Bush Admin. spent over $1.6 Billion on advertising and P.R. since 2003

[sabra]

http://rawstory.com/news/2005/Bush_Admin._spent_over_1.6_Billion_0213.html

Bush Admin. spent over $1.6 Billion on advertising and P.R. since 2003, GAO finds
RAW STORY

Today Rep. Henry A. Waxman, Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi, Rep. George Miller, Rep. Elijah E. Cummings, and other senior Democrats released a new Government Accountability Office report finding that the Bush Administration spent more than $1.6 billion in public relations and media contracts in a two and a half year span.

"The government is spending over a billion dollars per year on PR and advertising," said Rep. Waxman. "Careful oversight of this spending is essential given the track record of the Bush Administration, which has used taxpayer dollars to fund covert propaganda within the United States."

"No amount of money will successfully sell the Bush Administration's failed policies, from the war in Iraq, to its disastrous energy policy, to its confusing Medicare prescription drug benefits," said Democratic Leader Pelosi. "The American people know the Bush Administration is on the wrong track and the White House PR machine won't change that fact."

"The extent of the Bush Administration's propaganda effort is unprecedented and disturbing," said Rep. Miller. "The fact is that after all the spin, the American people are stuck with high prescription drug prices, high gas prices, and high college costs. This report raises serious questions about this Administration's priorities for the country and I would hope that my colleagues on both sides of the aisle would agree that changes need to be made to reign in the President's propaganda machine."

[henslee]

1. These thugs get it. In this modern world, it's the sizzle not the steak.

No election is ever safe if everything can be swiftboated.

[KansDem]

2. Does this include payola to "journalists?"

The ones actually responsible of keeping the pRresident's agenda in the forefront of public attention under the guise of "free speech."

[1democracy]

3. One billion lies can't change the truth...fool me once, fool me twice...

how did the Bushism go?

[awoke_in_2003]

18. I think the bushism went thus:

fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, won't get fooled again

[Journeyman]

20. You forgot the ellipses for the pauses. . .

When The Daily Show discussed this, they proved it was, indeed, an old saying in Texas by showing needlepoint pillows said to be done by Mrs Bush commemorating the "Texas" saying. Where Mr Bush had paused, Mrs Bush created a pillow with an ellipses on it. So the saying actually goes:

"Fool me . . . fool me once . . . shame on you. . . . Fool me . . . can't get fooled again."

[Tight_rope]

66. A Fool can be fooled time and time again...Bush has proved it!

[ck4829]

4. Catapulting the Propaganda

"See, in my line of work you got to keep repeating things over and over and over again for the truth to sink in, to kind of catapult the propaganda"
- **

[redqueen]

5. Another recommendation from me.

I can't believe the mythically "fiscally responsible" GOPranos are able to get away with this.

Wait a minute... considering how intellectually bankrupt their supporters are... I suppose I can, after all.

:puke:

[Up2Late]

6. This article from "Variety" magazine would confirm that!

Posted here:

<http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=2456226&mesg_id=2456226>

<http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117937405?categoryid=18&cs=1>

"...Modern communication isn't about truth, it's about a resonant narrative," says Eric Dezenhall, a former Reagan administration aide and now president of his own crisis management firm. "The myth of PR is that you will educate and inform people. No. The public wants to be told in a story who to like and who to hate...."

[dweller]

7. "has used taxpayer dollars to fund covert propaganda within the US"

pretty much sums it up.

dp

[glitch]

10. Hasn't done them much good either. Their ratings are in the toilet.

lipstick on a pig don't make her purdy.

[blm]

14. Most of that propaganda was in 2003 and 2004 for the election - funny how

they let up AFTER the election. Of course, Katrina wiped alot of that makeup off the pig so that even his loyal corporate media couldn't spin it for him.

[genie_weenie]

8. Once again a Great Leader has shown us the way

"Power don't come from a badge, or a gun. Power comes from lying. Lying big, and getting the whole damn world to play along with you. Once you've got everybody agreeing with what they know in their hearts ain't true, you've got 'em by the balls." ~ Powers Boothe, Sin City

I would feel chagrined at this cliche if it wasn't true...

[rodeodance]

9. would have gone a long way to help Katrina victims,

[phoebe]

11. are they including all the "think" (propaganda) tanks that the RW use?

