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

Mon, 22 Mar 2004 18:06:18 -0800

Tom, 
Why spoil the fun?  I'm enjoying Kerry debate himself.  He's for $87 billion for Iraq then he's against it.  He's for weapons systems that he was against.  He's against tax cuts but he's for them.  Please, please, please don't stop the Kerry v.Kerry show.  It beats anything (except the NCAA's) on TV.

Paul Duffau 

At 08:12 PM 3/22/04 +0000, you wrote:
> >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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