Why Shouldn't We Politicize 9/11 & Katrina -- BUSH'S TWO BIGGEST BLUNDERS?

[BLUSH]

Campaign Ads For The Katrina And 9/11 Anniversary Season: "Got Competence?"

There are two major anniversaries just around the corner: the first anniversary of Hurricane Katrina, and the fifth anniversary of 9/11. Both will have political implications in this election year. The Democrats need to realize that this is an opportunity, and use it to their advantage.

I realize this is an inflammatory concept. But Republicans have already proven they aren't afraid of politicizing both 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden. Democrats shouldn't shy away from turning these issues to their advantage, in an intelligent and respectful way.

The inevitable cries of "How dare you politicize tragedy?" will doubtless be heard. The answer is easy: "We didn't politicize this -- President Bush's incompetence made it a political issue. Democrats offer a better choice for America, and we're not afraid of saying so."

The ads are easy to imagine and would be even easier to produce. I came up with these two ideas in about five minutes, and I'm sure others could come up with equally effective and probably better ideas on their own (feel free to post any that suggest themselves). One can only hope that some lowly staffer at the Democratic National Committee reads Huffington Post regularly, with an open mind.

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chris-weigant/campaign-ads-for-the-katr_b_27841.html

[helderheid]

1. absolutely we should be talking about this. Can you imagine had this

been on a Democrat's watch? The Rs would be ALL OVER it.

[RestoreGore]

8. Then why is no one talking about impeachment?

Politicizing it just to get votes to do what? To let him and him vultures stay there until 2009? Would be nice to see some WALK behind the talk. But yes, sure, why not stoop to their level just to get votes, and then back down like always when really put to the test. The 2000 coup happened on OUR watch. Where were we then?

[helderheid]

9. those are good questions - but I wouldn't call this "stooping to their

level".

[liberaldemocrat7]

24. I'm going to make a t s shirt entitled HESITANT BUSH hehehe

I won't use your graphics but I will come up with some clever saying. Thanks for the post.

I already made a t shirt listing the REPUBLIKLAN Party's failures over the last 26 years.

[BLUSH]

34. dear George:

If the shirt fits, wear it

[Chimichurri]

2. No question. The dems should preempt everything with

9/11 and Katrina occured on Bush's watch. The repubs would squeeze every last drop had the tables been turned.

[helderheid]

4. absofuckinglutely.

[rock]

3. Now, now, don't politicize

Who says that? Well let's look at the definition.

Politicize: point out the mistakes that I made and suggest that you can do a better job.

Answer: the guy doing the bad job.

[kentuck]

5. How can you not politicize such blunders?

It would be a dereliction of duty otherwise.

[elehhhhna]

13. Since when does "Discuss" = "Politicize", anyway/ Oh yeah.

This time last year.

blamegame

[Pacifist Patriot]

17. I think "politicize" must mean rhetoric and propaganda....

rather than reaching a political consensus or compromise based on free and open dialogue. *shrug*

[BLUSH]

19. The GOP impeached President Clinton for a BJ

When President Clinton "blundered" no one got hurt. (He stained the White House carpet, big deal.)

Can't say the same for Bush. His BLUNDERS -- his failure to react on 9/11 and to Katrina -- lead to how much suffering? I'm sure someone can post the staggering figures.

[helderheid]

6. I think this thread should be on the greatest lickety split - forward to

Dean

[Benhurst]

7. Recommended: #2

[AndyA]

11. Just gave it #4 - only 1 to go! n/m

[AndyA]

10. Just the facts. No embellishment necessary. Let the record speak

for itself. If they aren't proud of their record, that's too frickin' bad. The Democrats need to scream this from every point in the country.

9/11 happened on Bush's watch. Clinton had been gone for 8 months, it was Bush's responsibility to protect us. A memo spelling our the danger was ignored in August, 2001, while Bush spent the month on vacation.

Hurricane Katrina was a huge blunder. Not one single function of our government worked properly in the days leading up to Katrina, nor did any government office adequately assist and protect the people of the Gulf Coast in the days and weeks after. Bush was vacationing, ate cake, and went on GOP Fund raising while dead bodies floated in the streets of New Orleans.

Add to that the outing of an undercover CIA Agent for political gain, the lies about the war in Iraq, the body count of American soldiers in Iraq (AND YES, SHOW THE FLAG DRAPED COFFINS - IT'S A FACT!)

