Bush Jr.'s Skeleton Closet
Click on the allegation of your choice:
-- Lying under oath. Bush & staff stop investigation of contributor's huge funeral home company.
-- Pulled Strings to Avoid Vietnam, & Got Favorable Treatment
-- Texas government corruption: State $$ for campaign funders & business cronies
-- Cocaine: felony drug use, vile hypocrisy, and a hushed up arrest?
-- His "young and irresponsible" behavior: sex, drugs and (gasp!) rock and roll?
-- Thin skinned: censors his critics with police, lawyers, $$$
-- Character: Spoiled rich kid living off his family's name and reputation
-- Made millions on insider business deals, for little work
-- -- Deal #1. Personal Profits from Failing Oil Companies
-- -- -- -- Easy Money From Odd Sources
-- -- -- -- A Surprise Deal From Bahrain
-- -- -- -- Access to the President and National Security Adviser for his foreign business partner
-- -- Deal #2. Selling Oil Stocks Just Before Iraq Invaded: lucky guess or illegal insider trading?
-- -- Deal #3. A Big Slice of a Baseball Team
-- -- -- -- Hypocrisy: using government coercion to make his private fortune
-- Quotes
-- Sources
Quotes
"There ought to be limits to freedom. We're aware of this site, and this guy is just a garbage man, that's all he is." -- George Jr.,
discussing a web site that parodies him
"[Bush Jr. hired a private detective to] determine what his opponents or the press could find on him [and] isn't terribly thrilled
[with the results.] We're not talking about anything that would get him a spot on Jerry Springer, no handcuffs or dwarf orgies,
but he was a handsome, rich playboy and lived that life." -- unnamed insider, quoted on MSNBC.
"It's not the governor's role to decide who goes to heaven. I believe that God decides who goes to heaven, not George W.
Bush." -- George W. Bush, in the Houston Chronicle.
"I didn't -- I swear I didn't -- get into politics to feather my nest or feather my friends' nests." -- Bush Jr., in the Houston
Chronicle
"I'm a uniter not a divider. That means when it comes time to sew up your chest cavity, we use stitches as opposed to opening
it up." -- Bush, on David Letterman, March 2, 2000. (the audience booed)
"I propose that every city have a telephone number 119 -- for dyslexics who have an emergency." -- George Junior
"I hope to show Hispanics that Republicans do have a heart, but I also want to send a message to people from around the
country as to how to pick up the Hispanic vote" -- George Junior
"He told me his brother (Texas Gov. George W. Bush) said he could kick my butt, and I said I haven't met a Texan yet that
can shame me." -- Minnesota Governor, Navy Seal, and professional wrestler Jesse Ventura, quoting Florida Governor Jeb
Bush.
"When George moved back to Midland [after college], he bummed an office, he bummed golf clubs, bummed shoes. You were
lucky if you saw him in a clean shirt." -- Tom Craddick, ranking Republican in the Texas House of Representatives and
longtime friend of Bush's.
"It's hard to usher in the responsibility era if you behave irresponsibly." -- Junior, aiming at Clinton but backfiring.
"When it is all said and done, I will have made more money than I ever dreamed I would make." -- Bush, in the Forth Worth
Star-Telegram, describing his Texas Rangers business deal.
Quote Sources
His Character: The Prodigal Son
George W. Bush, Jr. is touted as the savior of the Republican Party by the national press, because he pulls votes from minority
voters and has his dad's name and fundraising connections to run on. But before we anoint him as the next president, let's look
at what he's done with his life. In a nutshell, Junior
1) grew up as a very rich child of powerful parents,
2) partied from high school until he was 40,
3) made millions off of sweet insider business deals from political allies of his dad, who happened to be the President,
and 4) got elected governor of Texas mostly because of his name.
Bush Junior has done some good work as governor of Texas. He has crossed the partisan divide, reached out to minorities,
and tackled at least one tough, thankless issue (school financing; his plan was voted down in the legislature.)
But 4 years -- even 4 good ones -- is a pretty short resume for the leader of the free world. No one doubts Bill Clinton's ability
to handle punishment and come back for more. But Bush Junior's stamina and attention span are very real concerns.
