Flip, flop, flip, flop. Who's the real flipper?

This is a piece I did on my other blog a while back. Since Bush is now calling Kerry a flip flopper again because he said invading Iraq was a bad idea, almost 2 years after voting for it. 2 years is definitely not enough time to have a change of heart, is it Georgie?

The Bush cabal would like you to believe that changing your mind about an issue is a bad thing, and have a catchy phrase for it: "flip flopping." They have endlessly accused Kerry of flip flopping because of a few issues. Here are the issues they bring up to support their claim:

1. They are upset because 12 years ago Kerry favored trade with China, but now he criticizes the Bush administration for trading with China. He changed his mind on an issue after 9 years of thinking about it. Doesn't sound too damning to me. Lets continue.
2. 5 years ago, Kerry voted to uphold the "Marriage Tax." He now opposes it. This is as damning as the first.
3. Kerry took both sides on the first Gulf War in letters to constituants. Ok that's kinda bad, but just seems like politic'in to me. I would expect that from any of my senators in an election year. Not saying it's good, but just saying it's not that bad.

There are many more you can read about here. I would urge you to go read them and notice how none of these flip flops are anything but regular politics, an honest change of opinion over time, or completely harmless.

Now let's examine some of the things Bush has said and compare them to what he's actually done.

1. Bush said he'd increase support for childrens hospitals, but his very first budget proposal cut funding to them by 15%.
2. Bush promised $3.5bil in "new money" to "First Responders" --people like firemen and paramedics and police-- however his budget tried to cut more than $1bil from them. He also rejected $150mil in grants to state and local first responders. The President of the Firefighters Union had this to say about Bush, "The president has merely been using firefighters and their families for one big photo opportunity.”
3. Bush went on and on in support of a program called HOPE VI, which would help underpriveleged people become homeowners, however in his proposed 2004 budget for the U.S. Department of Housing completely eliminates the project.

Ok, most of these things are of minor importance in the big picture. There's lots more, but let's look at some of the more serious stuff.

1. In '02, Bush made a big speech about how we need to increase port security. Then in his '03/04 budgets, he provided zero, nothing, nada for port security grants, and has vetoed $39mil for the Container Security Initiative, which he specifically touted.
2. Bush in '02 called for worker pension protection, but implimented a highly controversial policy which lowers workers benifits, and discriminates against older workers, in violation of federal law.
3. Bush says the American worker is important and wants to thank them. He did so by cutting a total of $544mil from employee programs.
4. In '02 Bush touted his signing of a bill that would authorize more INS/Border Patrol staff and facilities, but didn't provide any money for them, and actually cut $284mil from their budgets in '04.
5. He claims to be sympathetic to veterans and constantly evokes them whenever he needs to look good, but his '03 budget fell $1.5bil short of funding veterans care. That's a lot of money. He also cut off access to the VA health care system to approximately 164,000 veterans in '03.
6. This is just beautiful: “I hope people around this country realize that agencies such as this food bank need money. They need our contributions. Contributions are down. They shouldn't be down in a time of need. We shouldn't let the enemy affect us to the point where we become less generous. Our spirit should never be diminished by what happened on September the 11th, 2001. Quite the contrary. We must stand squarely in the face of evil by doing some good.” Then he cut 36,000 seniors from the meals on wheels program.
7. The "No Child Left Behind" (NCLB) program is an out and out lie. His 2003 budget proposed to cut NCLB programs by $90 million overall, leaving these programs more than $7 billion short of what was authorized under the bill. Bush’s '04 budget for NCLB is just 1.9% above what he proposed in 2003 - $619 less than needed to offset inflation.

Some call them "flip flops," others call them "lies." Whatever you think of Kerry, remember that his changes in attitude or policy have been pretty harmless when compared to the brazen inconsistancies in the Bush camp. Especially considering the veterans.

Sources:
--http://www.georgewbush.com/kerrymediacenter/read.aspx?ID=2439
--http://www.house.gov/appropriations_democrats/caughtonfilm.htm

Notice that the one criticizing Bush is hosted at the house.gov website. Interesting.

Also, it just occoured to me: let's not forget all the flip flopping bush did on his justifications for invading a sovern nation. "They have WoMD's" "Oh no wait wait, Sadaam is a tyrant, yeah that's the ticket." "Oh no no wait, Iraq is a training ground for al Queda" (completely disregarding the fact that Iraq is only a training ground now that we've destabilized it.) Well, which is it George? Are you ever going to come up with a reason that's viable, or are you just going to keep feeding us lies and then changing your story when they are uncovered?

Flip flopper my ass. Let's call a spade a spade here: Bush is a liar.