The Pubs sure hate this AWOL issue, don't they?

[BeyondGeography]

David Dreier and Tucker Carlson tried their best to kill this thing on Crossfire today. Dredging up a Kerry quote from 1992 about how we shouldn't revisit the Vietnam War via Clinton's service record (or lack thereof). Their attitude (especially Dreier's) bordered on the hysterical.

Here's what the Republicans don't understand about our determination this time, and why we must not let the AWOL issue go away (unless Bush can somehow settle the matter by proving us wrong; yeah, right):

•We are tired of having our patriotism questioned. And we could see from many miles away that OUR patriotism (namely the implied lack thereof vis-a-vis the Republicans) was going to be a major Rove talking point in this campaign.

•Bush has positioned himself as a wartime president, using the military as a campaign stage prop last May with the Tailhook landing.

•BushCo selected NYC as their convention site, to reinforce his "wartime president" credentials and distract from the wreckage he is causing our nation's economy.

•Patriotism is a key plank of the Republican play for the moral high ground.

•Bush is stretching the military in general, and the National Guard in particular, with his ill-conceived occupation of post-war Iraq.

•Bush's life of fairy-tale privilege and total disconnect from the consequences of his behavior is perfectly demonstrated by his first securing a position in the Texas Air National Guard courtesy of his father, disappearing for an entire year, one day rising to Commander-in-Chief, misleading the nation into war, and asking our men and women to extend their tours of duty when he couldn't fulfill the obligation he undertook during Vietnam.

Keep AWOL alive!

[redqueen]

1. They couldn't stop it if they wanted to

Now the press has reincarnated it as an issue, it has to run its course once again. Last time, the media all took their cue and dropped it. This time, not so much.

[prodigal_green]

2. National Guard issue

Dems better come out loud and clear that *s claim that Democratic criticism of his lack of service = discounting the National Guard as a branch of the military as absolutely false. This is similar to the claim that those who do not support the war do not support the troops.

They're trying to throw the public off the trail, especially since the National Guard is being so heavily drained for Mess-O'-Potamia and it is pissing off a lot of Guard and their families. We MUST emphasize that the National Guard is an honorable branch of the service, but one must SERVE to claim any honor for having done so.

Rant over.

[OutlawCorporatePolls]

4. awol schmaywol.

i think the dem party is using the AWOL issue to solidify kerry as their frontrunner. here are bush's records:

Discharge Record
http://www.seanet.com/~johnco/bushdischarge.htm

Service Record
http://www.seanet.com/~johnco/bushservice.htm

is there anything here? or just a bonesman ploy to get kerry elected in this primary?

fact: kerry only has 19% of the delegates needed to win.

[blm]

5. Wrong. They were just waiting to attack Bush on it, until they felt

comfortable that Kerry would be the nominee.

They could never use it to attack Bush while it looked like Dean would be the nominee because that was too easily turned around to Dean's own record of not serving and then going skiing. They held their fire wisely.

With Kerry and Clark they could go straight to Bush's character issue problems.

[Lindacooks]

6. You're kidding, right?

Bush did not show up for service in Alabama. Repukes have to prove he was there - and they can't, because he wasn't.

[BeyondGeography]

7. There's plenty here

http://www.awolbush.com/

Sorry you don't like Kerry. It's ok if you disagree with the premise of the post. Not ok to hijack it into anti-Kerry Land.

[glarius]

3. He's a "wartime president" because he STARTED AN ILLEGAL WAR!

It's not like he had war thrust upon him for gawd's sake!
:puke:

[Old and In the Way]

8. It is a character issue and the core reason we should never elect

chickenhawks to lead us.

Bush's undeclared agenda makes this fact very relevant.