Furthermore, Bush's term as governor has also been markedly corrupt, although possibly in legal ways. What we mean is, he
has taken millions in campaign contributions from certain big businessmen -- many of whom were in on the insider business
deals that made him rich -- and those same businessman have received billions in sweet deals from the Texas state government
during Bush's term.
Specifics: Like Al Gore, Bush Jr. attended Eastern elitist schools, in this case Andover Prep, and Yale. According to a
Newsweek profile, he "went to Yale but seems to have majored in drinking at the Deke House." He joined the secretive "Skull
and Bones" club in 1968, as any good conspiracy buff can tell you.
His business career was marked by mediocrity or failure which nonetheless resulted in him getting lots of money from his
father's political allies. And his political career has been handed to him on a platter by his famous name, and by his dad's
cronies.
Bill Kristol, conservative pundit and Dan Quayle's former chief of staff, says "The Bush network is the only genuine network in
the Republican Party. It is the establishment." Junior and Jeb Bush (recently elected in Florida) are first brothers to be
simultaneous governors since the Rockefellers.
To give you an idea of how rarefied his upbringing was, George Junior had an argument with his mom at one point about
whether non-Christians could go to Heaven. (Barbara Bush felt they could; George didn't.) To settle the dispute, they phoned
up Billy Graham on the spot. (He sided with Junior, but warned him not to play God.).)
More recently, Bush's performance during the South Carolina primary shows that he received the worst trait common to the
famous Bush family -- a vicious competitiveness that shows no compunction about dirty tricks (such as the phone calls by his
surrogates calling McCain, of all people, "the fag candidate") and utterly shameless flipflops (like Bush Sr.'s "read my lips, no
new taxes", and Junior's very public refusal to meet with the gay Log Cabin Republicans group until right before the California
primary, when he claimed he was fine with them all along. Not to mention him suddenly becoming "a reformer" after he got
shellacked in the New Hampshire primary.)
Not only does this trait demonstrate a lack of integrity -- which I define as having standards and things you believe in that you
won't violate, even to win the presidency -- but there is an incredible arrogance in thinking that voters will accept and believe a
candidate who blatantly changes his positions from week to week, saying whatever the local primary voters want to hear.
Unfortunately, Bush Jr. has inherited this negative family trait without receiving any of the graciousness, diligence, and bravery of
his father and grandfather (a Senator who lost his seat over a principled vote in favor of birth control, back in the 1940s.)
Thin skinned: Bush tries to stifle his critics
One of the most disturbing things about Bush is that he consistently works to silence his critics using his money and power,
including state police and expensive lawyers. Not since Richard Nixon has a major presidential candidate been so quick to
prevent his opponents from free speech. At the very least, this shows he doesn't understand big-league politics and may not be
tough enough to handle more serious opponents, such as hostile foreign countries and terrorists. At worst, it may be a sign of
Nixon-like paranoia; that president's thin-skin started out with similar small potatos and grew to bring down his presidency
amid enemies' lists, illegal break-ins of his opponent's offices, and forcing the IRS to audit his enemies.
Bush can't blame this on his staff, either; it comes from the top. When asked about one critical web site, he told the press
"There ought to be limits to freedom. We're aware of this site, and this guy is just a garbage man, that's all he is."
As governor of Texas, for example, Bush Junior has sent the state police to arrest peaceful demonstrators outside the
governors mansion. While previous governors allowed peaceful pickets on the public sidewalk outside the mansion, Bush has
claimed that they are blocking public access, and had them arrested. Not all protestors, either -- just the ones he doesn't want
the press to see.
Most recently, Bush supporters including NY Governor Pataki sued to keep John McCain and Steve Forbes off the New
York primary ballot in several congressional districts. Bush denied any involvement, fooling no one, but after McCain's decisive
New Hampshire victory made the move look ridiculous, Bush and his top strategist Karl Rove called up his establishment
minions, after which they instantly announced that they were stopping their efforts to keep McCain off the ballot. Ironically, all
of the attention to ballot rules revealed that a number of Bush delegates and alternates used fraudulent signatures to qualify for
the ballot. As a result, it appears that McCain and Forbes will be on the ballot statewise, but George Bush Jr. won't be in one
Bronx congressional district.
