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Bush Campaign Lies

Thursday, April 29, 2004

Bush Campaign Lie #44: The Bush Campaign Won't Shut Up About Kerry's Vote Against the $87 Billion Supplemental 

We've already discussed how the Republican criticism of Kerry for voting against the $87 billion supplemental funding bill for Iraq and Afghanistan is misleading and hypocritical. Unfortunately, it is also a very effective means of attacking Kerry, so they keep repeating themselves. And of course they'll distort and elide Kerry quotes 'til the cows come home to make him look like a flip-flopper.

Case in point. In addition to the usual B.S., this article posted on Bush's campaign site on April 22 gives two Kerry quotes:

  1. RUSSERT: 'If there's another bill to provide money for the troops, you'll vote against it again?' KERRY: 'It depends entirely on what the situation is, Tim. I'm not going to say that.' (NBC's "Meet the Press," 4/18/04)
  2. QUINTANILLA: 'Kerry now says if troops need more money in Iraq, the answer is simple.' KERRY: 'Absolutely.' QUINTANILLA: 'No strings attached?' KERRY: 'You have to protect our troops and prevent Iraq from falling into absolute chaos.' (NBC's "Today," 4/22/04)
Pretty damning stuff. But if you haven't learned by now, with the Republicans, you always have to go and check the transcripts for yourself. Take a look at Kerry's full answer to Russert on that Meet the Press show:

It depends entirely on what the situation is, Tim. I'm not going to say that. What I'm saying is even the generals in Iraq said the money in that bill had no impact on their ability to continue to fight. We had money all the way through January, and if my vote had been the deciding vote, you know as well as the president knows, as well as every Republican knows, that if I'd been the deciding vote, we would have sat down at a table, we have worked out exactly how we were going to do this intelligently and we would have had a better bill. That's how you change policy. You stand up for principle. That was a vote for principle.
So when Kerry said 'it depends entirely on what the situation is', he meant that the troops would absolutely get the money if it was needed, but that he would negotiate for the best funding bill possible if there was time.

Gee, that sounds like a good idea, doesn't it? And not even a little flip-floppy.

10:41 PM
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