Bush Legacy Tour

SARASOTA & TAMPA, FLORIDA-

Sarasota:

When you think of Florida, conservatives, and the name Buchanan, the first thing that comes to mind is all the elderly democrats in Florida that ended up voting for the far right-wing candidate by mistake in 2000. Yet, we were in Sarasota on Friday to pay a visit to another conservative Buchanan.  We pulled up the bus as close as we could get to Representative Buchanan’s Sarasota office. Representative Vern Buchanan represents Florida’s 13^th District and has supported Bush’s policies 90% of the time. Vern voted against the GI  Bill for vets returning from Iraq and Afghanistan and also voted against bringing American troops home from Iraq. He is not much better on worker’s rights issues. He voted against the Employee Free Choice Act which would give workers the right to form a union on the job. He also voted against Equal Work for Equal pay legislation that would grant women equal pay for equal work.

While we were in Sarasota, I spoke with one of Buchanan’s constituents who has experienced a significant decline during the Bush Administration. Wayne used to have a decent job and was able to support himself and have a decent lifestyle. His job was eliminated and he now lives in a half-way house. When I expressed my concerns over his situation, he stopped me and said, “No, don’t feel bad for me. I know so many people that have it a lot worse. At least I have somewhere to sleep.” Wayne was on his way to a job interview and he is hopeful he will find work soon in what is a difficult job market and economy to survive in.

 

Ybor City (Tampa)-

We parked the bus outside of a great café in Ybor City called the Bunker on Saturday. They were kind enough to let us park in front of their establishment so that we could benefit from the foot traffic at the farmers market along the street. They were tremendously helpful, not only with great coffee but with helping to hold the space and with encouraging their patrons to check out the bus. The bus did not park next to the farmers market without controversy, however, as a couple of the vendors complained. Most of the people there were more than supportive. We had a good event and had a lot of people come through the bus. Our reason for being in Ybor City was to highlight the voting record of Representative Gus Bilirakis. Representative Bilirakis also supported Bush’s policies 90% of the time. On healthcare, he voted against the State Children’s Health Insurance Program and also against allowing Medicare to negotiate for cheaper drug prices. Bilirakis has supported keeping the troops in Iraq and against the GI Bill. Perhaps the most appropriate vote to highlight is his vote against HR 3221 which would slow the pace of foreclosures on the millions of Americans in jeopardy of losing their homes. It was appropriate that we paid Bilarakis a visit the morning after the bailout passed.