Bush also can't stand criticism on the Internet. His campaign quietly -- and probably illegally -- bought up over 200 anti-Bush
domain names including "bushsucks.com", "bushbites.com", and "bushblows.com" over a year ago. (Illegally because he had
refused to register as a candidate, as part of his effort to make it look like people were begging him to run, so spending money
for his campaign was not allowed.) If you type in any of these URLs, you end up at Bush's official web site. His campaign
refuses to say whether this means that they admit that he bites, blows and sucks. (Maybe he used to be a White House intern?)
If you wanted to set up one of those sites, breathe easy because many good names are still available. The Bush camp somehow
neglected to purchase "bushisaprick.com", "bushisweak.com", or "bushsucksdonkeydicks.com", so $70 makes them yours.
Even worse, Bush and his high-priced lawyers have tried twice to shut down a web site -- www.gwbush.com -- that parodies
the Bush campaign, in particular his "no comment" answers on drug use in his past. You will recall that Bush has said it doesn't
matter what he did "in his youth," because the question is "have you grown up" and "have you learned from your mistakes." The
parody site presents a new program called "Amnesty 2000", in which Bush "proposes" pardoning all drug convicts who have
"grown up."
The Bush campaign filed one complaint about the site in April 1999, after which the parody site's owners changed it to look
less like the real Bush site. That wasn't good enough though, and Bush lawyers filed against the site again in May 1999. So far,
it remains in business. Sources
Lying Under Oath. Bush & Co. Squelch Investigation of Contributor's Funeral Homes
In a (so far successful) attempt to stop a scandal, Bush perjured himself under oath, according to the sworn testimony of two of
his political allies. The situation is amazingly similar to Clinton's Lewinsky problem: a potentially damaging lawuit arose (see
below) that threatened to involve him. Just like Clinton, Bush swore an affidavit that he had no involvement in the case, which
got him excused from testifying. And just like Clinton, the affidavit was proven false months later by new evidence. In this case,
it's the recent sworn testimony of Robert MacNeil, a Bush appointee, that he had discussed the case with Bush at a fundraiser.
This scandal isn't as sexy as Monica's, but perjury is perjury, and this scandal actually involves the governor's job, not his sex
life. Texas' state commission on funeral homes (the TFSC) started an investigation of SCI, the world's largest funeral home
company (with 3,442 homes, plus 433 cemeteries) after complaints that unlicensed apprenctices were embalming corpses at 2
SCI embalming centers. The commission visited a couple of these, and ended up fining SCI $450,000.
But SCI pulled strings with the commission and with Bush himself. Shortly thereafter, the investigation was shut down and the
agency's investigator was fired. She sought to question Bush for her lawsuit, and that's when he swore his admittedly false
affidavit. In fact, that affidavit has been proven false twice now.
DETAILS: SCI has long cultivated Bush and his allies. They gave governor Bush $35,000 in the last election and $10K in
1994, gave $100,000 to the George Bush, Sr. library, and hired the ex-president to give a speech last year for $70,000. They
also spread money around the Texas legislature and the Texas Attorney General's office.
After the investigation got serious, SCI's boss, Robert Waltrip, called the funeral commission's chairman and told him to "back
off." If not, Waltrip said, "I'm going to take this to the governor."
Still, the investigation continued. So Waltrip and his lawyer/lobbyist, Johnnie B. Rogers, went to the governor's office and
dropped off a letter demanding a halt to the investigation. Rogers told Newsweek that he and Waltrip were ushered in to see
Joe Allbaugh, Bush's chief of staff (who is now Bush's campaign manager.) Rogers goes on to say that Bush Jr. popped his
head in and said to Waltrip, "Hey, Bobby, are those people still messing with you?" Waltrip said yeah. Then the governor
turned to Rogers and said, "Hey, Johnnie B. Are you taking care of him?" Rogers said "I'm doing my best, Governor."
The problem for Bush is that he swore under oath, in a July 20th 1999 affidavit, that he "had no conversations with [SCI]
officials, agents, or represenatives concerning the investigation or any dispute arising from it." If Rogers is telling the truth, than
Bush Jr. lied directly under oath. He filed the affidavit in an attempt to avoid testifying in a whistleblower lawsuit concerning this
investigation and it's alleged squashing by Bush's administration.