The Dems have plenty to use, and all are facts that cannot be disputed.

[Time for change]

12. HELL YES!!

It was Bush's job to protect American citizens from Katrina and 9/11. To say that he failed miserably is an understatement. Most Republicans in Congress give him their unstinting support. They have to be held accountable for that.

If you can't talk about the failures of a Presidential administration and of the Congressional support for those failures, what can you talk about? And those failures aren't over with either. Bush Co. continues to screw over the citizens of N.O. who lost their homes, and he continues to use 9-11 not only for political advantage, but as an excuse for continuing his war mongering and tyrannical policies.

[elehhhhna]

14. Did we mention the Anthrax "attacks" (Reep language -- not mine) ?

[Pacifist Patriot]

15. I guess I don't understand how they could not be.

I think my problem is with the term "politicize." These two events have tremendous political importance...but shouldn't be degraded to rhetoric or exploited as propaganda. They ARE politically-charged issues. That cannot be avoided no matter how much some people would like to claim otherwise.

[auburngrad82]

16. Bush has made a career politicizing 9/11

fair is fair. If he think's it's his greatest moment as pResident, then let's point how all of his greatest fuckups come from 9/11.

[BLUSH]

25. Now we know Bush's real career.

No, it's not being president. It's politicizing. He and Rove should start an advertising agency when they leave office.

[gully]

18. Bravo!

I realize this is an inflammatory concept. But Republicans have already proven they aren't afraid of politicizing both 9/11 and Osama Bin Laden. Democrats shouldn't shy away from turning these issues to their advantage, in an intelligent and respectful way.

[Beelzebud]

20. We should be hammering them on these issues. But will we?

Probably not.

We're too worried about being PC, and nice.

[Kurovski]

21. They FAILED at their jobs. And they do so continuously.

It is a matter of them all being unfit for the job.

It is well beyond politics when massive casualties are the result of their inability to get things right.

"...And when the truth is on your side, negative advertising works"

[rudy23]

22. Why aren't we "politicizing" "Mission Accomplished"?

You can't ask for a more ready-made political gaffe than that one. The way chimpy was all dressed up in his flight suit? You won't get an easier meatball to hit out of the park than that one.

[BLUSH]

28. mission NOT accomplished

http://www.missionnotaccomplished.us

[electprogdems]

23. The same reason (some) democrats won't start

the "class war" or talk about gas being $1.40 when Clinton was president, or talk about how some Washington State repugs want restaurant workers to work for $2.50 an hour, or how the guest worker program will drive workers wages down --

Because these methods are simple, effective and will work.

[Mandate My Ass]

26. Great post!

Welcome to DU. I like the way you think, and yes, we need to elect progressive dems. It's in the centrists interests to remain the minority party because it provides them with cover to accomplish the RW goals they share with the republicans. :hi:

[newyawker99]

27. Hi electprogdems!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[Hailtothechimp]

29. Rove and the others can't wait for August (Katrina) to end....

because September will be all terra, all the time. Wheeeee!

[BLUSH]

30. impeach them all

[NightOwwl]

31. From your mouth to God's ear.

If I've said it once, I've said it a million times...if Kerry had run his campaign like this he would be our President now. Unfortunately he didn't, and neither will the rest of the Dems.

I just don't get it.

[petgoat]

32. I don't get it either.

9/11 would not have happened under Gore. He would have instituted Richard
Clarke's plan for military actions against al Qaeda, and then the nation
would have been on alert, expecting reprisals.

Why couldn't some 527 group have run an ad campaign on this?

Kerry's failure to defend himself on the flip-flopping charge by pointing
out that he voted for a tax-funded bill and against a deficit-funded one
is also puzzling, as well as his failure to point out that Bush threatened
to VETO the very same bill!

[BLUSH]

33. Let that be a lesson

PLAY OFFENSE!

[BlueCentrist]

35. Politicize them???

God Damn more like we have a moral obligation to call a spade a spade!

[EstimatedProphet]

36. We shouldn't be politicizing the events, we should be taking them to task

We need to hold them accountable. We need to specifically force them to asnwer the questions about what their timelines are, what they expect to do, how they expect to do it, how will it repair the situation, etc.

By politicizing things all we would be doing is claiming that we could do better. By holding them accountable, we specify how we could do it better, and why.

[BLUSH]

37. Taking them to task

"By holding them accountable, we specify how we could do it better, and why."

