Letter From 9-11 Survivors Backs Bush Ad

[Khephra]

NEW YORK -- More than a dozen families who lost relatives in the Sept. 11 attacks released a letter Saturday declaring their support for President Bush and his use of images of the destroyed World Trade Center in campaign ads.

"There is no better testament to the leadership of President Bush than Sept. 11," the letter states. "In choosing our next leader we must not forget that day if we are to have a meaningful conversation."

The "Open Letter to America," signed by 22 people who lost loved ones in the trade center, comes as other victims' families asked that the ads be pulled from the airwaves. The spots also show firefighters carrying a flag-draped stretcher.

In the November election we will have a clear choice laid before the American people," the letter reads. "President Bush is rightly offering us that choice and the images of Sept. 11, although painful, are fundamental to that choice. The images in President Bush's campaign television ads are respectful of the memories of Sept. 11."

more.............

http://www.newsday.com/news/politics/wire/sns-ap-attacks-bush,0,2501134.story?coll=sns-ap-politics-headlines

Wasn't it more than a 100 families that spoke out against it?

[bluestateguy]

1. Thanks for the letter Karl

This is how they will play this game. For example, much criticism have been leveled against this president for not attending any soldiers' funerals. So what they will do is they will have Baby Bush attend one or two carefully choreographed soldiers' funerals later this spring or summer (RNC camera crews will be there in full force). White House researchers will see to it that he only attends funerals where the family are hawkish, neo-con Republicans. Then there will be this great photo op where the weeping war widow or mother says to Bush as he presents her with a flag, "Keep up the fight!" Perfect ad material.

[TheBlob]

2. Who was in charge

during the greatest security failure in the history of the United States?

Just keep repeating that.

[frylock]

3. wow.. twenty-two whole people signed the letter?

you can't argue with those numbers. Maybe we better rethink our stance. :eyes:

[Cooley Hurd]

4. Um... has anyone seen this letter?

AP reports there's a letter, yet I haven't found it anywhere on the internet. If anyone has a link, I'd like to see which families actually signed on to the whoring of their loved ones by Mr. I'm-anxious-to-testify-before-the-9/11-commission.

What kind of shameless people would allow such a thing?

[Robb]

12. Maybe it's at

...LosingAFamilyMemberDidn'tMakeMeLessOfAnIdiot.com. :eyes:

[MidwestMomma]

26. You'd think an Open Letter to America could be read by Americans...

My guess it's an ad in a newspaper...I don't get the paper so can't check myself. Anyone with a newspaper handy?

But then again, usually if it's an ad, the news story will reference where the ad is running. Beats the hell of me....

I'll be interested to see this so-called letter myself. You'd think the 'news' story about the 'letter' might have a few specifics but then again, who needs sources when you can just make up the news.

[Cooley Hurd]

27. Who signed it?

The only person mentioned is Jimmy Boyle. Also, who released it? The families? The WH?

I really don't think this letter exists! Something smells Rovian about this...

[Malva Zebrina]

5. This is so shameless

to politcize it further by making it into a black or white deal.(you are either with us or against us) I have no doubt Bush is behind it- 9-11 is actually being cheapened by Bush--all the persons who died in it are exploited . Bush will get his way with this. It is enough of an issue that he will bring out the troops, the propaganda troops to fight the war on the families of those who died in 9-11. How dare anyone challenge his ad!

[NJCher]

6. it's a stupid way to play the game

But that's OK; let them do it.

This is not tit for tat. No response from a few families is going to cut it, although in the minds of republican handlers it might.

An example is a day or two after these ads broke, CBS's first story on their evening news was on the response of the WTC families speaking out against it. The images told the story. No amount of words could overcome these images of framed pictures of loved ones no longer alive, distraught and angry wives saying this is not something to run a campaign on. The emotion completely blanked out all Karen Hughes had to say.

They blew it on the first round. No one is going to remember that 22 families came out and said they thought the ads were OK.


Cher

[erpowers]

13. People will Remember

I think some people will remember it because the right wing radio hosts will be talking about it every night for about two weeks. Then they will mention it every now and then. Also, they will smear all those who come out against Bush's use of the tragedy as liberal America haters. So, some people will remember those 22 families. The Democrats must continually show the hypocrisy of those ads.

[NJCher]

34. really?

Take a look at this story, which is Newsweek saying this stumble is shocking. And that's not liberals saying it--it's the GOP itself.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x405920




Cher

[Ediacara]

7. I hope they cashed the checks from Karl before they signed that letter

[WoodrowFan]

8. There is no better testament to the leadership of President Bush than Sept

I couldn't have said it better myself....

[NewYorkerfromMass]

25. It would be hard to find better testament.

indeed.

[buycitgo]

9. as in every foul aspect of this junta, doesn't it all come down to media?

you could have TWO signees to this letter, and ten THOUSAND signatures to one opposing these shills

the media can play any angle they want, just as they have up to this point, ALWAYS putting maximum pugspin on any story emerging

how many apologists (including most effective 911 propaganda resource, Guilani), have you seen on the tube, blathering away, unopposed?

contrast that with the feckless twerps like Rendell or Lautenberg, who can barely formed coherent sentences, so anxious were they to LAUD the chimp's post-911 handling of events

media are doing ALL they can to help the junta

please prove me wrong

hope this bloze up in their faces, but watch MTP with Giuliani tomorrow

that will set the marching for the media handmaidens

[displacedtexan]

10. I want to know who called all 3000 families to ask for support.

Someone had to make contact.

[FormerOstrich]

20. the numbers would be higher than that..

let's see 3000 deaths (+/-). Families can include parents, spouses, children, Aunts, Uncles, cousin Leroy.... Conservatively let's just say 4 family member per death = 12,000. 22 out of 12,000 is .18 percent. For all we know two families of 11 extended members signed the letter. Paint me unimpressed.