Back in August of 1999, Bush himself admitted that he spoke with Waltrip and Rogers -- in other words, that he lied under
oath -- but used Clintonesque denials to claim that it was nothing substantial. Bush told the Associated Press that "It's a
20-second conversation. I had no substantive conversation with the guy. Twenty seconds. That's hardly enough time to even
say hello, much less sit down and have a substantive discussion. All I know is it lasted no time. And that hardly constitutes a
serious discussion. I did not have any knowledge at all of Waltrip's problem with this case."
Of course, nothing Bush says here contradicts what Rogers said. In fact, his careful explanation of why this is not perjury is
incredibly similar to Bill Clinton's weaseling about what the meaning of "is" is. And now MacNeil's sworn statement further
confirms Bush's lie.
Whatever Bush said out loud, Waltrip's complaints to the governor got quick results. Eliza May -- the investigator for the
funeral services commission -- says that after Waltrip visited the governor, she received phone calls from three senior Bush
aides asking if she could wrap up her proble quickly. She says she was also summoned to another meeting in Allbaugh's office,
one month after the first one, and found Waltrip already there. The governor's top aide, she says, demanded that she turn over
a list of all of the documents that she needed "to close the SCI investigation."
Since then, investigator Eliza May has been fired, 6 or 10 staff members on the commission have been fired or resigned and not
been replaced, and the Texas legislature -- led by members receiving substantial contributions from SCI -- passed a bill to
reorganize the agency and remove it's head. On August 16, 199, Bush ordered his Comptroller to take over the agency and run
it. May -- who, it should be noted, is a Democrat and was even state Democratic Treasurer at one point -- has filed a
whistleblower lawsuit alleging she was fired because she persisted with the investigation.
Bush simply didn't show up for his scheduled deposition on July 1st, 1999 in the case. (He isn't a defendant in the case,
because Governors are immune from lawsuits in Texas, but is being called as a material witness.) He filed his affidavit on July
20th to indicate that he had nothing to add.
Now Robert MacNeil -- who was the chairman of the Texas funeral commission at the time, a Bush appointee -- confirms that
he also discussed the case with Bush, at a 1998 Texas fundraiser. In a sworn deposition, MacNeil says that Bush asked him:
“Have you and Mr. Waltrip got your problems worked out?” Replied McNeil: “We’re still trying to work on that, governor.”
Bush then said, “Do your job.” Bush's campaign says that MacNeil's statement is false. But the language MacNeil says Bush
used is almost identical to what he admits saying to Johnnie Rodgers in the governor's office. Sources
Corruption in Texas Government; State $ to Big Contributors
Bush's administration has consistenly shoveled large amounts of state controlled money to men who have either contributed
large amounts to Bush's campaign, or who have made Junior personally rich through sweet insider business deals, or both.
For example, the University of Texas' Investment Management Company (UTIMCO) invests $1.7 billion of state money. Most
of this comes from profits from oil discovered on Texas state land. Bush's cronies dominate this board, and in return investment
funds controlled by these very cronies or their friends have received nearly a third -- $457 million -- of that massive investment
pool. There may even be more, but this obscure group -- created under Bush -- cloaks its operations in a thick veil of secrecy.
UTIMCO's chairman, Tom Hicks, now owns the Texas Rangers; his purchase of the team made Governor Bush a very rich
man. Furthermore, Hicks and his brother gave $146,000 to the Bush campaign. In return, $252 million of the invested money
went to funds run by Hicks' business associates or friends, according to the Houston Chronicle. Hicks even insisted that
UTIMCO increase by $10 million an investment with a fund that he had an indirect financial interest in, but UTIMCO staff
halted funding after they discovered the conflict.
Then there's Sam and Charles Wyly, the billionaire brothers who secretly bought $2.5 million of "independent" TV ads
slamming McCain just before the critical Super Tuesday primaries. (They have also given hundreds of thousands of dollars to
Bush Jr.'s governor and presidential campaigns.) They control Maverick Capital, an investment fund that received $90 million
of UTIMCO money. The brothers earn nearly $1 million in fees alone from that money, along with a share of any profits.
Henry Kravis of Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts -- a longtime Bush contributor -- received a $50 million investment deal in 1996.
And there are many more Bush supporters who have received millions from UTIMCO, including the Bass family and Adele
Hall of the Hallmark Cards family.
