Bush Legacy Tour

From ThinkProgress.org:

On issue after issue, John McCain, Mitt Romney, and Mike Huckabee have shown themselves eager to carry on President Bush’s legacy. There has been almost no distinction between their rhetoric in recent GOP debates and Bush’s 2008 State of the Union address. What they have promised, essentially, is a third Bush term.

In 2000, John McCain endorsed George Bush. In 2008, he's endorsing Bush's legacy:

[Americans United for Change] is also planning to create a Bush Legacy Bus, a rolling museum that will carry such artifacts as a piece of timber from a flooded home in New Orleans or the combat boots of a fallen soldier in Iraq.

"No one shows up to be with Bush, but they vote with Bush on the floor," said Brad Woodhouse, the president of Americans United.

From tax cuts for the rich that never trickled down in this struggling economy, to blank checks to keep U.S. troops stuck in the crosshairs of the civil war in Iraq, to standing in the way of legislation to give Missouri’s middle class a chance to get ahead – Bush in Town to Reward One of His Most Loyal Enablers in Congress

Click here to view ad script (PDF)

Washington D.C. – On the eve of President Bush’s visit to Missouri tomorrow to attend a private fundraiser for Rep. Sam Graves in Parkville, Americans United for Change, the group best known for leading the successful fight to defeat the President’s effort to privatize Social Security, will air a new TV ad in the Kansas City media market as part of its new Bush Legacy Project – a multi-million dollar paid media, grassroots, and online effort with the goal of cementing into history what the last 7 years of the Bush/Conservative ideology has wrought on America, from the looming economic recession, the endless war in Iraq, shortchanged domestic priorities like children’s and veterans’ healthcare, millions more Americans uninsured, stagnant wages, a mortgage crisis, the middle class squeeze, exploding deficit, and the list goes on.

The TV ad – which premiered nationally on Monday before the President’s State of the Union address – is being aired locally in Kansas City during the President’s visit there to highlight not just that the Bush Legacy has been a disaster for America and for Missouri, but that those in Congress like Sam Graves who rubberstamped Bush’s failed policies deserve credit for the impact their votes have had on the state of the union today. *See below for Rep. Grave’s long record of enabling this President’s disastrous policies, both foreign and domestic. *See also this special report -- Sam Graves: Bad for Kids in the 6th District (PDF)– from Americans United ally Missouri Pro-Vote.

“Credit must be given where its due, and President Bush could not have taken this country down a tortured path towards economic recession without the enablers in Congress like Sam Graves who rubberstamped massive tax cuts for the rich that never managed to trickle down to the middle class working folks who really needed them,” said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Americans United for Change. “President Bush would not still be able to spend $10 billion a month keeping our brave troops stuck in the crosshairs of an endless civil war in Iraq if he wasn’t handed a blank check to do just that time and again from Rep. Graves. And but for a handful of Republicans in Congress like Sam Graves that voted to sustain the President’s veto of SCHIP expansion -- 4 million more children in need including 56,900 more in Missouri would have the healthcare they deserve today. From voting against the first boost to the minimum wage in a decade to voting against fixing a broken system for forming unions so Missouri workers can bargain for better pay and retirement security – Sam Graves has consistently stood with Bush and in the way of meaningful legislation to give Missouri’s middle class families a chance to get ahead.”

“But Congressman Graves’ votes aren’t about Bush – they are about a failed and failing conservative ideology that the country has thoroughly rejected: neo-conservative foreign policy, trickle down economics, endless war -- all supported by the Bush Republicans – all rejected by the America people. It’s all a matter of public record – a record the public has grown disgusted with,” added Funk.

SAM Graves: RUBBERSTAMP FOR Bush's Failed Policies

Congressman Graves has consistently supported Bush's failed policies. From the war in Iraq to SCHIP and labor issues, Graves has contributed to the abysmal Bush legacy

• Supported the War In Iraq

Graves voted to authorize the President to use force against Iraq. Congressman Graves supported legislation that would allow the president to use the military "against the continuing threat" posed by the Iraqi regime. The resolution authorized Mr. Bush to use the armed forces "as he determines to be necessary and appropriate" to defend the nation against "the continuing threat posed by Iraq," and to enforce "all relevant" United Nations Security Council resolutions on Iraq. It required him to report to Congress within 48 hours of any military action. The resolution encouraged the president to try to work through the United Nations before acting alone thought it left him with broad latitude. The resolution passed, 296-133. [HJ RES 114, Vote #455 (D 81-126, R 215-6), 10/2/02; New York Times, 10/11/02]