If not, then one can assume that the amount of money being spent is at least double. Came across this article as a reference to remind DU'ers that these organizations "pop" up all the time and have single-minded agendas..

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0507/S00062.htm

snip

In 2002, Campaign & Elections magazine selected Greene as one of its "Rising Stars of Politics," the Washington Times has called him a "conservative Internet guru," and "Who's Who in America" recognized him in 2003 and 2004.

William Greene, the head of RightMarch.com and Strategic Internet Campaign Management, is a right-wing activist that launches political campaigns and fundraising appeals at the click of the "Send" key.

RightWatch.com first came to my attention during the 2004 holiday season, when the organization sent out an "e-Alert" that claimed Christmas -- and Christians -- were under attack. Wrapped in a laundry list of examples of how Christmas had been attacked during the year, the campaign aimed "to STOP groups like the ACLU from removing all mentions of Christmas from the public square!"

Greene's online operation aims to "convince people that there is a 'them' out there -- liberals in this case -- who are out to destroy America's moral fiber and are thus responsible for working-class misery," Thom Hartmann wrote in a late-December 2004 piece called entitled "The Myth of National Victimhood -- All Wrapped and Delivered for Christmas."

He is real piece of work as can be seen by reading the entire article.

[johnnybaseball]

58. Isn't it kind of weird ...

... that his group is called SICM? As in, "sic 'em, boy," like some cartoon villain would say to his attack dog?

[EFerrari]

60. Welcome to DU, johnnybaseball.

Remember, Nixon's re-election thugs were called "CREEP"?

:)

[johnnybaseball]

68. I was aware of it, yes ...

However, at the time I would not yet be born for another 12 years or so, I can't really claim to "remember" it!

And, thank you very much for the welcome.

[phoebe]

63. just the way these people think..they like to bully whenever possible

n/t

[Old and In the Way]

12. Pretty crappy ROI

$1.6BB and < 40% of the people trust this administration.

Unbelievable....

[Norquist Nemesis]

13. They spent a chunk between Sep 2001 and 2003 as well!

Those big floodlights on barges lighting up the Statue of Liberty don't come cheap! Neither do all of the banners/backdrops they use as stagecraft subliminals.

Does anyone recall how the Cons were ragging Clinton for the cost of AirForce One use?

[Roland99]

15. They're gonna have to spent a crapload more now

Turning into a bad week to be a member of this admin. ;)

[LynnTheDem]

16. But bush cuts MILK for US kids, FOOD for US elderly, MEDICAID for

US poor, WON'T FUND for Katrina (FRANCE IS, THO)

Can you hear bush's priorities now?

[wordpix]

17. Waxman, Pelosi & Miller: thanks for knowing the score & shouting out

[NobleCynic]

19. This one could resonante if we can get it to the public

This kind of money on propoganda would really help portray the administration as wastrels. Fiscal conservatives my ass! That is one of the messages we should go with this fall. Might not expand our base but should shrink theirs.

[gasperc]

21. hmm...so Kerry was only out spent 5 to one

along with alot of obvious and blatant vote total manipulations in Ohio and elsewhere

what fucks, liars and cheaters, and us ordinary Americans are going to pay the price for the lust and gluttony for power that these sicks hogs have consumed themselves with.

[JeffR]

22. Given the lapdog "free press"...

You have to wonder why they needed to spend any money at all.

[TexasLawyer]

23. It's probably far worse than $1.6 billion, people

As per the last paragraph in the article:


GAO surveyed only seven of the 15 cabinet-level departments, relied on self-reported information from the agencies, and did not include subcontracts, task orders on existing contracts, or public relations work done by government employees.

[Festivito]

30. 7/15 depts, self-rptd, not: subcontracts, EXISITING, or PR by gov emps. :O

They MAKE history.. WITH OUR MONEY!

[dubya_dubya_III]

38. BIG LIES don't come cheap

[MadMaddie]

42. So it is Taxpayer money that is being spent?

Where is the oversight.......When the Dems get back in power, the first thing out of their mouths better be accountability and oversight. I don't want to see a dime spent without it being accounted for!

[Festivito]

52. Accountability? Shhh! Or, you know, national security!

Accountability went out the window decades, no, centuries ago.

Why am I thinking millenia...