Another key player in the Bush world is Richard Rainwater, the billionaire Texas investor who made Bush Jr.'s original
involvement in the Texas Rangers deal possible. That's the deal that made Jr. rich, of course. Bush had several other personal
investments in Rainwater controlled companies. But Rainwater has received much from Bush and the state of Texas' treasury,
too. UTIMCO invested at least $20 million in Rainwater companies.
And UTIMCO is not the only Bush administration agency funneling money and favors to his supporters and cronies. T he state
teacher retirement fund sold three office buildings to Rainwater's real estate company at bargain prices, and without bids in 2 of
the cases. The fund invested $90 million in the Frost Bank Plaza in Austin, and sold it to Rainwater's Crescent Real Estate for
$35 million. Bush signed a law that will give his former baseball team co-owners -- including Rainwater -- a $10 million bonus
payment when a new Dallas arena is built. Bush also proposed a cap on business real estate taxes that would have saved
Rainwater millions on his various properties (but it lost in the legislature).
In another example, Larry Paul Manley, Bush's director of the Department of Housing until he resigned in January 1999, is
under police investigation for steering federal tax credits to cronies. Texas' top auditor discovered in 1997 that 60% of
department contracts went to Manley's former colleagues at local savings and loans, but refused to make the findings public
until long after the criminal probes began.
Bush may or may not have violated state ethics laws with all of this big money backscratching, but there is no doubt that he and
these businessman are operating corruptly -- funneling large amounts of state money to the businessmen's companies, and large
amounts of their personal and business money into George Bush Jr.'s pocket and political campaigns.
Sources
Avoided the Vietnam War
Most people have heard something about George W. Bush pulling strings to get into the Texas Air Guard. But the press, while
reporting lots of details, has done a poor job of communicating how consistently and shamelessly Bush Jr. sought and received
favorable treatment while he avoided Vietnam.
Furthermore, he has weaseled like Clinton at this worst when explaining what happened.
To put it in perspective, here are 9 ways Bush got favored treatment in the service due to his political connections (he was then
son of a Congressman and grandson of a former Senator):
1) He got into the Guard by pulling strings, avoiding the year and a half waiting list;
2) He took a 2-month vacation in Florida after just 8 weeks, (1 of 3 leaves), to work on a political campaign;
3) Bush skipped Officer Candidate School and got a special commission as a 2nd Lieutenant, without qualifications;
4) He was assigned to a safe plane (being phased out of active service), the F-102 ;
5) During flight school, he was flown on a government jet to Washington for a date with President Nixon's daughter Tricia ;
6) Bush got an illegal transfer (later overruled) to a base with no work;
7) He simply didn't show up for a YEAR, with no penalty;
8) George W. skipped all his medical exams after they started drug tests, and was removed from flight status;
9) He ended his service 10 months early to go to Harvard Business School;
Here are the details:
1. Pulled Strings to Get In.
On May 27, 1968, George Bush Jr. was 12 days away from losing his student draft deferment, at a time when 350 Americans
a week were dying in combat. The National Guard, seen by many as the most respectable way to avoid Vietnam, had a huge
waiting list -- a year and a half in Texas, over 100,000 men nationwide. Yet Bush and his family friends pulled strings, and the
young man was admitted the same day he applied, regardless of any waiting list.
Bush's unit commander, Col. "Buck" Staudt, was so excited about his VIP recruit that he staged a special ceremony for the
press so he could have his picture taken administering the oath (even though the official oath had been given by a captain
earlier.)
Bush and his allies have tried to deny this with several changing stories, but Bush himself admits lobbying commander Staudt,
who approved him, and court documents confirm that close family friend and oil magnate Sid Adger called Texas Speaker of
the House Ben Barnes, who called General James Rose, the head of the Texas Air National Guard, to get Bush in. Rose, who
is now dead, told his friend and former legislator Jake Johnson that "I got that Republican congressman's son from Houston into
the Guard."
Staudt's unit, the 147th, was infamous as a nesting place for politically connected and celebrity draft avoiders. Democratic
Senator Lloyd Bentsen's son was in the unit, as was Republican Senator John Tower's, both of Sid Adger's sons and at least 7
members of the Dallas Cowboys.
2. Took a 2 month vacation in Florida after 8 weeks in the Guard.
Just 8 weeks after joining, Bush was granted 2 months leave to go to Florida and work on a political campaign, the Senate race
of Republican Edward Gurney. Bush took a leave every election season, in 1970 to work on his dad's campaign, and in 1972
to work in Alabama.