Graves voted against setting timetables for withdrawing from Iraq. Congressman Graves voted against a resolution declaring that setting an "artificial timetable" for withdrawing the U.S. military from Iraq would be "inconsistent with achieving victory." The resolution also called Iraq's December 2005 election a "crucial victory" for Iraq that would not have been possible without the presence of U.S. troops. [HRS 612, Vote #648 (D 59-108, R 220-0), 12/16/05]

Graves voted against the President reporting progress in Iraq and meeting benchmarks.  Congressman Graves voted against a bill that would provide $42.8 billion in fiscal 2007 emergency spending for military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and require another congressional vote in late July to release the remaining $52.8 billion for the Pentagon. It would withhold funds until the president reports by July 13 on progress the Iraqi government has made toward meeting specified benchmarks and goals set by the bill and Congress has adopted a joint resolution releasing the "fenced off" funds. The measure would provide $6.8 billion for hurricane recovery and relief, $3.3 billion for military healthcare costs and $2.25 billion for homeland security anti-terrorism programs. It also would raise the minimum wage to $7.25 per hour over two years and provide $4.8 billion in small-business tax incentives. [HR 2206, Vote #333, 5/10/07]

Graves has stood with Bush and repeatedly voted against bringing American troops home. Congressman Graves has consistently voted against bringing our troops home from Iraq. [H Con Res 63, Vote #99 (D 229-2, R 17-180), 2/16/07; HR 1591, Vote #265, 4/25/07; HR 2237, Vote #330, 5/10/07; HR 2956, Vote #624, 7/12/07]

• Labor

Graves voted against increasing the federal minimum wage by $2.10. Congressman Graves voted against the Fair Minimum Wage Act which would increase the federal minimum wage by $2.10 over two years -- from the current level of $5.15 an hour to $7.25 an hour. The minimum wage would increase 60 days after enactment, from $5.15 to $5.85 an hour. It would rise to $6.55 an hour a year later, and to $7.25 an hour the next year. [H R 2, Vote# 18, 1/10/07

Graves voted against the Employee Free Choice Act. Graves voted against the The Employee Free Choice Act would have allowed "union organizers to bypass secret-ballot elections if a majority of eligible employees sign a petition in support of union formation. It would establish a system of mediation and arbitration that would apply when an employer and union are unable to agree on their first contract. Employers would be required to pay three times the amount of back pay that an employee is due if the employee is illegally fired or discriminated against during an organizational or first contract drive." [H R 800 Vote #118, 3/1/07; CQ vote description]

• SCHIP

Congressman Graves voted against expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program for 4 million more children in need. [HR 976, Vote #906, 9/25/07; passed 265-157]

Congressman Graves refused to overturn Bush's veto of legislation to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program for 4 million more children in need. [HR 976, Vote #982, 10/18/07; failed 273-156]

Congressman Graves voted against a revised SCHIP expansion bill that included strengthened language to address any and all concerns about undocumented immigrants, adults and children from high-income families benefiting from the program. [HR 3963, Vote #1009, 10/25/07; passed 265-142]

Congressman Graves refused to overturn Bush's veto a second time. [HR 3683, Vote #22, 1/23/08]

HEADLINE: Graves uses false arguments to justify SCHIP vote [The Kansas City Star, 10/11/07]

• Supported Bush Tax Cuts

Graves Supported Bush's 2004 Multitrillion-Dollar Tax Breaks for Wealthy.  In March 2004, Graves supported Bush's budget that permanently locked in multitrillion-dollar tax breaks that mostly benefit the nation's wealthiest. According to the AFL-CIO, "To finance these taxes cuts for millionaires and billionaires, the Republican budget resolution--which mirrored Bush's proposal--inflated the record-high $477 billion U.S. deficit and by $120 billion shortchanged or cut funds for the domestic programs working families need most--from job creation to health care, transportation and education. It also accelerated the repeal of the estate tax and made permanent tax cuts--such as the estate tax repeal, the capital gains and dividend rate cuts and the reduction in marginal rates--that provide huge benefits to families with the highest incomes." [H Con Res 393, Vote #92, 3/25/04; 2004 AFL-CIO Scorecard]

