Bush Legacy Tour

CINCINNATI, OH- The Bush Legacy Bus is no stranger to getting denied permitting. When we had difficulty finding a location to park the bus in Cincinnati, we were not surprised. What made this case interesting is that we had already had an event a month ago on Fountain Square. Chances are the police were not interested in an encore now that they know what we mean by “legacy.” We had a local friend of the tour, Andy, go down to the police office to fill out a formal request for parking for the bus. Our first location choice was denied. Our second choice was denied as well.  Andy was told he could not submit any more requests. When he inquired as to why the first two applications were denied, the police officer took a fat red marker and wrote DENIED on the application and slid it back under the glass.  A man of few words, apparently.

Despite the uncongenial welcome from Cincinnati’s finest, we ended up with a great event with lots of foot traffic. We set up on a busy street near the University of Cincinnati by holding meters right before the event. At least 100-150 people wandered through the bus. Cincinnati has been inundated with campaign activity over the last few weeks and we had a few people express that they are sick of it, yet the bus intrigued them because it focuses on the issues and gives a straightforward view of the last eight years and the issues that matter most.

Permit Denied!

Like our last stop in Cincinnati, we focused on Bush’s favorite southwestern Ohio Representatives, Jean Schmidt and Steve Chabot. Representative Schmidt voted with the President’s polices a whopping 96% of the time. Representative Chabot is not far behind with 94% of the time.  Their records are the same as when we last visited the Queen City, yet the economic downturn has escalated and made certain policies of theirs even more alarming. Both voted for tax-cuts for the wealthiest Americans and against helping struggling home-owners facing foreclosure. Chabot voted against raising the minimum wage. Schmidt voted against making college more affordable and against reigning in CEO pay. It was impossible to predict when we came to Fountain Square in September, that Schmidt and Chabot’s conservative economic policies would seem even scarier a month down the road.