Usurping State/Local Power

AP says a recent Bush executive order is "in keeping with Bush's goal of having the government defer as much as possible to local interests." While that may be the White House's rhetoric, it is not its record:

RESTRICTING STATE/LOCAL POWER TO LOWER PRESCRIPTION DRUG PRICES: The White House is opposing bipartisan legislation to allow state/local government to purchase lower-priced, FDA-approved medicines from abroad. The administration took the extraordinary step last month of deploying federal agents to seize shipments of lower-priced medicines headed to a prominent seniors group in Minnesota - a state whose GOP governor is fighting the White House over reimportation. Vermont's GOP governor has filed a lawsuit against the Bush administration, demanding it allow states to proceed with reimportation.

RESTRICTING STATE/LOCAL POWER TO PROTECT CONSUMER PRIVACY: The President is backing banks in their legal efforts to deny California and other states to pass more stringent consumer privacy laws than the federal government has. White House allies in Congress have already passed bills aimed at restricting state rights in this area as well.

RESTRICTING STATE/LOCAL POWER TO CONTROL EDUCATION: Republican and Democratic state governments have condemned the President's No Child Left Behind Bill because it includes strict federal requirements, while not providing adequate funds for implementation. In other words, it is an unfunded federal mandate that takes away state/local control of education.

RESTRICTING STATE/LOCAL POWER TO REGULATE MARRIAGE: When running for President in 2000, George W. Bush said he believed marriage was an issue that states should regulate. Now, President Bush is pushing a federal constitutional amendment taking that power away from states and banning gay marriage.

GOP to NY: Drop Dead

House Speaker Dennis Hastert's recent attack on New York City highlights a pattern of Republicans slamming the Big Apple. As the GOP prepares for its convention there, here are just a few other examples:

WHITE HOUSE ATTACKS NYC AS 'MONEY GRUBBING': New Yorkers "treat [post-9/11 reconstruction funding] as a little money-grubbing game." - White House Budget Director Mitch Daniels, 2/4/02

GOP ATTACKS NEW YORK AS ANTI-AMERICAN: On 3/13/03 Former GOP Congressman and MSNBC talk show host Joe Scarborough said "New York City, the city hit hardest by September 11, now takes a big stand against the war with Saddam. Is the Big Apple sending a bad message to our men and women in uniform?...New York City is the latest city to back war as a final result. Is the Big Apple being anti-American?...New York City, hit the hardest on September 11. Now the very same city is working against the president in his showdown with Saddam...But up next, New York City, ground zero in the attack on America. Now that city's not standing by us in the looming attack on Iraq."

GOP SAYS NYC HAS 'CULTURE OF WASTE': On 9/16/95, House Speaker Newt Gingrich accused New York City of having "a culture of waste for which they expect us to send a check." He claimed New York takes more federal money than it receives – a stat that was untrue when he said it and untrue today. As the New York Metro notes " In 2002, the last year for which data are available, New Yorkers sent $65.9 billion in federal taxes to Washington, and yet the federal government sent only $54.5 billion back. In one year, more than $11 billion was sucked out of New York and redistributed across America by the Republicans in Washington who control the federal budget."

GOP LAMBASTES DEMOCRATS FOR HOLDING CONVENTION IN NYC: On 8/6/90, Newt Gingrich said "I would personally be very comfortable having the Democratic party going to New York City, standing in the middle of the collapse of the welfare state, and explaining that we, too, could resemble New York City."

GOP SAYS GIVING FEDERAL AID TO NYC IS LIKE GIVING IT TO THE MOB: In April 1989, Newt Gingrich said "Congress ought to ask whether we're subsidizing the Cosa Nostra when we aid New York."

Bush Lied About His Military Service

There is no more debate about it - we now know Bush deliberately falsified and lied about his own military service:

BUSH TOOK OUT AD LYING ABOUT HIS MILITARY SERVICE: “A pullout ad from The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal of May 4, 1978, shows a huge picture of Bush with a ‘Bush for Congress’ logo on the front. On the back, a synopsis of his career says he served 'in the U.S. Air Force and the Texas Air National Guard where he piloted the F-102 aircraft.'” [Source: AP, 7/14/99]

BUSH INSISTED THAT HIS LIE WAS TRUE: When confronted with questions about why he lied about serving in the Air Force, Bush claimed “The facts are I served 600 days in the Air Force.'' That is not true. Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard, not the Air Force. [Source: AP, 7/13/99]

AIRFORCE CONFIRMS THAT BUSH LIED: Bush served stateside in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War. The Air Force says that “Air National Guard members are considered 'guardsmen on active duty' while receiving pilot training. They are not, however, counted as members of the overall active-duty Air Force.” [Source: AP, 7/14/99]

See more from David Corn.

CLAIM vs. FACT: Snow & Campaign Activity

CLAIM:
“[Treasury Secretary John Snow] is not engaged in campaign activity, and that hasn't changed.”
- U.S. Treasury Department spokesman, 8/24/04

FACT:
“U.S. Treasury Secretary John W. Snow will visit Grand Rapids, Michigan on Friday, August 27 to meet with local business leaders and discuss the President's efforts to strengthen the economy and create jobs.”
- U.S. Treasury press release, 8/25/04
Source:

FACT:
“Snow has touted the benefits of the administration's tax cuts and economic policy during visits to 21 states so far this year…Of the 21 states Snow has visited, 13 have been ‘battleground’ states that were among the most closely split between Bush and former Vice President Al Gore in the 2000 presidential election.”
- Dow Jones Newswires, 8/24/04

Mitch Daniels (R-Hypocrite)

From the Indianapolis Star:

Daniels: State needs more U.S. grants; Mitch Daniels called for an increased emphasis on winning federal grants today...Daniels, the Republican nominee for governor, said "We're dead last in education and Health and Human Services grants. This is very unfortunate (and) symptomatic of state government."

So let me get this straight - Daniels, the former Bush administration budget director who slashed federal grants to states in most key areas (example A, B, C, to name just a few) says the problem is that the state is not getting enough federal grants, and that as governor he will lobby for more state grants from the federal government.

Sure, Daniels says this is because his state isn't getting enough of the federal grants out there, but that's transparent BS...he spearheaded the effort to slash billions out of state grants, meaning there has been far less overall money available for his state - and others - to get. Now he's crying that his state doesn't have enough to make due. Maybe he should have thought about what he was doing to his home state when he was busy hamming it up in the White House.