[Michigander4Dean]

24. About $5.50 per person. NOT conservative. | nt

[jean]

25. did bush funnel some of that money to Progress for America Voter Fund?

They're paying for an ad playing throughout Minnesota, vets supporting the war and bashing the media:

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/13832571.htm

In Minnesota, veterans take to TV to build Iraq war support

ST. PAUL - As images of smoke pouring from the World Trade Center flash by, Lt. Col. Bob Stephenson boils down the Iraq war to a battle to squash the al-Qaida terrorist network. "You'd never know it from the news reports," Stephenson says firmly. "But our enemy in Iraq is al-Qaida, the same terrorists who killed 3,000 Americans on 9-11, the same terrorists from the first World Trade Center bombing, the USS Cole, Madrid, London and many more."

Stephenson, a Marine reservist from Woodbury who spent five months in Iraq, delivered his message as part of a television ad that debuted Thursday in Minnesota. The 60-second spot aims to shore up support for the war by touting accomplishments, such as recent Iraqi elections.
It also mirrors President Bush's campaign to define the war as essential to national security, and ends with another soldier asking, "Where do you want to fight terrorists? We want to fight them and destroy them in Iraq."

The ad was paid for by the conservative Progress for America Voter Fund, which will air it on network and cable stations in Minnesota over the next week. The Washington-based interest group wouldn't reveal the amount it spent, but spokesman Stuart Roy said the average television viewer should see it 10 times - a hefty number as ad rotation goes.

snip

[sellitman]

26. Will anyone even remember this in 2006?

I doubt it.

Sequoia, Es & S and Diebold won't...thats for sure!

[dubya_dubya_III]

44. Voters will remember as much as we can tell them

When faced with a monolithic tyranny such as this we need only prove that we are not them to win. We need not put forth monolithic proposals that they can easily tear apart, we must tear them apart.

there are a million examples and a thousand issues upon which their policies, performance initiatives and mistakes have made them vulnerable.

Criticism of criticism is an example of defenselessness.

[canichelouis]

27. Where to search for past administrations PR spending?

Never been to the GAO site.
Is it always labeled 'PR'?
I have a feeling it might go by many names.

I have wondered about this for a while.
I remember watching some sort of Karen Hughes 'question and answer' proceedings and someone asked her about PR firms being used/subcontracted and her nervous, evasive responses where clear signals that they did not what to talk about the subject AT ALL.

[myrna minx]

28. I've got to nominate this. This is an outrage. n/t

[savemefromdumbya]

29. This is our money he has been wasting!

[DELUSIONAL]

31. So he has a blank check???

That's a hell of a lot of money for propaganda.

[Wordie]

45. Wouldn't he, technically, have to give the Dems an equal amount???

Since propaganda is a political thing? (Not that I necessarily want Dems to do the same, but it's the principle.)

[Justitia]

32. Uhhh....is that BILLION - with a "B"?? wow, what a waste. -eom

[occuserpens]

33. "Fair and balanced" media do not come cheap

[ucmike]

34. These are not the droids you're looking for.

they probably spent most of it on jedi training for karl rove.

masters of perception, and nothing else.

[Career Prole]

35. For all that money DimSon should have bought

the "Propaganda Extended Warranty".
That shit's breaking down, falling apart, and in many places you can see right through it. :evilgrin:

[Sparkly]

36. WOW!!!

:wow:

Match that up against all the programs they've cut!!

:wow:

[superconnected]

37. Wonder if he's the biggest advertiser in the US

Maybe this has been the problem all along and this explains why poeple are like hynotized not to think but just buy his bush-shit.

As far as propaganda, will his simularities to hitler never cease?

[hackshop]

39. Judging by Bush's current approval rating

I'd say that's just another big bundle of money ineffectively spent by this administration, which is even more depressing after hearing on C-Span today about the millions of dollars that were lost by FEMA to fraud during Katrina relief.

[Laelth]

55. Welcome to DU!

Glad to have you with us. :patriot:

-Laelth

[Initech]

40. $1.6 BILLION in propaganda????

Does this include the White House's attempt to link pot smoking with terrorism?

And I wonder if Dr. Phil is on their payroll as well?

