Bush Legacy Tour

I am fairly sure walking around Lincoln on game day without wearing red (Go Big Red) may be punishable by death. We were able to get some folks on board the bus as they headed to the game. We had a mixed reaction from the people who came by. We received a reaction of confusion from the fans who started drinking fairly early who were not interested in any pre-game policy issues.  We had a few people who were not big fans of the bus but the rest were supportive and happy we were there.

Dave Hall is a local peace activist who came by the bus. He has been working with Nebraskans for Peace since the war started. Every Wednesday evening from 5-6pm they hold a vigil in front of the federal building.  He said when they first started they were booed and harassed by about 9 out of 10 people that passed by the vigil. Now he sees support and cheers from about 9 out of 10 people, effectively a complete reverse of the reaction.

Max was born and raised in Lincoln. Max is also a Marine who returned from a tour in Iraq convinced that we should not be over there. He stopped by the bus and shared that he was particularly opposed to the fact that troops were being sent over there without the proper protection. He and his fellow soldiers would take the scrap metal off of blown up enemy vehicles to protect their own. Additionally he felt that the soldiers returning home were not receiving the proper care in terms of healthcare, PTSD and other emotional issues, and employment opportunities.  He has talked to many of his fellow Marines who are motivated by a strong sense of patriotism and duty to serve but cannot understand why they are in Iraq. Towards the end of the conversation Max shared his last name with me. It turns out he is Max Yashirin running against Jeff Fortenberry for Nebraska’s First Congressional district. Max’s experience in Iraq has helped to inspire him to run for office and serve his country in a different way.  Like the Lincoln residents he hopes to represent, Max was on his way to enjoy a Saturday cheering on the Cornhuskers.

Bush Legacy Bus

DNC Top Ten

1.)Security Process to get in the Pepsi Center which included just about  everything up until cavity searches.

2.)After generator failed, running off the power of the Daily Show bus

3.)Having not one, not two, but three foreign camera crews take footage of the bus for documentaries they are doing on Bush and/or the 2008 election.

4.)AUFC staff got to see the speeches at Invesco Field

5.)Getting dirty looks from delegates standing in front of bus until they read the side of the bus that explains it is about Bush’s failures, and then having them cheer us wildly.

6.)Having the bus in the background on MSNBC’s live taping

7.)Having supportive comments made by many celebrities, journalists, and politicians about the bus right before they say no thank you to coming to see it!

8.)Howard Dean digging the idea of the bus after being told.

9.)Feeling like rock stars rolling through the streets of Denver to screaming fans.

10.)Bus staff got to go to cool parties while the bus rested for the night.

Day 3 Tuesday-Our day today began at 4am. We managed to snag an amazing parking spot inside the security perimeter right in front of the Pepsi center. Paul, a friend of the bus both sold his soul to the devil and a kidney to get us the spot.  The catch was that we needed to get to the security check point by 5am. We headed into the gated area where we were all individually x-rayed and the entire bus went under a giant x-ray machine. It felt clandestine like we were exchanging stolen goods in the early morning. We stood and watched every single inch of the bus get inspected. They were incredibly thorough. They even opened every single door in our environment exhibit. We had several of the secret service and bomb squad agents come over to us and say discreetly, “I really like your bus.” We then were escorted by following a truck into the Pepsi center. We had to stay within the security “bubble” the whole time, if we had gotten lost following the truck we would’ve had to do the entire process all over again! I took photos of the entire process but one of the secret service politely came over towards the end and asked me if I had taken pictures. I sheepishly said, “Yes” and he asked me to erase all of them.

Two hours later we were in place in front of the Pepsi center. Little did we know going in we would have a famous neighbor in the parking lot. The Daily Show had their Indecision 2008 bus parked right next to ours. We had the pleasure of watching correspondents Rob Riggle and Jason Jones go in and out all day.  Anderson Copper even came over to do a skit with the crew. We chatted with the producers and camera guys and tried to talk them into featuring the bus in a skit. It   was to no avail as they had a very tight schedule. One cameraman did say that when we pulled into the parking spot we were very close to a huge line of port-a-potties and he got a shot of “The Bush Legacy” part of the bus appearing to back into the toilets. He felt that this was a fairly appropriate image considering how much his legacy really is in the toilet.  He submitted it to the producers and we hope to have at least made it in a background shot.

We spent most of the day showing the press and convention attendees the bus and taking turns going in and out of the convention center.  The occasional celebrity would walk by but they were so heavily escorted in and out of the Pepsi Center that our pleas to “Come check out the Bush Legacy Bus” were typically met with annoyed glances from bodyguards and secret service agents. Suffice to say, Charles Barkley was unable to come out and see the Bush Legacy Bus.

The reaction to the bus was extremely positive. Everyone thought it was a great idea and wanted to know when it was coming to their town.  The excitement of what was happening inside the Pepsi center was palpable and everyone was riled up.

