George Bush And The GOP Celebrate Character Counts Week

This week marks Character Counts Week. The Bush White House even issued a proclamation encouraging "Americans to remember the importance of good character" this week. [Whitehouse.gov, 10/13/06] Over the last five years, President Bush and the Do-Nothing Republican Congress, with their failed policies and rubberstamp oversight, seem to have forgotten the importance of the six pillars of character celebrated by schools across the country: trustworthiness, respect, responsibility, fairness, caring and citizenship. President Bush reaffirms his rejection of these key principles today as he attends fundraisers for two ethically-challenged Republican incumbents. Republican Congressman Don Sherwood of Pennsylvania is embroiled in scandal, and Senator George Allen of Virginia is also facing numerous questions after he "failed to tell Congress about stock options he got for his work as a director of a high-tech company." [AP, 10/8/06]

"It is no surprise that President Bush is celebrating Character Counts Week by campaigning today for two ethically-challenged Republican incumbents," said Democratic National Committee Press Secretary Stacie Paxton. "President Bush and his Do-Nothing Republican Congress have repeatedly broken their promises to the American people and our troops. They have not taken responsibility for their failed foreign and domestic policies and have promoted an agenda that only serves to divide Americans. Republicans in Washington have lost all credibility. Democrats are offering the American people a new direction that includes a return to responsibility and ethics and an end to the Republican culture of corruption."

Trustworthiness

Bush Broke Promise To Fire Anyone (Even Karl Rove) Who Was Involved in CIA Leak:

September 29, 2003: McClellan Said Leaker Would Be Fired. White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said: "If anyone in this administration was involved in it, they would no longer be in this administration." [White House Press Briefing, 9/29/03]

September 30, 2003: Bush Said That If There Was A Leak In His Administration They Would Be "Taken Care Of." President Bush reiterated stern treatment for the culprit, saying, "if there was a leak out of my administration, I want to know who it is. And if the person has violated law, the person will be taken care of...And so I welcome the investigation...I have told our administration people in my administration to be fully cooperative. I want to know the truth." [White House, Bush Travel Pool, 9/30/03]

Bush Used Faulty Intelligence To Sell The Iraq War:

Bush Administration Used Faulty Pre-War Intelligence On Numerous Occassions. Despite the warnings from within the Administration, “faulty intelligence from the group [Iraqi National Congress] made its way into several pre-war intelligence reports, including the October 2002 National Intelligence Estimate that directly preceded the Senate vote on the Iraq war…sources introduced to American intelligence by the group directly influenced two key judgments of that document: that Mr. Hussein possessed mobile biological weapons laboratories and was trying to re-constitute his nuclear program.” In addition, “a DIA official who knew that the source was unreliable sat in on two meetings in which the mobile labs information was incorporated into the speech Secretary of State Colin L. Powell delivered in February 2003 to the U.N. Security Council.” [New York Times,, 9/8/06; Washington Post, 9/9/06]

Respect

The Republican Congress Offers Policies And Rhetoric That Only Serve To Divide Americans:

Conrad Burns Said "A Faceless Enemy" Of Terrorists "Drive Taxi Cabs In The Daytime And Kill At Night." "First lady Laura Bush campaigned for U.S. Sen. Conrad Burns here [in Montana] Wednesday, calling the Republican a strong advocate for Montana farmers and families. . Burns talked about the war on terrorism, saying a 'faceless enemy' of terrorists 'drive taxi cabs in the daytime and kill at night.'" [Associated Press, 8/31/06]

Allen Called Webb Volunteer "Macaca" and Welcomed Him To America. "At a campaign rally in southwest Virginia on Friday, Allen repeatedly called a volunteer for Democrat James Webb 'macaca.' Depending on how it is spelled, the word macaca could mean either a monkey that inhabits the Eastern Hemisphere or a town in South Africa. In some European cultures, macaca is also considered a racial slur against African immigrants, according to several Web sites that track ethnic slurs. 'The kid has a name,' Webb communications director Kristian Denny Todd said of Sidarth, a Virginia native who was born in Fairfax County. 'This is trying to demean him, to minimize him as a person.'" [Washington Post, 8/15/06]