[aaronbees]

41. astounding news....

and it's amazing to think about what that money could've been spent on to actually impact the lives of everyday Americans. Of course, that's not in BushCo's agenda. What an incredible waste -- just like the last five years. :(

[Wordie]

43. Jeez...it's bad enough that they're disseminating propaganda, but

they're making the taxpayers fund it??? Even the Republicans aren't gonna like this.

Recommended.

[greiner3]

46. And all they got was the crap we're in?

I'd sue the ad agencies :rofl:

[stubtoe]

47. K&R

[DollyM]

48. Can we take a vote?

Meanwhile, the poor and elderly shut in's are going to have their food pantry supplies cut off because we just don't have the money to do those "entitlement" type of programs anymore. Uhhh . . .can we take a vote whether we want to spend billions on Bush PR or taking care of the poor, sick and invalid?

[teryang]

49. Sad to say

But this propaganda is very effective.

What about the billions in free propaganda he gets every day from the media?

[Geo55]

50. Back when I was a young guy

there was this strange fad which involved buying and owning a rock. They called them "pet" rocks.
I'm sure many ad bucks were expended to convince everyone that owning one was very advantageous ,
Sounds similar , the product is rocks , only ,
THEY'RE SPENDING MY FRIGGIN' MONEY !!!!!

To the pit yer scurvy slime.

[Megahurtz]

51. And then he

pads his own ass with the rest (including his buddies)
while the entire country gets sucked down the whirlpool.:hurts:

What a guy!

:sarcasm:

[neuvocat]

53. That's a lot of money for spam.

At least spammers get a 30% chance of generating revenue. The White House hasn't been able to claim any sort of revenue for their advertising.

[desertrain55]

54. Bushie's spent over $1.6 billion on advertising and PR

Somebody's doing a "heck of a job" with the PR and advertising I guess. The Bush approval ratings have sunk to the high 30s! Guess that's called a "success" for Bushie... What a sick dope!

[alfredo]

56. Our people are hitting all the right points. This is more like it.

The Republicans accuse us of being angry. Damn Right we're angry. How can anyone in their right mind not be angry. We have an ignorant drugstore cowboy and a heartless sociopath running (ruining) our country. Hell yes we're angry.

[Nothing Without Hope]

57. And this is only what's REPORTED. The amount of payola to corrupt

reporters and others must be huge and secret.

But I still think that BLACKMAIL is their other key controlling force, and I'm not the only one to believe this:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x338735
thread title (2-6-06 GD): Ex-Reagan official- Dubya uses spying to blackmail media & Dems

Even ABOVE THE GROUND blackmail is standard for them:
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x342591
thread title (2-6-06 GD): Rove Threatens Republican Senators...
Comment/excerpt: “Congressional sources said Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove has threatened to blacklist any Republican who votes against the president. The sources said the blacklist would mean a halt in any White House political or financial support of senators running for re-election in November.”
Keith Olbermann covers Rove’s “enemies list” on Countdown. VIDEO:
http://www.canofun.com/cof/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=16329

[joshorton]

59. Great Site

Here's a great site. Just look at the federal budget all broken down, simple to use. Just look at where that 1.6 billion could have been spent. http://www.kowaldesign.com/budget/budget.html

[Nothing Without Hope]

62. Thanks!!! And welcome to DU, jo!

:hi:

[EFerrari]

61. They spend all that money telling us what to think and then

spy on us to see if we got the punchline?

:wtf:?

So, how much did the NYTs cost? The WaHo?

:puke:

[obxhead]

64. Now, that is a "low ball number"......

If ya think otherwise, I have some property that may interest you....

[DirtyDawg]

65. This story is a loser...

...as soon as you read that the lion's share of the $1.6 billion was for DOD military recruiting, it loses whatever punch it otherwise might have had. We talk about how tough it is for the Army to meet its quotas, well the response is to throw more money into recruiting and that means advertising...and they might even be throwing in the incentive re-enlistment bonuses into the number - like corporations do with the cost of promotional discounts. So when you take the $1.1 billion for the military out of it, what's left isn't much to complain about. Hell, just one of the big phone companies - Verizon, for example - spends over $2 billion annually for their marketing communications/promotion/PR...let's just leave this one alone. Anyway, there's a hellofalot more smoke in the billions that's been pissed away, and stolen, in Iraq.

[npincus]

67. it takes a lot of cash to make shit smell like a rose