DENVER, CO- Democratic National Convention

Sunday, August 24^th

From the moment we arrived on Sunday afternoon to take our parking space in front of the Denver Convention Center we knew if was going to be an interesting five days. Getting into the space was harrowing at best. Parking simply involved blocking three lanes of traffic on two intersecting street and then pulling a 45 ft bus down the one way street backwards. No bigee, for our skilled driver, Joel. We were located in the heart of the foot traffic and had a lot of people come to see the bus. Sunday was the day where everyone was just getting settled in and we saw a lot of people lugging their suitcases around trying to catch pre-convention activities on their way in. The reaction to the bus was different than what we have received in all of our other stops. We did not have the same element of surprise that we normally have when we roll into a city. No one bats an eye to a bus like this at the DNC. People were, however, surprised that our bus is not a mere billboard on a bus and actually contains an actual museum inside. We had a huge number of people coming through the bus including press, delegates, and tourists from all over. Not surprising, everyone loved the bus.

Monday, August 25^th

Monday marked our first official day at the DNC.  Parking craziness once again ensued and eventually with the help of the Denver police, we pulled into our space. We had a constant flow in and out of the bus and met delegates from all over the country. A lot of southern delegates from Texas, Alabama, and Arkansas came in and had very sharp words for Bush’s Legacy.  It is difficult to narrow down highlight with the constant flow of activity which was somewhat dizzying.

Perhaps the most interesting thing in retrospect about the first day was the media and pundits take on the tone of the first day of the convention. There were headlines that read, “Democrats too soft on Bush?” and “Was DNC’s Opening Night Too Soft on Bush?”Criticism abounded of the Democrats for not taking on perhaps the most unpopular President of all time. We are pretty sure that the Democrats know that the Bush Legacy Bus is out there looking at the Bush & Company conservative legacy and did not want to start a turf battle. For the record, we are happy to share the task of showing the failed Bush legacy with all comers. The more the merrier.

CHEYENNE, WYOMING- During Saturdays in the summer, hundreds of locals pour into the Wyoming Depot to buy local produce from the famers market. We were happy to have a spot near the market and had a decent amount of foot traffic.

Payton Shuster from Wyoming left a strong impression on me after a long talk. She has had an incredibly difficult time with our broken healthcare system.  She is more than $68,000 in debt after two years of health problems .The idea of paying off her medical debt is daunting to her and she picks and chooses the procedures and medicines that are most important rather than always getting the full care she needs.  As if her story was not bad enough, she has  an elderly family friend who recently broke her arm, and instead of getting medical care she attempted to reset it herself and allow it to heal causing further damage. These stories are getting all too common on the road.  There is no better example of the failure of conservatism than our disastrous healthcare system which favors profit over people.

COLORADO SPRINGS,CO-We could not have had a location for our stop in Colorado Springs better represented Colorado. The bus was parked in Monument Valley Park. To the right of the bus was a park with beautiful greenery and dozens of people enjoying outdoor activities. To the left was the railroad where every few minutes a train comes by and brings the many resources like coal, minerals, and maybe even beer  in and out of Colorado.

I was told by a reporter that we were not the only game in town that day. There was a film crew that was filming a mockumentary on a European running for President. There was also a hot air balloon that is doing a tour around the country to attempt to dispel the “myth” of global warming that the worldwide scientific community has overwhelmingly accepted as fact.  I was told by everyone in the area that the excitement is mounting in their town for the convention in Denver.

For the third stop in a row there was at least one person leaving the bus in tears. Lydia said it was very powerful and she had to leave and come back. Most people say it is having everything in one place and remembering all the damage of the last eight years all at one time.

Mark was strongly impacted by the bus as well. He came and spoke to me about his situation and what outsourcing has meant for  his life. He was laid off after 18 years with the same company because his entire department was outsourced. He credits Bush and his administration, “with promoting the philosophy that people are disposable and all that matters in the bottom line-money.”

Robert described Bush as the worst President in history and an embarrassment to the rest of the world. He added, “I am a Republican but also an Obama backer.”  I hear more and more of this as the tour carries on. I talk to people every day who feel that McCain will only continue Bush’s disastrous conservative politics.  I talk to Registered Republicans all the time that have had enough.

Dorothy at age 86 has been following politics for a long time. She commented, “At 86 years of age I regret I had to see our wonderful USA hit the low it has. Resultant of a most evil leader. I cannot call him a man.”

With the visceral reaction to Bush and McCain, we were fortunate to be able to leave Colorado Springs on a positive note. On the way out of town we stopped at the beautiful rock formations  at the Garden of the Gods and took some great photos.

FORT COLLINS, CO-We joined forces with another progressive bus today in Fort Collins.  We had a joint event with SEIU’s Road to Healthcare Bus at the Lee Martinez Park. The SEIU event was centered around McCain’s healthcare plan and how it would be bad for women. The SEIU event was titled McCain Against Moms.  The Bush Legacy bus part of the event focused on healthcare, among other issues. There was no bus envy to speak of and the Bush Legacy and the Road To Healthcare Bus played nicely together. http://www.roadtohealthcare.org/

The Road To Healthcare bus started in April and will continue through September. The purpose of the bus is to share the healthcare stories of the many Americans that have had  problems with a healthcare system that denies care to millions without insurance and make getting care difficult for those who do. We heard from Carol Moos, a local nurse who has experienced the horrors of our healthcare system in her personal and professional life. We also heard from Nathan Gonzalez, a Field Coordinator for Healthcare United about his organization's efforts to advocate for quality health care.

