

The GOP ad, which starts running Sunday in Iowa, shows Bush's State of the Union address. Then, clearly referring to the Democratic presidential candidates, it says, "Some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists." It asks voters to "support the president's policy of preemptive self-defense." While the ad is run by the Republican Party, the New York Times writes that, "the party has acted as a proxy for Mr. Bush while he tries to maintain the appearance of being above the political fray."

The Democratic candidates are attacking Bush's Iraq policy precisely because it has nothing to do with the war on terror. It's now clear that Iraq posed little threat to the United States, and the situation there today is giving us good reason to question the policy of "pre-emptive self defense." But unless we can answer Bush's ads with ads that get out the truth, these messages may not get across to swing-state voters.

Can you help? With the Soros/Lewis match, a contribution of $50 will actually bring in $75. Multiply that by thousands of us, and we'll easily bring in enough money to take the Republicans on. You can give right now at:
https://www.moveonvoterfund.org/donate/creditcard.html?id=2139-1855624-88_S51hqIk2EHTZ.e28KTQ

Of course, this news isn't all bad. Parties and campaigns hardly ever run ads this early in the election season. Given President Bush's dropping poll numbers and the clear repudiation of his policy in Iraq, this early ad is a sign that Republicans are getting nervous. They should be: after three years of misleading the country, the truth is coming out. Our work together is paying off. Now let's show the GOP what real patriotism looks like.

I'd contribute, but it turns out I'm a poor ass college student. Who knew?