Graves Voted For $350 Billion Tax Cut For The Rich While Giving 50 Million Households Nothing.  In 2003, Graves voted for an irresponsible tax cut package that deepened the nation's fiscal crisis and left middle-income households out in the cold. Some 53 percent of all U.S. households -- or 74 million -- will receive a tax cut of $100 or less in 2003 from the bill. Additionally, 36 percent of households -- or 50 million -- will receive no tax cut whatsoever in 2003, while tax filers who make $1 million or more per year will receive an average tax cut in 2003 of $93,500. The bill passed 231-200. [HR 2, Vote #225, 5/23/03; Center for Budget & Policy Priorities, 5/28/03]

Graves Voted For $550 Billion Tax Cut Favoring Corporations & Wealthy At Expense Of Middle Class.  In 2003, Graves voted for tax cuts that would give the majority of the benefit to the wealthiest people in the country. Taxpayers with incomes of more than $1 million would receive average tax cuts of $93,500 in 2003, while the middle fifth of households would receive an average tax cut of just $217. Additionally, the top five percent of households in the country would get 72 percent of the tax cut benefits from the capital gains/dividend proposal. Meanwhile, the total cost of the plan if extended as promised would be between $865 billion and $1.1 trillion through 2013, twice as costly as advertised. The bill passed 222-203. [HR 2, Vote #182, 5/9/03; Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, 5/21/03]

Graves Voted For Billions In Tax Breaks For Overseas Corporations.  In 2001, Graves voted for a $214 billion stimulus proposal that included a $6.5 billion tax break extension for financial corporations with overseas operations. Under existing law, U.S. firms were taxed on some types of income earned by foreign corporations that they control, regardless of whether the income is distributed back to the United States. The bill passed 224-193. [HR 3529, Vote #509, 12/20/01; CBPP, 12/21/01]

• Labor Scorecard

[Project Vote Smart, Accessed 1/30/08]

Nary a One Seen Sporting “I’m a Bush Republican” Button

View YouTube video of the ‘Bush Legacy Project’ Button Challenge: http://www.americansunitedforchange.org/wearthebuttons

Washington D.C. -- Americans United for Change, the group that launched the multi-million dollar Bush Legacy Project this month, delivered “I’m a Bush Republican” buttons to every Republican in the House and Senate last week in advance of Bush’s Final State of the Union Address with the message: “your votes helped build his legacy; you should show your support for him by proudly declaring that you’re a Bush Republican.” But, after meticulously reviewing the tape of the House Chamber during Monday’s State of the Union Address, nary a single Republican – those who have voted to enable Bush’s failed policies on Iraq, the economy, energy and health care – was seen sporting the button.

“There couldn’t have been a more opportune, a more appropriate time for President Bush’s enablers in Congress to show him they had his back in these tough times, with the recession looming, the war in Iraq still with no end in sight and with very few accomplishments to point to after 7 long years in office,” said Jeremy Funk, spokesman for Americans United for Change. “The same Republicans that enabled Bush’s tax cuts for the very rich that never really trickled down; the same ones that kept handing Bush a blank check to keep our troops struck in the crosshairs of a religious civil war; the ones that stood in the way of true economic stimulus for America’s disappearing middle class like providing healthcare for 4 million kids in need – these very same Republicans just didn’t have the guts to put their lapels where their votes have been. Not even Congresswoman Michele Bachmann from Minnesota, one of Bush’s staunchest supporters who couldn’t keep her hands off the President after last year’s state of the union, was willing to wear her gushing loyalty on her sleeve.”

“Yes, Republicans passed up a golden opportunity to display their loyalty on Monday – but, button or no button, they deserve just as much credit for Bush’s disastrous policies and the impact they have had on the state of the union today.”

Funny – R’s like Dean Heller, Jon Porter and John Ensign won’t be seen with Bush in public – but boy they stick with him in every major vote in Congress. Why avoid Bush in public but vote with him down the line on the floor on almost every major issue? Because their votes aren’t about Bush – they are about a failed and failing conservative ideology that the country has thoroughly rejected. Neo-conservative foreign policy, trickle down economics, endless war – all supported by these Bush Republicans – all rejected by the America people.

Jon Porter, et al., can hide from Bush – but they can’t hide from the Bush/Conservative/Republican Legacy they helped create – it’s all a matter of public record – a record the public has grown disgusted with. To learn more about how Jon Porter and his allies in Nevada and Washington have contributed to Bush’s Legacy visit www.presidentbushlegacy.com. To see our new television ad on the Bush-Republican Legacy, click here.

