Letter from George W. Bush

I just this moment received a survey in the mail from the Republican National Committee. It says "Your Survey has been assigned especially to you as a representative of all Republicans and Republican-leaning voters living in your area." WOO HOO!

This is a beautiful and eloquent example of manipulative propaganda at its finest. Here's the cover letter:

Dear Friend,

The enclosed letter from my good friend, Mercer Reynolds, is important. I would be grateful if you could give it your personal attention.

RNC Chairman Ed Gillespie and I have asked Mercer to become Finance Chairman of the critical RNC Victory 2004 program and he has graciously accepted.

Victory 2004 is a special election year program of the Republican National Committee. It has one purpose: To build Republican majorities at all levels.

Victory 2004 will be responsible for building our Party from the grassroots up with voter education and registration, Absentee Ballot programs as well as the all-important national Get-Out-The-Vote effort.

Ensuring Republican victories in 2004 will not be an easy task. Liberal Democrats and their special interests allies have pledged nearly $500 million in soft money to run negative advertising against our candidates.

Together, they could spend a record amount to help Democrat candidates for federal, state and local offices. The RNC Victory 2004 effort is vital to overcoming their attacks.

That's why I ask you to read Mercer's letter and give this vital election program your full and complete support.

Thank you for all you have done for me and for our nation.

George W. Bush

P.S. The RNC Victory 2004 program is an important part of building our Party across the country. Please do whatever you can to ensure Republican victories at all levels of government by supporting it today.

Now, ignore for a moment the "us vs them" partisan tactics, which Democrats pull off just as well. What bothers me most about this letter is the lying - the blatant lying, the very thing Bush has become most known for. The fact is, Democrats are NOT raising $500 million - God, I wish we could. Fact is, Democrats have been the ones fighting soft money donations, a battle which Republicans resist at every opportunity. Fact is, Bush has raised more money than any candidate in the history of this country, primarily from his key constituency - the wealthiest 1% of the nation and Big Corporations.

It's a smart strategy, of course - if you want power, and money buys power, then chase the money. That's why the administration has been bought and paid for by "big awl" companies, energy companies, etc.

To bemoan Democratic fundraising efforts while they pale in comparison to RNC activities is hypocrisy. To exaggerate the amount of money is false. So already, just with the opening letter, Bush is resorting to his usual fearmongering based on faulty information. And if challenged, he would no doubt say he was "misinformed" about the specifics but that Democrats WANT to raise that much money, so we better take pre-emptive action to stop them now.

One more note: it's interesting that he pushes the get-out-the-vote effort. According to Julian Bond, during the 2000 election, Republicans bought up all the air time on black stations in Florida and other key states. But instead of running ads for Republican candidates or for getting out the vote, they DISCOURAGED African-Americans from voting. I don't know quite how this was done or what the ads said, but I wouldn't be at all surprised. Especially given the massive scandal with voter registration scrubbing in that state - "blacklisting" thousands of innocent minorities as felons so that they couldn't vote on election day, prompting a lawsuit from the NAACP that was eventually settled.

At least he didn't sign it "President Bush" - that's about the only honest thing in it.

Now on to the survey.

I won't outline every question, but I find it interesting what the opening letter shows me: progressive groups and people have become shorthand for All Things Evil to this group. I see "Kennedy-Clinton liberals" thrown around without any explanation. And none is needed. Hillary Clinton is the Ace of Spades in the conservative deck, thus anything she says or does is automatically wrong. No thought necessary. Just the way conservatives like it.

I also see "big labor union bosses", whatever that is. Having seen Gerald McEntee (President, AFSCME) at the Take Back America conference, I'll admit he's an imposing figure. But labor unions have been fighting a losing battle for the past 3 years - losing health benefits, losing overtime pay, losing pensions. So this is just another ghostie meant to scare conservatives.

One of the best parts is the who's who list of bad guys - People for the American Way, the Sierra Club, MoveOn.org, America Coming Together. More shorthand, evidently. I wish conservatives would actually open up and meet some of these people - passionate, compassionate, intelligent people with an undying commitment to the ideals of America. True patriots in every sense of the word.

And of course, there's George Soros being thrown about as the big moneybags behind the whole "liberal agenda". Let's see - 1 rich white guy for us, how many hundreds for Bush?

The survey itself serves as a sparkling example of manipulative language. Admittedly, DNC surveys are no better, but it's still worth a laugh (until you think about the simple-minded folk who'll eat this up and send in their money).

Question #1: "Do you support President Bush's initiatives to promote the safety and security of all Americans?" (Golly, I want safety and security for all Americans, so I guess I should say Yes.)

Question #7: "Do you support The War on Terrorism?" (Well, I don't much like terrorists and they shouldn't win, so I guess that's a Yes, too.)

Question #15: "Do you support President Bush's No Child Left Behind program..." (The funny thing is, even Bush doesn't support this.)

Question #16: "Do you agree that parents should have the final say in their children's education?" (Well of course I do! I should be able to teach my kids that the earth is flat, man was created 40,000 years ago, and women should wear burkas.)

Question #17: "Do you support school choice to give parents an opportunity to choose schools that do a better job educating their children?" (Also known as the No White Child Left Behind In A Black School Act.)

And on and on. You better believe I'll be filling this sucker out. I just wish this was more than a sneaky fundraiser and actually got counted somewhere. Wouldn't that be sweet of all Republicans (not just the ones on the mailing list, like me) stood up for their own thought-out opinions rather than sucking down the Republican kool-aid?

True Freedom means being able to make a choice using unbiased information. I would love to see BOTH parties begin respecting the American people to do what's right without resorting to manipulation. I trust in the innate goodness of all people. But we need freedom of thought first.