Election for Sale
From Gerald W. McEntee, President
The 2004 election should be about issues and the Bush record: 3.2 million jobs lost; $500-billion federal deficit; education cuts; threats to privatize Social Security; undermining of homeland security as jobs and services in prisons, firehouses and police stations are axed.
In Iraq, we are still searching for Saddam Hussein and alleged weapons of mass destruction, and more troops have been killed since the war was declared over than were killed during it. Bush’s plan to rebuild the country includes lucrative, no-bid contracts to wealthy corporate Bush sponsors. As much as one-third of the monthly $3.9 billion cost of keeping our troops in Iraq goes to independent contractors.
The President’s domestic and foreign policies have been failures because they were developed, in part, with the interests of millionaires and Big Business, not with America’s working families, in mind.
BUSH’S GREEN MACHINE. The 2004 election campaign is upon us. And during his three years in office, George W. Bush has been building his own war chest. Despite an open Republican field, he wants to bury his Democratic opponent in mega-denomination greenbacks. The master plan is to raise $170 million — some say it will go as high as $200 million. That will surpass all the private funds raised by all the Republican Presidential nominees since Watergate.
Why are so many willing to give so much? One good reason is that wealthy contributors greatly benefit from Bush’s three tax breaks. By making the wealthy even wealthier, this administration is increasing the likelihood of contributions.
The connections between his policies and his special interest contributors is widely known. In turn, these contributors become key cogs in the Bush Money Machine — as Rangers and Pioneers. Rangers have to bring in at least $200,000 in campaign contributions. Pioneers "only" have to account for $100,000.
What do they get in return? Nice, juicy contracts like Halliburton’s $1.7 billion noncompetitive deal in Iraq. And tax rebates like the Wall Street-based Rangers and Pioneers are reaping their returns. Public Citizen estimates these savings from the Bush 2003 tax cut: $1,269,066 for Bear Stearns CEO James Cayne; $341,170 for Bank of New York CEO Thomas Renyi; and $303,981 for Merrill Lynch CEO Stan O’Neal. It’s no surprise that 12 of the top 20 contributing companies are from the securities and investment industry. Their donations total over $2 million. Yet 50 percent of Americans are getting back $100 or even less.
Because they will probably have to accept public financing, the Democrats will be held to a $45-million spending limit. Even if Bush raises “only” $170 million, that will give him an almost 4-to-1 advantage in dollars!
AFSCME’S GREEN MACHINE. While Bush will have the money advantage, we will have the people advantage. In 1992, union households were 19 percent of the vote for President. In 2000, we upped that figure to 26 percent. In 2004, we will take it even higher. Through education and mobilization, we will reach out not only to our members but also to all workers and their families and friends.
We must build our grassroots activist network. We must volunteer more. We must put out the word — the truth — about the Bushwacking of America and how Bush plans to buy the Presidency this time, after stealing it in 2000.
Research shows when union members were approached by their union at work in 2002, they were more likely to vote for the pro-worker candidate than those who had very little or no union contact. In that non-Presidential election year, AFSCME volunteers made 4.2 million phone calls. In addition, 7,500 AFSCME volunteers worked in 1,800 precincts in 20 cities. In the 2002 election cycle, one million pieces of direct mail went out and $9 million in political action funds were raised through the PEOPLE program (Public Employees Organized to Promote Legislative Equality).
We were a great force at the 2000 Democratic Convention. We’ll be an even greater one in 2004. We will send George W. Bush back to Crawford, Texas, so that the White House comes back to the people.
This portion of the website is posted in full compliance with FEC regulations (11C.F.R. Sect.11 4.5(i)). It is paid for by the AFSCME PEOPLE Committee, with voluntary contributions from union members and their families, and is not authorized by any candidate or candidate's committee.
