The primaries are essentially over. The re-election campaign is
now in full swing. We are about to be flooded with campaign ads,
and the incumbent candidate is off to a repulsive start.
No one in this country remains unaffected by Sept. 11. We were
all touched somehow. We lost family, friends, and partners in a
devastating tragedy. George W. Bush should feel sinful for using
mournful memories as a campaign strategy.
In case you haven’t seen them yet, in one of the first ads, Bush
has chosen the image of fire fighters carrying a flag-draped coffin
in the background. Does he think our loss adds to his character?
Granted, he could certainly use some work in that area, but there
must be far more appropriate ways.
Families are upset, New Yorkers are upset, The Weekly is upset
and you should be to.
The ad says he knows exactly where he wants to lead this
country: of course he does. He is hoping to use the fear and pain
from that day to further his ultra-conservative values. We will
never forget what we all felt that day, but let us also not forget
the events leading up to and following that day.
A little over a year ago, Bush said to the Associated Press, “I
have no ambition whatsoever to use this as a political issue.” Now
that it’s re-election time, he has conveniently forgotten those
statements and his contradictions should be held in the same
glaring light he shines on his main opponent John Kerry.
Posing as a defender of freedom, Bush has done nothing but
restrict it further, tightening his clamp down on the rights of
people here and abroad in more ways than we probably know. He has
proven himself repeatedly to be an extremist of the dangerous kind,
and we have a responsibility to let him and his supporters know
that we will not allow his advance on the graves of those lost any
more than we will the bodies of the women of this country.
He is using this country’s fear, and that makes him the homeland
terrorist. He continues to hide thousands of prisoners on
Guantanamo Bay and that makes him the war criminal. Don’t let him
hide from this, and don’t be surprised if he suddenly finds Osama
right before the election.
Yes, voting is the utmost important thing to do, provided those
computer votes aren’t fixed. But take just an hour each month from
now until then to be loud about the damage Bush has done. Just
that, from every one of us, and our collective voice really will
drown his out.
Join the letter writing campaign to newspapers and television
stations running these ads, as well as organizations that support
him-PLEASE. Write five good powerful sentences saying how you feel
(short + sweet = best chance of being published) and send it to
every publication you read, every TV station you watch, every
elected official you love and hate, and the leaders of every
organization you belong to and say hell no, he’s gotta go.
He has reminded us countless ways that he never deserved the
office he holds. If he should win this election, have no doubt he
will continue to take away more civil rights, more women’s rights,
and further strain foreign relations.
We must make sure he faces the same fate his father did in
November elections. The time to start really is now.
