HEADLINE: *TAXPAYERS* pay for Bush's CAMPAIGN travel

[Bluebear]

WASHINGTON - Bankrolled almost entirely by taxpayers, President Bush is roaming far and wide on Air Force One to help Republicans retain control of Congress and capture statehouse contests in high-stakes midterm elections.

In 15 months, including back-to-back fundraisers Wednesday in Little Rock, Ark., and Nashville, Tenn., Bush has collected $166 million for the campaign accounts of 27 Republican candidates, the national GOP and its state counterparts across the country, according to the Republican National Committee.

High-dollar Washington galas headlined by the fundraiser-in-chief brought in a big share of the total. The president also has scooped up campaign cash in 36 cities, travels that have taken him as near as McLean, Va., in the Washington suburbs and as far as Medina, Wash., 2,800 miles to the west. On Thursday, Bush adds yet another locale to the list: Salt Lake City.

All this to-and-fro presidential politicking is only expected to increase as November draws closer. And it is the taxpayers, not the campaigns or political parties, who foot most of the travel bill...

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20060830/ap_on_el_ge/bush_campaign_travel_1

[ComerPerro]

1. this would have been a huge scandal in the 90s

[SoCalDem]

9. It was all over the media when Clinton traveled

I am glad to see junior's trips finally getting scrutinzed..

It's not so much about the travel, as it is about the way he apparently has put his job on autopilot.. When does he actually work?

[The_Casual_Observer]

2. And he has the nerve to lie about it. He claims that these are

informational speeches. He ought to be put in jail.

[catmandu57]

3. Remember

when they freaked and peaked because whitehouse phones were used for campaign purposes?

[ThomCat]

4. What, do you expect him to stay in DC and pretend to work?

Of course he's traveling around the country attending parties. And of course the republicans are sticking us with the bill. It's what they do.
:grr:

[Bluebear]

6. Silly me

I forgot who we're dealing with! :crazy:

[Bluebear]

8. .

[Bluebear]

14. .

[spanone]

5. He's in Nashville today fucking up the entire town for a thug moneygrab

[Proud Liberal Dem]

7. We are footing the bill for campaign events????

Why doesn't Bush and his advisers just cook up a clever and well-polished "(dis-)infomercial" and distribute it to the RNC for use in all of their campaigns? He repeats the same things so many times ("catapaulting the propoganda") that he may as well be a broken record. It seems to me to be ironic and just a little unfair that 100% of us taxpayers are being paid to promote a president and political party that has a +/-30% approval rating. Not only that but why is "War President" Bush spending more time back in Washington managing REAL problems (i.e. Iraq) and discharging his constitutionally-defined obligations as President? I think that any future campaign finance legislation needs to address this issue. The President is supposed to represent ALL of the people in this country not just his own political party. Him doing things like this just makes him look kind of....partisan??? Are there any limits on this at all? How much are we going to be expected to spend on these kind of trips? If the respective political campaigns want to pay to bring him in to campaign for them, then why shouldn't they be footing the bill? It would seem to me that Presidents and their party (except in 1994) enjoy a rather unfair advantage in terms of fundraising, etc. during election cycles. OTOH, given Bush's (un-)popularity, maybe we should actually encourage this?

[lumpy]

10. kick

x

[jmowreader]

11. You know why they don't

Bush likes airplane rides. He likes standing at the top of the staircase leading out of Air Force One and waving to the adoring crowds. He gets off on all that Bein' President Stuff, so he does it all the time.

Unfortunately, the part about him...well, actually being the president of the United States and not just a Hollywood actor playing the role of the president...never quite took hold with the man.

[Bluebear]

13. An exact analysis. nt

[Horse with no Name]

12. I read something yesterday

that said that ONE fillup of Air Force 1 would build 20 homes in NOLA.
I believe in serving the greater good...obviously he doesn't.