Bush Legacy Bus: Mission Accomplished
by Americans United for Change | November 14, 2008
From Americans United for Change comes this wrap-up of the coast-to-coast Bush Legacy Tour.
Bush Legacy Bus
42 States, 23,549 miles, and 150 stops later, progressive issue-advocacy group Americans United for Change today officially decommissioned its 45 foot long, 28 ton Bush Legacy Bus, bringing an end to a successful national tour launched near the White House on June 24th. In an historic year, one that supporters of President George W. Bush dubbed his “legacy year,” the Bush Legacy Bus, a museum-on-wheels featuring several interactive exhibits on how eight years of Bush-conservative governance harmed our national security while sacrificing so many important key domestic priorities, was visited by tens of thousands of Americans throughout the country and was seen and heard on local television, radio and newspapers by millions more, with a “Cumulative Est. Publicity Value” of over $2.5 million, according to Critical Mention media service. The majority of the tour stops took place near the hometown constituent offices of President Bush’s conservative backers in Congress -- including stops in 51 battleground congressional districts and 33 battleground Senate states -- where Members’ record of voting in lock step with Bush’s failed policies were spotlighted, including Senator Sununu (NH), Senator Smith (OR), Rep. Walberg (MI), Rep. Knollenberg (MI), Rep. Chabot (OH), Rep. Keller (FL), Rep. Feeney (FL), Rep. Drake (VA), Senator Dole (NC), Representative Porter (NV), Representative Sali (ID), Representative Kuhl (NY), Rep. Hayes (NC), Rep. Musgrave (CO), and Rep. English (PA). Jeremy Funk, of Americans United for Change:
“It is our hope that the Bush Legacy Project helped extinguish any future effort of supporters of this President to try to redefine and reenvision the Bush legacy as anything less than a disaster. But this effort wasn’t just about Bush – it was about the conservative ideology he and his allies in Congress represented. Conservative ideology rails against government, argues that government is the problem, not the solution. So when a government run by conservatives is faced with the most important responsibility any government has – to protect its citizens – is it any wonder you wind up with a tragedy of epic proportions like Hurricane Katrina?” “It is our hope that conservative ideology as a governing philosophy is now itself history,” continued Funk. “Conservatives had it their way in Washington for 6 years, and today, we’re facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression thanks to their insistence on irresponsible government deregulation, misguided tax breaks for the rich, and marching the nation into a $3 trillion, bloody and needless war in Iraq. Since Bush took office, 7 million more Americans are without health insurance and the cost of healthcare, groceries, medicine, and gas has exploded. Tens of thousands of Americans each week are losing their jobs, their homes, and their dignity. The big oil, drug and insurance companies had an all-access pass to this White House and the Republican-controlled Congress while middle-class Americans families were left behind. Millionaires and big corporations that outsourced U.S. jobs were handed more and more tax breaks that never managed to ‘trickle-down’ to anyone else. Enough was enough. The American people delivered their verdict on the Bush-conservative legacy on November 4th, and it is our hope that we helped create an enduring progressive majority that will continue to offer real solutions the American people have been looking for to provide quality and affordable healthcare for all, move the economy forward, and keep the eye on the ball of real threats to our national security.”
The Bush Legacy Bus visited symbolic and historic sites like the Superdome, Bush’s home away from home in Crawford, TX, both the Democratic and Republican national conventions, “The Birthplace of the Republican Party,” Mt. Rushmore, the St. Louis Arch, the Alamo, the Grand Canyon, and the Florida Supreme Court in Tallahassee. The bus even ran into Senator John McCain’s ‘Straight Talk Express’ during our travels... twice. A number of groups have sponsored or partnered with AUFC on the Bush Legacy Bus, including Center for American Progress Action Fund, AFSCME, SEIU, AFL-CIO, VoteVets.org, MoveOn.org Political Action, Healthcare for America Now and American Rights at Work, among others.