Sorry We Missed Ya 

Unpopular president will be in Vegas, but GOP leaders conveniently won't be
By Michael Mishak

It's lonely at the top, especially when you're an unpopular president.

When President Bush speaks in Las Vegas on Thursday, he will not be joined by any of Nevada's members of Congress.

He has visited Nevada nine times as president and on all but one of those occasions he was either greeted or escorted by at least one member of the Nevada delegation. The exception occurred during a two-hour campaign stop in Las Vegas in 2004, when the president was bouncing among states on his reelection bid.

On the heels of his final State of the Union address, Bush will be here Thursday to speak about the global war on terrorism. He will also appear at a fundraiser for the Nevada Republican Party.

Among the Republicans not sharing the stage with him: Rep. Jon Porter, who said he is committed to appointments in Washington. He didn't elaborate.

Spokesman Matt Leffingwell said Porter received an invitation from the White House on Thursday, asking him to greet Bush at McCarran International Airport and attend the president's speech. But by that time, Leffingwell said, the congressman's schedule was full of afternoon meetings with out-of-town visitors in Washington.

As for John Ensign: Yes, the senator also received an invitation, but the Senate is in session, said spokesman Tory Mazzola.

The Senate is considering extending the surveillance law Congress hastily adopted in August when the White House warned of dangerous gaps in its surveillance authority. But Democrats and Republicans have been at loggerheads over new legislation that would give retroactive legal immunity to telecommunications companies that allowed the government to wiretap their customers without court permission.

The surveillance law expires Friday, and Mazzola said Ensign would be busy pushing for the White House-favored update to the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. (Indeed, Bush plans to push for the law in his speech here Thursday, according to an Associated Press report.)

Rep. Dean Heller's Washington spokesman did not return repeated calls regarding the congressman's schedule.

Bush's previous visit to Nevada came in August, when he spoke to veterans at the American Legion's National Convention in Reno. There, during his fourth trip to that city, he was accompanied by Heller and his wife, Lynn, who sang the national anthem before the event. The president visited Nevada three times in 2006, twice on behalf of Heller, who was seeking to succeed Jim Gibbons to represent Nevada's 2nd District, and once for Porter.

The presidential visits provide Congress members and local officials the rare opportunity to promote state issues with a direct line to the White House. For instance, during Bush's first visit to Nevada in 2003, both Gibbons and Porter, along with Gov. Kenny Guinn and his wife, Dema, rode in the president's limo. Porter, for one, pushed the state's opposition to Yucca Mountain, a project the president supports.

Still, Porter now faces a potentially tough reelection fight in November, and Bush's abysmal approval ratings, combined with Porter's swing district, likely make Washington's climate more appealing — at least on Thursday.

Sun librarian Rebecca Clifford contributed to this report.

Oil Companies Rake in Record Profits, Americans Pay Record Gas Prices While Bush and His Republican Allies Protect Obscene Tax Breaks for Big Oil 

Exxon, Chevron Profits Top Estimates After Oil Surges

Exxon Mobil Posts Record Profits

Exxon shatters profit records

Washington, DC-- While Americans, many of whom are being squeezed by an economy on the brink of recession, are paying record prices at the pump, the nation's big oil companies, including Exxon Mobil, ConocoPhillips and Chevron, raked in record profits of nearly $119 billion last year - all while President Bush and his Bush-Republicans in Congress blocked efforts to repeal obscene taxpayer handouts to the oil industry.  Since Bush came into office, Big Oil has reaped a half a trillion dollars in profits but has invested a pittance of those profits to produce lost cost renewable fuels to reduce our dependence on oil.

"One of the most troubling and disastrous legacies of President Bush and his Republican allies will be the wholesale selling out of Americans and their energy future to Big Oil," said Brad Woodhouse, President of Americans United for Change and founder of the Bush Legacy Project.  "Of course, with 72 percent of all oil industry political contributions going to Republicans (http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.asp?Ind=E01), no one should be surprised that when given a choice between ordinary Americans and Big Oil, Bush, Cheney and their disciples in Congress - the Bush Republicans - side with Big Oil while regular folks get the shaft.  Is it any wonder then that Bush and Bush Republicans in Congress have fought tooth and nail to protect oil industry tax breaks - handouts that these record profits show they clearly don't need - all while denying healthcare for millions of poor children.  Of course, Bush and the Bush Republicans in Congress didn't get millions of dollars in contributions from poor kids and their families."

