The way the Bush administration operates

"By their deeds shall you know them."

Campaign Sleaze

1. Whispers about Ann Richards. In 1994, when Bush ran against Democratic Gov. Ann Richards in Texas, a whisper campaign began in East Texas that Richards had appointed gays and lesbians to state positions, which was true. The issue got little notice until Bush's East Texas campaign chairman accused the governor of naming "avowed and activist homosexuals" to high offices. (taken from here). These whisper campaigns are linked to Karl Rove, who worked for Bush and who had even been fired by Republican State Victory Committee for his dirty campaign tricks. Many websites say this; here is one, a review of two books.

2. Rumors about Republican John McCain. In 2000, the Bush campaign (through Rove) spread rumors about Republican John McCain, suggesting that McCain had committed treason while a prisoner of war and had fathered a child by a black prostitute. [New Yorker, 5/12/03] They circulated rumors that McCain was gay and had cheated on his wife and that his wife was a drug addict.[ Ivins column, The Nation, 6/18/01] Despite his denials, everyone concluded that Rove was responsible for the rumors [The Nation, 3/5/01]. During a debate, McCain called Bush to task for the whispering and misleading negative ads; Bush refused to take responsibility for them and did not apologize.

3. Attacks on Max Cleland. In 2002, the Bush White House oversaw Republican attack ads that compared Max Cleland to Saddam Hussein. Cleland, running for the Senate, is a Silver Star awardee and triple amputee.

4. Use of Hitler. In June 2004, the Bush-Cheney campaign produced a web video that spliced together clips of Hitler, Gore, Dean, Kerry, and others. Supposedly, this was because the organization MoveOn.org had an video showing Bush and Hitler. However, the latter video was not a direct creation of MoveOn.org but a submission to a contest. As soon as it was recognized as containing a picture of Hitler, it was removed. MoveOn.org apologized; Bush campaigns have never apologized for anything.

5. The Swift-boat affair. In the current campaign, we have the attack ads on Kerry regarding his performance in Vietnam. Republican John McCain has denounced the ads and called on Bush to condemn them (click here); Bush has not done so.

The Bush campaign denies that there is any connection between his campaign and the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth", which pay for the smear, and it would be illegal for there to be any connection. However, the connections between Bush's campaign and this group are numerous and close, as this pdf file shows (obtained from the Kerry-Edwards 2004 website). Here's more:

1. Two officials in the Bush-Cheney campaign were forced to resign when it was found out that they were involved with "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth".
2. A key accuser in the ads, Rear Admiral William L. Schachte Jr., is a top lobbyist for a firm that was awarded a $40 million contract in February 2004. His colleague in Washington is Chair of the Republican Convention.
3. The fliers about the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" were handed out at Republican Party headquarters in Alachua County, Florida, a direct violation of the separation law.

Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington filed a request with the White House to release information regarding contacts between the Executive Office of the President and members of SBVT and others associated with the group. The White said that it doesn't have to and won't.

6. Mass mailing say liberals want to ban the Bible. The Republican Party acknowledged that it has been sending mass mailings to residents of Arkansas and West Virginia warning that ''liberals'' seek to ban the Bible while promoting same-sex marriage, according to a report in The New York Times. Do you think liberals are out to ban the Bible? This is an outright lie and a smear campaign. And they haven't even apologized for it.

7. Trying to keep Florida African-Americans off the voter list. (Copied from People for the American Way.) This year in Florida, the state ordered the implementation of a “potential felon” purge list to remove voters from the rolls, in a disturbing echo of the infamous 2000 purge, which removed thousands of eligible voters, primarily African-Americans, from the rolls. The state abandoned the plan after news media investigations revealed that the 2004 list also included thousands of people who were eligible to vote, and heavily targeted African-Americans while virtually ignoring Hispanic voters.

8. Fourteen cases of voter intimidation and suppression since 2000. This site details 14 cases of intimidation and suppression by Republicans since 2000. Most of actions attempted to intimidate or suppress large groups of voters. For example, in Louisiana, they told voters that they could vote on a day after the voting day; and in Kentucky, the Republican Chair announced plans to put challengers in (only) predominantly Democratic precincts. The Bush administration has never apologized for such behaviour. Bush has never apologized for anything.