Fort Collins is in Representative Marilyn Musgrave’s  district. Representative Musgrave has voted with this administration 87% of the time. She opposed the new GI Bill, opposed raising the minimum wage for the first time in decade and supported the Social Security privatization plans support by Bush and McCain as well.

The stop was attended by many of the people attending the park for their daily run, tennis, or walk as well as people who had heard about the event ahead of time.  The highlight of the stop was a conversation I was privy to from two women who were discussing the current state of the country on the bus. The y both feel completely disgusted with this administration.  The one woman came to the US from Cuba thirty years ago and is an American citizen. She said never since she immigrated here did she feel like she was not considered an American until this President took office and started taking advantage of people’s fears.  She feels that he has disenfranchised women, Latinos, the middle class, the poor and just about everyone in this country that is not a millionaire. Both women felt that the country is headed in the wrong direction and it will take years to turn around.

Day 4 DNC Wednesday- We were fortunate enough to be able to keep our space outside of the Pepsi  center for a second day and even more fortunate that we could leave the bus there overnight and not need to send it through security again.  Once again we were next to the Daily Show bus, however, the cast was inside for most of the time so our efforts to get them on the bus for a photo opts were not fruitful.

The flow of traffic did not come by the bus so we spent a lot of time flagging people down and telling them about the bus and handing out fliers. This process became affectionately know by our staff as “Pimpin’ the bus.” During this “pimpin” we saw a lot of celebrities and political leaders. Charles Barkely, Joe Scarborough, Anderson Cooper, Al Sharpton to name a mere new. The whole thing was quite a zoo. In front of the Pepsi center were anchors from all over the world broadcasting in every language.  Even though I am not the type of person to get excited around famous people it was difficult not to be enthralled with the excitement that surrounded the convention and the huge names walking in and out.

We introduced the concept of the bus to dozens of the journalists that were stationed inside the media tents.  They typically lost interest once we explained it was a museum of the failures of the Bush Administration and not a positive portrayal of the President's policies. They were looking for a story that showed something strongly contrary to the convention. We had a lot of strong interest for the RNC where we will presumably be the story they are looking for. Look for Brian Williams to come on the bus in St. Paul!

GRAND JUNCTION, CO- Until we hit the road in June, I would never have imagined I would be roaming the streets of cities large and small looking for supporters of Bush and his allies. This becomes a goal when a person from the press wants to show both sides and cannot find a single person on the bus or walking by with anything good to say about Bush.  Some reporters will not air the piece if they cannot find someone from the conservative side as well. If a reporter is looking to get a quote from someone who supports the President’s policies, I will sometimes help them and attempt to flag someone down off of the street. This has proved challenging.  It has also been challenging getting the Republican party and conservative groups to provide comments to the local press about what they think of the tour. We had the best example of this in Grand Junction yesterday. The local CBS outlet came out to cover the bus and wanted to have the local Republican party give comments on their thoughts on the tour. The reporter contacted Gary, a chair of the Republican party, in Grand Junction. Although their offices are very close by he refused to come look at the bus and give an interview to CBS. His comments explain why are the clincher. He explained that he did not want to come see the bus because he is now doing work for McCain and does not want McCain’s name to be associated with Bush! That pretty much sums it up.

SALT LAKE CITY, UT- Salt Lake City is often characterized as a very red city in a very red state.  While the President has an approval rating in the late twenties in the US overall, in Utah his rating is around 55%. That is a pretty huge jump from the national average. Much like our many other stops in red states, the people are usually more excited than other areas to see the bus because there is not typically a lot of dissent towards this administration. As soon as we rolled into the hotel parking lot, we were greeted with support. There was a man in the parking lot who was with one of the drivers for the local symphony and he was very excited we were there.

Utah has the misfortune of having not one but two conservative Senators that have supported Bush’s agenda without fail. Senators Hatch and Bennett are often so identical in their reliably conservative votes that they should just save the taxpayers of Utah some money and combine their offices at home and in DC.  Senator Hatch was asked by the local paper what he thought about the Bush Legacy Bus and he released this statement: "I always do what I believe is right and in the best interest of our state and country. My positions generally reflect the opinions of Utahans, and President Bush won Utah by huge majorities in 2000 and 2004."

 

An older man I had been speaking with for a while gave an interview with a local news station about his impression about the bus and eventually the conversation led to his representation in the Senate. The reporter asked his  what he thought of Hatch and Bennett. He answered that he knew Senator Bennett’s father and he “wasn’t worth two cents either.”  He went on to talk about this experience serving in WWII in the Philippines. He felt that the current war in Iraq is completely unjustified and that he felt for the young men and women being sent over there to fight.

Kristin who came to the event, simply commented that over the last eight years, “she has worked very hard and could never get ahead financially and Bush’s financial incentives were useless.”

If Utah represents Bush’s current highest approval rating of any state at 55%, it was the other 45% that came out to see the bus on Tuesday.