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winterbadgerthe Kerry campaign included these excerpts from Sen. Kerry's rally tonight in Springfield, OH. I think they strike the tone we've all been hoping for.
I'm a bit dubious about some of the rhetorical flourishes here (is Cheney really still on the Halliburton payroll? surelt not), but this is the kind of response I'm happy to see.
The election comes down to this. If you believe this country is heading in the right direction, you should support George Bush. But if you believe America needs to move in a new direction, join with us. John and I offer a better plan that will make us stronger at home and more respected in the world. And we need your help to do that.
For three days in New York, instead of talking about jobs and the economy, we heard anger and insults from the Republicans. And I'll tell you why. It's because they can't talk about the real issues facing Americans. They can't talk about their record because it's a record of failure.
We all saw the anger and distortion of the Republican Convention. For the past week, they attacked my patriotism and my fitness to serve as commander in chief. Well, here's my answer. I'm not going to have my commitment to defend this country questioned by those who refused to serve when they could have and by those who have misled the nation into Iraq.
The vice president even called me unfit for office last night. I guess I'll leave it up to the voters whether five deferments makes someone more qualified to defend this nation than two tours of duty.
Let me tell you what I think makes someone unfit for duty. Misleading our nation into war in Iraq makes you unfit to lead this nation. Doing nothing while this nation loses millions of jobs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting 45 million Americans go without health care makes you unfit to lead this nation. Letting the Saudi royal family control our energy costs makes you unfit to lead this nation. Handing out billions of government contracts to Halliburton while you're still on their payroll makes you unfit. That's the record of George Bush and Dick Cheney. And it's not going to change. I believe it's time to move America in a new direction; I believe it's time to set a new course for America.
And we have a specific plan to do just that. So tomorrow morning, John and Elizabeth and Teresa and I are hitting the road across America's heartland. From here, we'll go out and talk with Americans in towns across Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin, and Michigan. And because a stronger America begins at home, we'll talk about our plan to create jobs, cut taxes for the middle class, lower health care costs, and make America safer and more secure.
I'm a bit dubious about some of the rhetorical flourishes here (is Cheney really still on the Halliburton payroll? surelt not), but this is the kind of response I'm happy to see.
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Date: 2004-09-03 03:22 am (UTC)It was a big issue when I was in pension reform, as Halliburton/ Dresser-Rand is screwing a lot of life-long employees on retirement benefits.
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Date: 2004-09-03 11:21 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 11:21 am (UTC)It wouldnt surprise me one damn bit.
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Date: 2004-09-03 01:41 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 01:49 pm (UTC)securing federal contracts for them?
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Date: 2004-09-03 01:52 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2004-09-03 01:55 pm (UTC)Deferred Compensation or stipend AND stock options
Date: 2004-09-03 02:54 pm (UTC)http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,912515,00.html
Halliburton, the Texas company which has been awarded the Pentagon's contract to put out potential oil-field fires in Iraq and which is bidding for postwar construction contracts, is still making annual payments to its former chief executive, the vice-president Dick Cheney.
The payments, which appear on Mr Cheney's 2001 financial disclosure statement, are in the form of "deferred compensation" of up to $1m (£600,000) a year.
When he left Halliburton in 2000 to become George Bush's running mate, he opted not to receive his leaving payment in a lump sum but instead have it paid to him over five years, possibly for tax reasons.
In Fall 2003, afederal report found, according to CBS
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2003/09/26/politics/main575356.shtml
"A report by the Congressional Research Service undermines Vice President Dick Cheney's denial of a continuing relationship with Halliburton Co., the energy company he once led, Sen. Frank Lautenberg said Thursday."
"The report says a public official's unexercised stock options and deferred salary fall within the definition of "retained ties" to his former company. "