- Coming under increasing fire for his failure to clarify
his National Guard record, fix the economy, bring down the cost of health
care, and secure post-war Iraq, President Bush has resorted to attacking
his political opponents as "beholden to special interests and out
of touch with regular Americans."[1] But a look at the more than $320
million that Bush has raised since 2000 shows that he is the man with the
most special interest connections in American history - and that he has
rewarded those special interests in kind.[2]
-
- Specifically, while the president attacks Senator John
Kerry (D-MA) for accepting money from lobbyists, a new study shows "the
president accepted more in direct contributions from lobbyists in one year
than Kerry did in the past 15 years."[3] All told, Bush collected
at least $6.5 million in "bundled" contributions from lobbyists
last year alone.
-
- But that has not stopped Bush from his ad hominem attacks
on opponents for "special interest" connections. Yesterday, for
instance, Bush attacked the US Senate for being beholden to "special
interests" for holding up an insurance industry-backed bill to restrict
medical patients from seeking legal redress in the event of malpractice.
Yet, it was Bush who accepted more than $3 million from the insurance industry
before he wrote the bill.[4]
-
- On the campaign trail last year, Bush said, "We
can't let the special interests of Washington prevent us from doing what
is necessary to protect the biggest interest we have, which is the American
people."[5] Yet it was Bush who did the bidding of his friends in
the meat processing/meat packing industries by refusing to protect the
American people from Mad Cow disease. Specifically, Bush refused to enact
stringent meat inspection regulations[6] and delayed country-of-origin
labeling laws[7] at the urging of the agribusiness industry which has given
him $5.5 million.[8] To make extra sure that the agribusiness special interests
were protected, Bush also packed the U.S. Department of Agriculture with
agribusiness executives.[9]
-
- Even on issues of war and peace, Bush has put special
interests before almost anything else. As the Center for Public Integrity
reported, the more than 70 companies and individuals that Bush awarded
up to $8 billion in Iraq/Afghanistan contracts have "donated more
money to the presidential campaigns of George W. Bush - a little over $500,000
- than to any other politician over the last dozen years."[10]
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- http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df02172004.html
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