3-Day Kerry Swing Will Focus On Environmental Issues - SF Chronicle

[hatrack]

"Democrat John Kerry, shifting from the Iraq war to the environment as Earth Day approaches, says President Bush has presided over a "devastating deterioration" of the quality of the nation's air and water. Kerry on Tuesday was opening a three-day campaign swing centered on Bush's environmental record, starting with a Tampa event focused on clean water. He was being joined by Carol Browner, a former Environmental Protection Agency administrator.

On Monday, Kerry's campaign released a lengthy critique of Bush's treatment of the environment, accusing him of fighting to weaken protections on several fronts. Kerry's campaign also launched a new television ad in five states that accuses the president of allowing corporate polluters to rewrite the nation's environmental laws. "Under President Bush we have seen a devastating deterioration not only in our economy but in our public health and safety," Kerry said of the effort to mark Earth Day on Thursday. "It does not have to be this way."

Bush's re-election campaign immediately rejected Kerry's criticisms. "President Bush has focused on making our air, water and land cleaner," said campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt. "The president's environmental policies have significantly improved public health and environmental protection, including protecting our natural resources."

In its critique, Kerry's campaign said the president's air quality proposals will send 21 tons more pollution (ed. - mercury - sloppy reporting!) into the atmosphere, contribute to up to 100,000 premature deaths from respiratory troubles and induce millions of asthma attacks."

EDIT

[Zorra]

1. This is a good move. IMO,

Kerry should make it very clear how much Bu$h policy is destroying the environment. Bu$h can be hammered by these facts.

Bu$h's environmental policies are undeniably hazardous to everyones health.

In the article it states:

Bush's re-election campaign immediately rejected Kerry's criticisms.

"President Bush has focused on making our air, water and land cleaner," said campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt. "The president's environmental policies have significantly improved public health and environmental protection, including protecting our natural resources."

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2004/04/20/politics0302EDT0419.DTL

But this is an outright lie. Notice that Bu$h's re-selection campaign does not offer a single instance or fact supporting this statement. Because there are none.