3. Skipped Officer Candidate School and got a special commission as 2nd Lt.
As soon as Bush completed basic training, his commander approved him for a "direct appointment", which made him an officer
without having to go through the usual (and difficult) Officer Candidate School. This special procedure also got Bush into flight
school, despite his very low scores on aptitude tests -- he scored 25% on a pilot aptitude test, the absolute lowest acceptable
grade, and 50% for navigator aptitude. (Bush did score 95% on the easier officer quality test, but then again the average is
88%).
What made Bush's appointment doubly unusual was his total lack of special qualifications. This procedure was generally
reserved for applicants with exceptional experience or skills, such as ROTC training or engineering, medical or aviation skills.
Tom Hail, a historian for the Texas Air National Guard, reviewed the Guard's records on Bush for a special exhibit on his
service after Bush became governor. Asked about Bush's direct appointment without special skills, Hail said "I've never heard
of that. Generally they did that for doctors only, mostly because we needed extra flight surgeons."
Charles Shoemake, an Air Force veteran who later joined the Texas Air National Guard and retired as a full colonel, said that
direct appointments were rare and hard to get, and required extensive credentials. Asked about Bush, he said "His name didn't
hurt, obviously. But it was a commander's decision in those days."
Despite Bush Jr.'s weak qualifications, Col. Staudt was so excited about the direct appointment that he saged another special
ceremony for the press, this time with Bush's father the congressman standing prominently in the background.
The direct appointment process was discontinued in the 1970s.
4. Assigned to a safe plane -- the F-102 -- that was being phased out.
As Bush has been quick to note, National Guard members do face the chance of being called up for active duty, though few
actually did during the Vietnam war. So what a lucky break for Bush that he was assigned to fly the F-102 Delta Dagger, a
plane already being phased out. In fact, the Air Force had ordered all overseas F-102 units shut down as of June 30, 1970 --
just 3 months after Bush finished his training. Since training is so airplane specific, Bush was guaranteed from the beginning to
be safe from combat.
Bush's campaign has even used his training on the obsolete plane to justify his early discharge, almost a year before his
scheduled discharge, since other F-102 pilots were also being released early. But they can't answer the obvious question --
why spend so much money to train a National Guardsman for 2 years on a plane that was already being phased out, at a time
when the Guard was letting F102 pilots leave early due to oversupply?
5. Celebrity Political Date.
During his flight training, Bush's celebrity showed in a couple of ways. Most famously, President Nixon sent a jet to pick up the
young flight student for a date with his daughter Tricia. Alas, the potential political marriage and dynasty was not to be. Also,
the commencement speaker at Bush's graduation ceremony was -- his dad, Congressman George Bush Sr.
6. Illegal, overruled transfer to a base with no work.
In 1972, Bush once again wanted to work on a political campaign, this time in Alabama. He applied for a transfer to a nearly
defunct base with no active training or work, the 9921st Air Reserve Squadrom at maxwell Air Force Base in Alabama. Bush's
supervisors approved, but a higher headquarters overruled them, noting that the unit had no regular drills.
Lt. Col. Reese Bricken, the unit's commander, told the Boston Globe "We met just one weeknight a month. We were only a
postal unit. We had no airplanes. We had no pilots. We had no nothing." Even Albert Lloyd Jr., a retired Air Guard colonel
who is helping the Bush campaign clarify the candidate's service, told the Globe he was mystified why Bush's superiors at the
time would approve duty at such a unit. Lloyd was personnel director of the Texas Air Guard from 1969 to 1995.
7. Just didn't show up for a year -- with no punishment.
National Guard records and Bush's own supervisor's and friends show no sign of him attending any drills or performing any
service for nearly a year, from May 1972 until May 1973. This period began with Bush moving to Alabama for a political
campaign.
He later applied to transfer to a base that had no work; the transfer was first approved, then cancelled. Bush did nothing for
several months; then in September he applied to transfer to Alabama's 187th Tactical Recon group for 3 months. This was
approved, but the unit's commander, General William Turnipseed, and his then admnistrative officer, Kenneth Lott, have both
said recently that Bush never showed up. "Had |