We should have taken them to task back in 2002 when they started the lie campaign.

[EstimatedProphet]

38. No argument there at all

[lumberjack_jeff]

39. Can you imagine a Republican doing similar hand-wringing?

Oh, no! We shouldn't politicize _________________ - it might backfire!"

bullshit, they'll politicize anything. If the guy we hired to coordinate government responses allowed 9/11, caused Iraq and bungled Katrina, he shouldn't be worried about being politicized, he should be worried about being Czar-Nicholas-ized.

[BLUSH]

40. Bush goes to Salt Lake City

He says he's not going to make a political speech. So of course he goes ahead and makes a political speech, and not just any political speech. We're talking attack politics, smears, lies. etc.

[aikoaiko]

41. Sure -- but we have to say how we would have done better.

I'm not sure if we can make a convincing case that we could have done better on stopping 9/11.

I'd like to think we would have done better, but can we point to tangible actions on our part?

[BLUSH]

43. You don't believe President Gore would have taken the ....

August Memo seriously?

[ComerPerro]

42. We don't have any media access to allow this sort of thing

where would we get our message out?

Air America, to people who already agree?

[sendero]

44. I disagree..

.. the fact is Bush**'s response to 9-11 has been about as useless as could be devised by anyone on their worst day. There is no way to talk about Iraq without talking about the "war on terror" since Bush tries to connect them all the time and it's worked in the public mind. 9-11 is already politicized, and they are bashing us about the head and face with it every single day. Being silent on the issue is a disastrous tact politically.

Personally, I think the only reason that Dems aren't poised to absolutely swamp the house and the senate is that they come off as total pansies and are afraid to attack their Republican counterparts in a justifiable way. Americans are waiting for Dems to show some spine, they beleive that our leaders need some spine and no matter what you think of Bush at least he's not a pussy. He will say the most outrageous untrue things, and Dems won't even say outrageous true things.

I don't know why only a handful of Dems will speak up and say what needs to be said. But that's the way it is.

[BLUSH]

45. Bush says the most outrageous things and he's STILL a pussy!

nt

[spanone]

46. Governance is all about the competency to govern.

If the shoe of incompetence fits the fuckers they need to wear it.

[BLUSH]

47. Why don't people recognize Bush was incompetent on 9/11

Bush invokes spirit of 9/11 to repair his ragged image
By Tom Baldwin

PRESIDENT BUSH has spent the past week doing his best to get through one anniversary before nudging the attention of voters towards another.
The first was that of Hurricane Katrina, which smashed its way over the Gulf Coast last year and blighted the Administration with a reputation for uncaring incompetence. The second anniversary is that of 9/11 when, for a time at least, Mr Bush symbolised America’s unity and defiance in the face of a terrible new enemy.

The President spent Monday and Tuesday in still-devastated areas of Mississippi and New Orleans, taking responsibility for failures at “all levels” of government while insisting that billions of dollars were being spent on the region. Doubtless he also hoped that this ground-level tour might help to dissipate memories of his Air Force One flyover last year when he was filmed peering down like a distant monarch on his suffering subjects below.

But in the second half of the week he put post-Katrina penance behind him. Instead, he set about rekindling a very different image of his presidency when, five years ago, he had stood in the rubble of the World Trade Centre — megaphone in one hand, the other arm around a burly firefighter — and given warning that those responsible would soon be hearing from America.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,11069-2339021,00.html



On 9/13 he had his bullhorn moment. But why don't people realize on 9/11 he was totally incompetent. Bush was incompetent during BOTH 9/11 and Katrina.

[MissMarple]

48. Because it will up set the Republicans and make them mad at us.

:rofl:

heh...heh...heh...:woohoo: :popcorn: :woohoo:

[LaPera]

49. Repugs always try to shame Dem's when repukes are the cause of the shame!

They say it's shameless to bring it up...but they ALWAYS do... it in a heartbeat, when it can be used for their republican benefit.

It's a tactic the republicans laugh at Dem's for, playing fair...while the ruthless republicans exploit everything possible, everything is fair game to the republicans...including lies, distortion & smears!

When will the Dem's learn to go for the throat?

It's the only thing that works against these wicked, evil devils, the republican slime!!!!

[BLUSH]

50. When will the Dem's learn to go for the throat?

It's two years to the presidential election. You know the Repugs have already started creating "profiles" of the Democratic candidates, with slogans and the works. (Remember "flip-flop" for Kerry?)