[Vision2020] Ask Bush to stand up to a real debate

[thansen@moscow.com]

>From Moveon.org -

Several weeks ago, Tom Cole, a Republican Congressman in Oklahoma spoke to 
supporters about the upcoming election.  "If George Bush loses the election, 
Osama bin Laden wins the election," he told them. (1)  Later, he said that a 
vote against Bush was like a vote for Adolf Hitler.
 
These hateful and outrageous remarks –- which neither the RNC nor the 
Bush/Cheney campaign will repudiate -- are representative of the negative 
campaign being rolled out against John Kerry.  Bush is now airing the first 
negative ads of the season, which according to nonpartisan monitors (2) 
seriously misled viewers about Kerry's record.
 
In response, Senator Kerry is taking the high road.  He's asked President Bush 
to engage in a series of monthly debates on the country's future -- debates on 
the real substance of the issues that face us.  It's a simple proposal that 
could elevate the campaign and truly educate the country about the positions 
and records of each candidate.  But President Bush's campaign brushed off the 
suggestion with a snide remark. (3)

Today, we're asking President Bush to stand up and face a real debate. You can 
join our petition asking President Bush to debate Kerry on the future of our 
country at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/debate/?id=2476-1614596-IIN5sQ7ftxxAuZNEtUftUA

We'll send your comment on to the Bush/Cheney campaign and highlight this issue 
in the media.

The negative tenor of the campaign so far even has Republicans worried.  
Senator John McCain reprimanded the President for the negative campaign, 
saying, "Already, I'm hearing from people here that are saying, 'Look, I'm not 
even going to vote if this is the way the campaign's going to be conducted.'"(4)

Here's a summary of some of the attacks that have unfolded just in the first 
two weeks.

 * In the first negative ad of the general election, President Bush claimed 
that Kerry would raise taxes by $900 billion.  The figure turned out to be 
entirely made up -- John Kerry promised to lower taxes on working families, not 
raise them. (5)

 * President Bush personally accused Kerry of attempting to "gut" the 
intelligence budget in a "deeply irresponsible" move:  Yet, as independent 
media monitor factcheck.org pointed out, "the proposal Bush criticized would 
have amounted to a reduction of roughly 1%. And senior congressional 
Republicans supported a cut two-thirds as large at the time." (6)

 * Vice President Cheney told reporters that he believed Kerry does not have "an
impressive record for someone who aspires to be commander in chief in this time 
of testing for our country." (7)

By any standard, the campaign is already one of the most negative in political 
history.  But by engaging in a forward-looking debate, President Bush could 
turn things around.  It's much easier to make misleading claims in TV ads than 
to someone's face, and both Kerry and Bush would have hours -- not seconds -- 
to make their case to the public.

Join us in asking President Bush to take the high road now at:

http://www.moveonpac.org/debate/?id=2476-1614596-IIN5sQ7ftxxAuZNEtUftUA

Sincerely,
--Adam, Carrie, Eli, James, Joan, Laura, Wes, and Zack
The MoveOn PAC Team
March 22nd, 2004

Footnotes:

1. "Inside Politics," Washington Times, 3/4/04
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040304-111104-3096r.htm

2. "Bush Strains Facts Re: Kerry's Plan To Cut Intelligence Funding in '90's,"
FactCheck.org, 3/15/04
http://www.factcheck.org/article.aspx?docID=153

3. "Kerry Suggests Monthly Debates With President; Bush Campaign Rejects the 
Idea," 
Washington Post, 3/13/04
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A56468-2004Mar13.html

4. "McCain, Lieberman on 'Fox News Sunday'," Foxnews.com, 3/21/04
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,114763,00.html

5. "George Bush's Credibility Problem: The Truth Behind His New Attack Ad," 
JohnKerry.com, 3/12/04
http://blog.johnkerry.com/dbunker/archives/001352.html#001352

6. See 2, above.

7. "Cheney calls Kerry weak on defense," CNN.com, 3/18/04
http://www.cnn.com/2004/ALLPOLITICS/03/17/cheney.reut/


PAID FOR BY MoveOn PAC
P.O. Box 9218, Berkeley, CA
94709

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