[smirkymonkey]

35. And how much they were paid....

also, it says "families." How do we know they aren't talking about the victim's mother's second-cousin's brother's aunt or something??

Maybe some of these families are heavily in denial still. How many 9/11 families are against the ads? Kerry should bring that up!

[Thucydides]

11. Its polisci math, sure 22 out of 3000, thats about evenly split!

Just like his poll numbers!

[dax]

22. no disrespect, but I would like to see the list of which families got what

Do you think they might have shown "special treatment" in doling out victim assistance to certain people so they could be called later? It kind of reminds me of how the Mafia operated in the 40's 50's, they would help your business, give you money, do something for you and just say don't worry you can pay later. Then 20 years later someone might show up and say, remember that favor? we are going to bury something in your yard or whatever. I don't mean to be disrespectful AT ALL but you have to wonder in times like these.

[progressivebydesign]

33. Actually.. more than 3,000.

If you realize that each victim had at least one family member.. but most have more than 5.. the 22 looks even worse for Bush.

[alcuno]

14. It is sick of the admin to be pit 9/11 families against one another.

It's bad enough that the country is polarized but now they are splitting these people as well.

[erpowers]

15. What really happened that day

I think many people have noted that Bush spent most of Sept. 11 hiding out at bases and on Air Force One. If Bush is going to put out these ads we need to have a discussion on what Bush really did that day. We also need to ask some questions like:

1)Why did Bush continue to sit in a classroom after being told that America was under attack?

2)Why didn't Bush or anyone else put fighter jets in the air to shoot down those planes?

3)Why did Bush spend the whole day running from terrorist?

4)Why did Rumsfield spend the whole time of the attack in his office not doing anything until the Pentagon was attacked?

5)How is what Bush did on that day leadership?

6)What has Bush done to make America safer?

7)Why will Bush allow the flag draped remains of a firefighter to be shown on TV but not the flag draped remains of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanstain?

8)Why did Bush fight the forming of a 9/11 commission and refused to testify before the full commission under oath?

One of the things that troubled me about the letter was that the former firefighter said he would be voting for Bush. I wonder how he could vote for Bush based on one issue espically since Bush refused to testify before the 9/11 commission and cut the benefits of firefighters.

[young_at_heart]

16. It ISN'T leadership....but "they" say it over and over

The media bought the "leadership" line and it has been pushed on us.....Symbolman has a wonderful presentation about Bush's time in the classroom. He was out of "the loop" (but few have realized this, unfortunately).

[54anickel]

21. Excellent list of questions! n/t

[nothingshocksmeanymore]

29. EXACTLY!

and a belated welcome to DU :hi:

[Khephra]

17. kick

[Katie]

18. You can show the 9/11 dead but not the coffins of soldiers?

Bush Exploits Photo of Dead Bodies, Despite Ban

As the nation headed for war last year, President Bush "clamped down" on the media, extending and expanding a controversial policy that banned reporters from photographing flag-draped caskets of soldiers killed in combat 1. The White House said the policy was enforced to "spare the feelings of military families." 2 Yet, in the very first television advertisement of his 2004 campaign, the president has blanketed the nation's airwaves with an image of "firefighters carrying a flag-draped body" from the 9/11 wreckage at Ground Zero 3.

The hypocrisy of preventing Americans from receiving a "reminder of the toll of war" at the very same time the president exploits an image of a dead body for his own political gain has caused an outrage among victims' families 4. Chris Burke, whose brother Tom died in the attacks, said, "Using my dead friends and my dead brother for political expediency is dead wrong. It's wrong, it's bad taste and an insult to the 3,000 people who died on Sept. 11." 5

http://www.misleader.org/daily_mislead/Read.asp?fn=df03052004.html

Add that to the statements of Kristen Breitweiser: "After 3,000 people were murdered on his watch, it seems to me that that takes an awful lot of audacity. Honestly, it's in poor taste.' And Mindy Kleinberg: "said she was offended because the White House has not cooperated fully with the commission and because of the sight of remains being lifted out of Ground Zero in one of the spots.
"How heinous is that?" Kleinberg asked. "That's somebody's loved one." http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/170291p-148587c.html

So you can spare the "feelings" of military families, but not 9/11 families? Someone explain that to me, please.

[kayell]

19. Some corpses are more equal than others

[Piperay]

23. There's always people

who will sign on for anything. I know I wouldn't want my dead family member used in such a shameless way. :-(

[leftchick]

24. Bush* Was AWOL On 9/11 !!!!

I am going to make that a bumpersticker!

[bushisanidiot]

28. President Pussy Ran Away on 9/11. How do those 12 families feel

about that? Maybe if president shitferbrains would have made an EXECUTIVE DECISION as COMMANDER IN CHIEF after he was informed about the first tower being hit, then the deaths of EVERYONE in tower 2 could have been prevented.. not to mention the deaths of EVERYONE involved in the pentagon crash.

[Skittles]

30. these people apparently are happy with their government payoff

there really is no other explanation

[Cocoa]

31. this is still a big loser for Bush

I think they may even change the ads.

Who cares if a few families support him, Bush has already managed to make Sept. 11 a polarizing issue. The dems and the country and the world put aside differences with Bush after Sept. 11, and united behind Bush, and Bush blew it, and is still blowing it by doing this.

Like Gore said so well, HE BETRAYED US.

[progressivebydesign]

32. 22 people out of HOW many families of 9/11 victims?

This is almost an embarrassment for them to tout. If you do the math.. 22 is an embarrassing low number of supporters out of the thousands of family members.