Check out her list of Bush flip-flops at the end of the excerpts of her column below...looks familiar! But probably more important is her advice to Dems not to simply whine that the use of 9/11 coffins is "in bad taste" but to shout from the rooftops how Bush has welched on his promise to firefighters and other first responders!
(BTW, a more recent example of weak Democratic responses is on the "defend America" deal in the anti-Kerry ad. Look, most of you know I supported the war with Iraq, but I harbored no illusions that it had anything to do with defending the US! Yet all the Kerry defenders on talking head shows respond to this by going "George Bush's father, international coalition, United Nations legitimacy, blah blah blah". Just point out that it wasn't defense!! The only guy to do so was Chris Matthews (who has admitted he voted for Shrub in 2000). Sheesh...)
Anyway, that was a bit of a tangent. Again, check out the Ivins points below--good stuff.
Bush Fights Firefighters with Fire
Molly Ivins, AlterNet
March 9, 2004
AUSTIN, Texas -- Living proof that the Democrats haven't gotten any smarter since the last time they ran a candidate for president. Much huffing (and a huffy Democrat is a terrifying sight) over the fact that George W. Bush used images of 9-11 and of the firefighters at Ground Zero
[...]
Dammit, the problem is not that the ad is in bad taste, the problem is that Bush screwed the firefighters in a famous case of his favorite bait-and-switch tactic, and now he has the chutzpah to exploit them anyway and that, my friends, is gall. Bait, switch and then claim credit anyway.
For those of you who have forgotten what happened (apparently including the entire Bush campaign): Shortly after the 9-11 attacks, President Bush promised a $3.5 billion aid package to provide equipment and training in dealing with such attacks to local police and fire departments. For over 18 months, no money appeared, and when money finally did appear, it was nowhere near the promised levels (hey, he had to cut those taxes on the richest 1 percent of Americans).
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Republicans in Congress twice voted down first-responder money.
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Despite disingenuous statements put out by the White House ("There's more assistance going to state and local officials than ever before"), Bush is still behind on his initial commitment. You do not have to be an ace Washington reporter to figure this out. Ask your local fire department.
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Kerry, say the Republicans solemnly, is given to flip-flopping. Kerry is?
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George W. Bush was opposed to a commission to investigate how and why 9-11 occurred, but then he changed his mind and backed it. (Political pressure.) He was certainly opposed to a commission to investigate the intelligence failures on Iraq, but then he changed his mind and backed it. (Political pressure.)
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Anyone remember how Bush, the corporate ethicist of Harken Energy, opposed the Sarbanes-Oxley bill?
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When did he change his mind and decide to sign it? After it passed the House of Representatives with one vote against it.
Remember when we weren't gong to negotiate with North Korea? Then we weren't gong to negotiate with North Korea again, but we would "talk" to North Korea, but only in multilateral "talking," until Bush changed his mind yet again and now we're in multilateral negotiations.
[...]
Remember when we didn't need any civilian or international advice about how to pacify and reconstruct Iraq, our military could do it just fine, thank you?
Remember when "nation-building" was a dirty word?
Boy, that John Kerry, he just flip-flops all the time, doesn't he?