Bush and the Bush Republicans in Congress' legacy on energy and Big Oil is a central theme in a new national television ad debuted by Americans United for Change on Monday as Bush was preparing to give his final State of the Union Address as part of the organization's Bush Legacy Project.  The Bush Legacy Project is a multi-million dollar paid media, grassroots, and online effort with the goal of cementing into history what the last 7 years of the Bush/Conservative ideology has wrought on America, from the looming economic recession, the endless war in Iraq, shortchanged domestic priorities like children's and veterans' healthcare, millions more Americans uninsured, stagnant wages, a mortgage crisis, the middle class squeeze, exploding deficit, and the list goes on.

From http://www.opensecrets.org/industries/indus.asp?Ind=E01:

†These numbers show how the industry ranks in total campaign giving as compared to more than 80 other industries. Rankings are shown only for industries (such as the Automotive industry) -- not for widely encompassing "sectors" (such as Transportation) or more detailed "categories" (like car dealers).

*These figures do not include donations of "Levin" funds to state and local party committees. Levin funds were created by the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002.

METHODOLOGY: The numbers on this page are based on contributions of $200 or more from PACs and individuals to federal candidates and from PAC, soft money and individual donors to political parties, as reported to the Federal Election Commission. While election cycles are shown in charts as 1996, 1998, 2000 etc. they actually represent two-year periods. For example, the 2002 election cycle runs from January 1, 2001 to December 31, 2002. Data for the current election cycle were released by the Federal Election Commission on Monday, January 07, 2008.

Feel free to distribute or cite this material, but please credit the Center for Responsive Politics.

NOTE: Soft money contributions to the national parties were not publicly disclosed until the 1991-92 election cycle, and were banned by the Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act following the 2002 elections.

Spinning President Bush's Legacy:

When President Bush took his final walk to the rostrum of the House chamber, his speech and manner conveyed little nostalgia. He views both meditation on the past and speculation about his legacy with equal suspicion, preferring to live in the urgency of the now. So his last State of the Union address had no Reagan-like, misty-eyed wistfulness. It was the most matter-of-fact of his congressional addresses: a clear theme -- trusting the people -- developed at a brisk pace, with modest proposals and an edge of impatience at congressional loitering. He seemed to be saying: "With a year to go, sentiment be damned."

But there is nothing to prevent me from waxing nostalgic. Watching the speech, I recalled meeting Gov. Bush of Texas in the spring of 1999, before he was a declared candidate. He talked with rushed intensity about being a "different kind of Republican," dedicated to racial healing and helping the poor and determined to provide moral leadership as a contrast and corrective to the Clinton years. Because I believed him, I left journalism and joined his campaign.

It is conventional wisdom that Bush's idealism is either a fraud or has been pushed aside completely by the priorities of war. Slate editor Jacob Weisberg argues that Bush's claim to be a compassionate conservative is "largely fictional." A liberal organization called Americans United for Change recently promised to spend $8.5 million on political attack ads against noncandidate Bush, out of fear that Bush hatred in America might mellow during his final year as president.

To read more of Michael Gerson's column, click here.

This is rich. In his eighth year in office – eighth year – Bush is assailing earmarks – after a year in which they were slashed in half and made more transparent. This is 2008 – where was this outrage in 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007… Inquiring minds.

• Bush to Press Congress to Limit Earmarks (AP)
• Pots, Kettles and Earmarks (Washington Post)
• Bush to Target Earmarks in State of the Union (CQ)
• Bush Postponing Action Against Earmarks Until Later This Year (Bloomberg)
• Bush to press Congress to limit earmarks (WDAM-TV)

Americans United for Change’s Bush Legacy Project Gets Notice:

• Raw Politics: Tearing the other side down carries a price (CNN)
• Duck Season (WSJ)
• A Bush Rally (Weekly Standard)
• DC Notebook: Pushing the delegation's buttons (Salt Lake Tribune)
• What happened to moving on? (Augusta Chronicle)
• Sorry state of the GOP (Capital Times)
• Behind Closed Doors (Indy Star)
• Group to Spend Millions Attacking Bush (The State)
• State of the Union shenanigans begin (Austin American-Statesman)
• Bush's final State of the Union to look forward (Houston Chronicle)