Baker Thanked God For The Damage Katrina Wrought On New Orleans Housing Projects, Which Predominantly Housed African-Americans. "[Rep. Richard] Baker, a white Republican from Baton Rouge who is serving his tenth term in the US House of Representative, did little for the cause of racial trust when he was overheard talking to lobbyists thanking God for the damage Katrina wrought on New Orleans housing projects, which predominantly housed African-Americans. 'We finally cleaned up public housing,' he said. 'We couldn't do it, but God did.' Baker later claimed he was misquoted." [New York Times, 8/27/06; Advocate (Baton Rouge), 9/10/05]

Responsibility

The Bush Administration Avoids Taking Responsibility For Their Failed Policies In Iraq:

Bush Has Full Confidence In Rumsfeld Despite Mounting Criticism. “President Bush retains ‘full confidence’ in Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld, a top White House official said Sunday, responding to newly published allegations that Rumsfeld has mismanaged the Iraq war and alienated senior members of the Bush administration with his autocratic personal style. ‘The president has full confidence in Secretary Rumsfeld,’ White House Counselor Dan Bartlett told ABC's ‘This Week’ in one of three appearances he made on the Sunday talk shows.” [Los Angeles Times, 10/17/06]

Bush Awarded Tenet, Bremer And Franks Medal Of Freedom Despite Problems In Iraq. “Mr. Bush presented the Presidential Medal of Freedom to retired Gen. Tommy Franks, who oversaw combat in Afghanistan and the initial invasion of Iraq, former CIA Director George Tenet and former Iraq administrator L. Paul Bremer. … Tenet left the CIA in July after seven years as director. He has been criticized for intelligence failures before the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks and the never-proven prewar allegations that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. … This fall, Bremer suggested the United States had paid a price in Iraq in the immediate aftermath of major combat operations because it did not have enough troops in place to stop the looting.” [CBSNews.com, 10/17/06]

U.S. Intelligence Agencies: War In Iraq Hurting The War On Terror. “The war in Iraq has become a primary recruitment vehicle for violent Islamic extremists, motivating a new generation of potential terrorists around the world whose numbers may be increasing faster than the United States and its allies can reduce the threat, U.S. intelligence analysts have concluded. A 30-page National Intelligence Estimate completed in April cites the ‘centrality’ of the U.S. invasion of Iraq, and the insurgency that has followed, as the leading inspiration for new Islamic extremist networks and cells that are united by little more than an anti-Western agenda. It concludes that, rather than contributing to eventual victory in the global counterterrorism struggle, the situation in Iraq has worsened the U.S. position, according to officials familiar with the classified document.” [Washington Post, 9/24/06]

Fairness

Republican Officeholders Routinely Showed That They Don't Think The Rules Apply To Them:

GOP Changes Rules For DeLay. “House Republicans proposed changing their rules last night to allow members indicted by state grand juries to remain in a leadership post, a move that would benefit Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Tex.) in case he is charged by a Texas grand jury that has indicted three of his political associates, according to GOP leaders. … House GOP leaders and aides said many rank-and-file Republicans are eager to change the rule to help DeLay, and will do so if given a chance at today's closed meeting.” [Washington Post, 11/17/04]

Cunningham Sentenced To Jail For 8 Years For Bribery. “Former Rep. Randy ‘Duke’ Cunningham, who collected $2.4 million in homes, yachts, antique furnishings and other bribes on a scale unparalleled in the history of Congress, was sentenced Friday to eight years and four months in prison, the longest term meted out to a congressman in decades. … He also was ordered to pay $1.8 million in restitution for back taxes and forfeit $1.85 million in valuables he received. Cunningham accepted money and gifts including a Rolls-Royce and $40,000 Persian rugs from defense contractors and others in exchange for steering government contracts their way and other favors.” [CBSNews.com, 3/3/06]

In Wake Of DeLay Scandals, Boehner Had No Plan To Change Lobbying Rules. John Boehner became House Republican Leader after Tom DeLay stepped down amid a swirl of ethics problems. In an interview with the Washington Post shortly after taking his new post, Boehner "emphasized that he has no plan to change lobbying rules." He also said that he would not seek a ban on "provisions in spending bills that fund lawmakers' pet projects," also known as earmarks. [Washington Post, 2/4/06]

Caring

Republicans in Congress Have Consistently Blocked Measures That Help America’s Working Families And Our Troops:

Senate GOP Blocked Minimum Wage Vote For 9th Time; Congressional Pay Up $30,000 During Same Period. "The Republican-controlled Senate smothered a proposed election-year increase in the minimum wage Wednesday, rejecting Democratic claims it was past time to boost the $5.15 hourly pay floor that has been in effect for nearly a decade. ... The Senate vote marked the ninth time since 1997 that Democrats there have proposed -- and Republicans have blocked -- an increase in the minimum wage. ... Kennedy also said lawmakers' annual pay has risen by roughly $30,000 since the last increase in the minimum wage." [AP, 6/22/06]

Katrina Cleanup Still Far From Complete, But Cost Has Ballooned. The AP wrote, "The [cleanup] job still isn't done. More than 100 million cubic yards of debris have been cleared from the region affected by Katrina. So far the government has spent $3.6 billion, a figure that might have been considerably smaller had the contracts for debris removal been subject to competitive bidding. Working through the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, FEMA gave each of four companies contracts worth up to $500 million to clear hurricane debris. This spring government inspectors reported that the companies - AshBritt Inc. of Pompano Beach, Fla., Phillips and Jordan Inc. of Knoxville, Tenn., Ceres Environmental Services Inc. of Brooklyn Park, Minn. and ECC Operating Services Inc. of Burlingame, Calif. - charged the government as much as four to six times what they paid their subcontractors who actually did the work." [AP, 8/19/06]

Bush Cuts Veterans Health Care Funding by $10 Billion Over Five Years. Over five years, President Bush's 2007 budget cuts funding $10 billion below the level the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) estimates is needed to maintain purchasing power at the 2006 level. Almost all appropriated funding for veterans goes to provide medical care and hospital services. [House Budget Committee, Democratic Staff; 3/21/06]

Bush Planned To Impose New $250 User Fees and Double Prescription Drug Co-Payments For Veterans -- Increasing Costs by $2 Billion. For the fourth year in a row, Bush's proposed budget would more than double the co-payment charged to veterans for prescription drugs and would require some to pay a new user fee of $250 a year for health care. Bush would also increase the co-payment for a month's supply of a prescription drug from $7 to $15. Veterans' groups said that at least 200,000 veterans would be driven out of the system entirely, and would cost veterans remaining in the system more than $2 billion over five years. [Budget of the US Government, 2/06; House Budget Committee, Democratic Staff; 3/21/06]

Pentagon Study Found That 80 Percent Of Marines Killed By Wounds To Upper Body Could Have Been Saved If They Had the Right Kind of Armor. A Pentagon study has found that as many as 80 percent of the marines who have been killed in Iraq from wounds to the upper body could have survived if they had had extra body armor. Such armor has been available since 2003, but until recently the Pentagon has largely declined to supply it to troops despite calls from the field for additional protection, according to military officials. [New York Times, 1/7/06]

Citizenship

Republicans Have Outsourced Our Diplomatic Efforts With North Korea To China:

North Korea Getting Ready For Second Nuclear Test. “Satellite images indicate North Korea appears to be getting ready for a second nuclear test, officials said Tuesday, as the defiant communist regime held huge rallies and proclaimed that U.N. sanctions amount to a declaration of war. … U.S. nuclear envoy Christopher Hill told reporters in Seoul that another nuclear explosion would be ‘a very belligerent answer’ to the world.” [AP, 10/17/06]

White House: North Koreans Failed At Diplomacy; China and Others Better Able To Handle North Korean Problem. White House Press Secretary Tony Snow argued that, “I'm not sure anything went wrong. The failed diplomacy is on the part of the North Koreans … So rather than having something going wrong, what you really have is the emergence of a process now in which the people who have the most leverage over the North Koreans -- and let's face it, the Chinese, the South Koreans, the Japanese, they all have more direct leverage over the North Koreans than we do -- the people who have the greatest ability to influence behavior are now fully invested as equal partners in a process to deal with the government of North Korea.” [White House Press Briefing, 10/10/06]

America's Standing Around The World Has Been Hurt Under Bush:

Favorable Opinions Of US Have Fallen In Most Of the 15 Countries Surveyed By Pew. According to Pew, "favorable opinions of the United States have fallen in most of the 15 countries surveyed. Only about a quarter of the Spanish public (23%) expresses positive views of the U.S., down from 41% last year; America's image also has declined significantly in India (from 71% to 56%) and Indonesia (from 38% to 30%)." [Pew Global Attitudes Project, http://pewglobal.org/reports/display.php?ReportID=252]