Bush Legacy Tour

PHILADELPHIA, PA-“Ladies and gentleman, to the left you see the Liberty Bell, the symbol of freedom that summoned the citizens of Philadelphia for the reading of the Declaration of Independence in 1776. To the right you see the National Constitution Center that is the only museum devoted to the U.S. Constitution. Straight ahead you can see The Bush Legacy Bus, the Museum dedicated to showcasing the failures of eight years of neo-conservative policies.” 

It would be a dream come true to hear one of the many Philly tour guides dressed in a tri-corn hat, point out the museum about Bush’s failures on their daily tours. If only the Bush Legacy Bus could become a permanent part of the Independence Mall landscape in Philadelphia. It would be the perfect place for a permanent Bush Legacy Museum where so much of our nation’s history-good and bad-is represented. Even if that may never happen, on Thursday for several hours, we became part of  Independence Mall and part of the story told about our nation’s history on these five square blocks. 

We couldn’t have had a better location than in front of the Constitution Center and a hundred yard from the Liberty Bell. Our event kicked off with a press conference in front of the bus. We had a couple great local speakers. Philadelphia Council AFL-CIO President Patrick Eiding is a tireless advocate for working people in Philadelphia. He spoke about the difficult time workers both union and non-union have had over the last eight years. The healthcare crisis, the decline of real wages, the economy in shambles and the complicity of this administration were all addressed in President Eiding’s rousing speech.

Kathy Black is an organizer that works with a number of different labor, women’s and anti-war organizations. She spoke Thursday on behalf of U.S. Labor Against the War.  She spoke about the immediate need to responsibly end the war in Iraq. As no-bid oil contracts are doled out left and right to Bush’s cronies, she pointed out that this should come as no surprise that the original reasoning for going to war had everything to with oil. She also addressed the desperate need to support Iraqi workers that are attempting to organize unions and exert some control over their wages, safety, and treatment on the job. The need to organize is even greater in a country with a government that cannot provide basic security for many of its citizens let alone a democratic structure to protect workers from employer’s abuses

Also addressed at the press conference was the record of local Congressman Jim Gerlach. Gerlach is on the wrong side of many important issues. He has voted for permanent tax cuts for the wealthy. He repeatedly voted against bringing the troops home from Iraq. Congressman Gerlach showed his lack of support for working people and voted against The Employee Free Choice Act which gives workers the right to form a union on the job. He even voted for the GOP Medicare Prescription Drug Plan which would give billions to the insurance and pharmaceutical industries while pushing even higher premiums on our nation’s seniors. 

The Philadelphia event crowd was a great mix of tourists wandering around Independence Mall, AFL-CIO and SEIU members, and people on their lunch breaks.