Dateline: October 29, 2000 IN THE "HEL-LO?! GIMME A BREAK!" DEPARTMENT
(The back of the bus/AP)
Greenlican Party Presidential Candidate Ralph W. NaderBush (Gr-Did you buzz me, Mr. Bush?) says there ain’t a dime’s worth of difference between Repreen Presidential Candidate Texas Governor George W. BushNader (Rg-Did you buzz me, Mr. Cheney?) and Democratic Presidential Candidate Vice President Al Gore (D-His Own Man).
Putting aside all the juicy but unsubstantiated rumors of Governor Bush’s insider trading, cocaine abuse, pedaphilia, illegal abortions, drug dealing and ritual homoerotic torture, let’s take a hard look at two events that have recently entered the public record which may shed some light on the subject.
THE DAILY FLAPDOODLE PRESENTS:
LET'S PLAY COMPARE AND CONTRAST
Democratic presidential candidate Vice President Al Gore hugs Carol Heflin of
Kalamazoo, Mich., whose grandson was very ill months ago and Gore personally
called on the insurance company to help pay for his medical expenses, during a
brief stop on the Great Lakes Prosperity Tour campaign rally in Howell, Mich.,
Sunday, Oct. 29, 2000. At left is Tipper Gore and Carol Heflin's husband David.
Carol and David also wore shirts that read "Al Gore saved my grandson's life". (AP
Photo/Doug Mills)
The ad features Byrd's oldest daughter,
Renee Mullins, 29, an Army veteran and
homemaker who says she was moved to
speak out on the issue after the debate. "It
was just another way of him misleading the public," says
Mullins. "He didn't have the statistics right."
More significantly, Mullins says, Bush left the impression that
he supported hate crimes legislation. "I knew I had to do
something," she says, "because I was a firsthand witness" to the
fact that Bush opposed the 1999 hate crimes bill.
On May 6, 1999, Mullins; her cousin, Darrell Verrett; state
Rep. Senfronia Thompson, D-Houston; and a gay rights
lobbyist met with Bush to lobby on behalf of the bill.
"I went in there pleading to him," Mullins says. "I said that if he
helped me move it along I would feel that he hadn't died in vain
... [Rep.] Thompson said, 'Gov. Bush, what Renee's trying to
say is, Would you help her pass the bill?' And he said, 'No.'
Just like that."
"He had a nonchalant attitude, like he wanted to hurry up and
get out of there," Mullins says. "It was cold in that room."
The NAACP National Voter fund newspaper ad -- part of a
radio, TV and newspaper campaign -- focuses on this
exchange: "I went to Governor George W. Bush and begged
him to help pass a Hate Crimes Bill in Texas," Mullins says in
the ad. "He just told me no."
While responding, "We certainly understand their emotion,"
Bush spokesman Ray Sullivan disputes the Byrd family's
description of his boss's attitude.
"Throughout the process, Governor Bush has treated the Byrd
family with a great deal of respect," Sullivan says. "He spoke to
them prior to Mr. Byrd's funeral. He gave 45 minutes of his
time to meet with Miss Mullins. The governor's office helped to
fund the prosecution of Mr. Byrd's killers."
The Byrds scoff at this. No one in the family spoke to Bush on
the phone, they say. Mullins says she met with Bush for about
half an hour -- and only after massive pressure on Bush to do
so. Bush's office's effort to aid the prosecution was pretty
simple, in the form of a $100,000 grant -- about a third of what
the federal government and Jasper County taxpayers each
kicked in. Moreover, Bush did nothing to help pass the hate
crimes bill that bore James Byrd Jr.'s name.
The chasm between the Byrd family and the governor began
right after Byrd's murder, when Bush said he wouldn't attend
Byrd's funeral because he thought the atmosphere would be
too "politically charged" -- even though Hutchison,
Transportation Secretary Rodney Slater and other officials had
no problem attending. Bush spokeswoman Karen Hughes said
that Bush's no-show at the funeral was at the Byrd family's
request, but no one in the Byrd family knows about such a
request.
"Nobody told him to stay away," says Mullins.
The family also disputes Bush's claim that he called the Byrds
to offer his condolences, saying that not one of them could
recall ever speaking to him. Although Bush cannot recall whom
he supposedly spoke with, a Bush spokesman produced phone
records showing a two-minute phone call from the governor's
mansion to a home in Jasper.
"He says that, but I don't know who he talked to," says Stella
Byrd. "He didn't talk to me."
Bush's seeming indifference made him unique, the Byrds say.
"Lots of officials offered condolences to me, my parents and
my brother's children," Harris says. "Senator Hutchison, she
supported the family, she called the family, she talked to my
brother's children. Even the president himself, he called the
family, he talked to my brother's children and my parents, he
offered his condolences personally.
"I can't understand why Bush wasn't able to get through," she
says. "For him to make a point about that, and not know the
facts about that, that's a lie."
The Fine Folks At Occidental Petroleum Remind You That They've Already Sunk A Ton Of Money Into This Election, So If You Must Vote, Vote For Their Guys. Or Else.
