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Dishonest politics
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One expects the administration to be honest and open in dealing
with Congress and in presenting its case to the people, and Bush
said he would be.
But the behavior of this administration has been just the opposite.
Besides its misrepresentations and lies about
Iraq, here are some examples.
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"And together we will create and America
that is open .... I was not elected to serve one party, but to serve
one nation. ... Whether you voted for me or not, I will do my best
to serve your interests and I will work to earn your respect. I
will be guided by President Jefferson's sense of purpose, to stand
for principle, to be reasonable in manner, and above all, to do
great good for the cause of freedom and harmony." George
Bush, Acceptance Speech, 13 Dec 2000
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The Medicare bill. In November
2003, the House of Representatives passed a medical bill. Because
of the rising deficit, they were worried about cost. Bush promised
that it would cost $395 billion in the first 10 years. But the administration's
own analysis in the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services had
told the administration that it would cost over $550 billion. The
bill would not have passed had the truth been known. Chief actuary
Richard S. Foster was told he would be fired if he revealed the figures
to lawmakers. Read
about it here. Public
Citizen has information on how drug companies and HMOs led an
army of nearly 1,000 lobbyists to promote this misguided legislation,
spending almost $141 million.
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Misuse of science. Click on the
link on misuse of science on the left to see just how much this administration
has attempted to use politics, hiding of facts, and misrepresentation
of facts for its political gain.
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Hiding poverty numbers. The number
of people living in poverty rose by 1.3 million in 2003. The Census
Bureau Report on such things comes out in September. But the Bush
administration had it appear in August instead, well before the Republican
Convention and when people generally take vacations. Read
about it here (here is a local version)
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Leaking news. Bush promised to
do everything he could to fight the war on terror. Yet, in August,
for their own political gain, the administration leaked the fact that
alleged terrorist Kahn had been apprehended. Kahn was a key intelligence
source, and the leak allowed several terrorists to escape. Read
about it here (here is a local version).
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Ashcroft repeatedly lied to Congress
about the administration's counter-terrorism effort. He told them
terrorism had been his number 1 priority before 9/11; records show
that he did not include it as one of the department's 7 goals, putting
it as a subgoal beneath gun violence and drugs. He said that his predecessor's
(Reno) plan did not mention counterterrorism, which was false. He
lied about the amount of money that the FBI requested and that the
administration gave the FBI. Read
about it here (here is a local version).
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Condoleezza Rice repeatedly lied to 9/11
Commission. She made over ten false claims. For example,
she said that the Bush Administration has been committed to the "transformation
of the FBI into an agency dedicated to fighting terror." The
truth is that before 9/11, Attorney General John Ashcroft de-emphasized
counterterrorism at the FBI. Moreover, in the early days after the
Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, the White House cut by nearly two-thirds an
emergency request for counterterrorism funds by the FBI. Read
about it here (here is a local version).
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