Bush Pathetically Panders to His Base By Bashing MoveOn, Code Pink
Posted by Faiz Shakir at 1:00 PM on November 1, 2007.
Faiz Shakir: With his anemic presidency on the rocks, Bush has
resorted to battling with bloggers and war protesters for relevance.
This post, written by Faiz Shakir, originally appeared on Think
Progress
In a politically-charged speech this afternoon at the Heritage
Foundation, President Bush brazenly attacked congressional leaders for
not immediately granting him all the funding he has requested for the
Iraq war.
Lawmakers should stop listening to "Moveon.org bloggers and Code Pink
protesters" and start listening to the "warnings of terrorists like
Osama bin Laden," Bush said to a rousing ovation:
When it comes to funding our troops, some in Washington should spend
more time responding to the warnings of terrorists like Osama bin
Laden and the requests of our commanders on the ground, and less time
responding to the demands of MoveOn.org bloggers and Code Pink
protesters.
Watch the video to your right.
Bush hardly has a leg to stand on when urging others to heed the
warnings of bin Laden. More than six years after 9/11, bin Laden roams
free and is "stronger than ever." His administration allowed bin Laden
to escape at Tora Bora, shifted resources away from the search for bin
Laden in 2002, dismantled the CIA unit charged with locating him, and
on top of all that, claimed it didn't really matter if Osama was
captured:
Bush: "So I don't know where he is. You know, I just don't spend that
much time on him. ... And, again, I don't know where he is. I -- I'll
repeat what I said. I truly am not that concerned about him."
[3/13/02]
Additionally, Bush is creating a false urgency around the need for
Iraq spending. "The money doesn't run out until the end of the year,"
said Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA). Congress is planning to pass $50
billion to $75 billion in interim spending which should carry delay
consideration of the full spending request until next year.
With his anemic presidency on the rocks, Bush has resorted to battling
with bloggers and war protesters for relevance.
Faiz Shakir is the Research Director at the Center for American
Progress and serves as Editor of ThinkProgress.org and The Progress
Report.
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