Worth Mentioning Again (and Again and Again)

There is no clearer indication of Republican idiocy and immorality than Tuesday's vote against the SCHIPS bill. How on earth do you vote against health insurance for poor children? If there were ever any doubt about which is more important to Gus Bilirakis and his fellow GOP House members: continuing to follow White House marching orders or thinking about the needs of their constituents, then let's remove that doubt once and for all. Gus and his cronies have followed George Bush over the cliff.

Let's hope that Gus' Democratic opponent hammers him with this every single hour of every single day until November 2008. For this, Gus must pay dearly.

(Several Democrats, including Kathy Castor, also sold us out on this one. If they don't come around and vote to override Bush's promised veto, then let's make sure they suffer the same fate as the Republicans. If we can't count on their support for this, then what good are they?)

Gus Bilirakis: Poor Children Not Worth a Few Days of War in Iraq

We here at GusWatch have long questioned the priorities of Gus Bilirakis, but with his "nay" vote yesterday on expanding healthcare for poor children through the SCHIPS program, Gus has removed all doubt. His concern for the health and welfare of American citizens begins and ends with wounded and ailing veterans, a big voting block in District 9.

Gus, who heard "encouraging news" in the pathetic shilling of General Petraeus before Congress a couple of weeks ago, would rather continue pouring money down Bush's Iraqi shithole than take care of America's uninsured poor children. Has there ever been a more disgusting example of pandering: pandering to failed Republican policies on healthcare, to Bush's attempt to salvage his legacy, and to laughable claims of Republican fiscal responsibility?

From Congressman Rahm Emanuel:

"This week, the President asked for $200 billion more for the war in Iraq. In the same week, the White House said the bipartisan plan to give 10 million children health care included ‘excessive spending’ and threatened to veto the plan. For this President who helped rack up three trillion dollars in new debt, it is not about the spending, it is about priorities and the President has made his clear.”

Gus has shown us once again what his priorities are. He stands first and foremost with George Bush, and not with American families. Remember that on Election Day 2008.

Cheney again links 9/11, Iraq war

So I guess this is the time to take the Dick, GI Joe and the 9-11 Two-Step Show on the road.

Vice-president Dick Cheney waves as he greets military personnel at MacDill Air Force Base. (Chris Zuppa | Times)

TAMPA --

Vice President Dick Cheney invoked images of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks in New York and Washington, D.C., in an address at MacDill Air Force Base today in which he again linked the war in Iraq to the war on terrorism.

"Our world really did change six years ago," Cheney told more than 500 military members gathered in an auditorium not far from CentCom, which overees the war in Iraq and the war in Afghanistan. "They have inflicted great harm and have a taste for more."

To read more about the hypocrisy of the Bush/Cheney Administration:

http://blogs.tampabay.com/breakingnews/2007/09/central-command.html

I wonder if Lil' Gussie's mommy was available to drive him to this GI Joe and Barbie play time. You know the drill...slap some medals on 'em, invoke 9-11 and "fearism", pat them on their heads and send them to certain death. Think about it. It is the perfect scam. They will create more funerals so they can make their quick "cameo" appearances where they can talk about brave soldiers, 9-11, Iraq, fearism and terrorism. It is the perfect scam that keeps on giving more dead soldiers, more grieving families and more money in the war profiteers pockets.


I saw Gus Bilirakis at the Memorial Day ceremony at a local cemetary. He read from a script and slithered away during a Memorial ceremony. He didn't even have the balls to stay for the whole thing.

Gus will continue to vote our soldiers to their deaths while his mommy and daddy teach him how to drive. I hope that they remember to bring his booster seat for each lesson. In the meantime, my military family members are dedicated and over worked patriots who deserve better treatment than this. And they are the lucky ones. They are still alive and well...for now.

He singled out U.S. Rep. C.W. Bill Young of Indian Shores for praise. The congressman, who was sitting in the front row during the speech, is one of the president's strongest allies, Cheney said.

Well there goes another little boy playing GI Joe. Let's stroll down memory lane, shall we? Rep Bill Young visited Walter Reed countless times yet never did anything about the conditions there when he had the power to do so.

So many fake patriots, so little time.

Gus Bilirakis, Live and In Person

You gotta hand it to our boy Gus. He walked right into the lion's den on Monday when he made a brief appearance at the West Central Florida Labor Day Picnic at the fairgrounds. Take my word for it, labor is not crazy about Republicans these days.

I was working at the tri-county Democratic booth (Pasco, Pinellas, Hillsborough) when I looked up and there he was (only my second Gus sighting, btw). Of course, he was surrounded by handlers, including an older woman who might have been (and probably was) his mother. We've written of her before here at GusWatch. I'm too lazy to find the link, so trust me on this one.

Anyway, one of the handlers brought Gus over to meet us. I surprised myself when I immediately told him that I didn't want him to give Bush any more money for the war in Iraq, and that I wanted him to do what he could to bring our soldiers home from Iraq now. Gus tried to counter with the tired, "But what will happen if we pull out?" To which, I replied, "What will happen if we don't?" Gus was then left to convince me of how very seriously he takes the war in Iraq.

Before he moved on, I also told him that I hoped he would support House Resolution 676, which calls for single payer healthcare, and then I told him we would be delivering healthcare stories to his office in the very near future.

Here are my impressions:
(In my best southern accent) Bless his heart. He is so obviously in over his head. He can only talk in the vaguest of generalities, and he has the most pathetic and creepy handshake. Why did his family let him run for office? They won't be able to protect him from the vultures (us) forever.