-Caveat Lector- TODAY'S KEY NEWS ABOUT GOP PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES: Bush Doesn't Deserve Credit for Drop in Texas Crime More Questions Raised about Bush's Role in 'Funeralgate' Bush's Seriousness Questioned – Again Dole Attacks on Clinton Administration Drug Policies Are Not Accurate Republicans Fear Buchanan Defection Will Cost Them Election 1. BUSH DOESN'T DESERVE CREDIT FOR DROP IN TEXAS CRIME New York Times: Bush Doesn't Deserve Credit for Drop in Crime; Bush's Policies Reflect NRA's Priorities: "Just as his father, George Bush, benefitted from televised images of the furloughed murderer-rapist Willie Horton to attack Michael S. Dukakis in the 1988 race for President, Bush ran for governor of Texas in 1994 with a series of grainy black-and-white commercials depicting a man abducting a woman at gun point in a parking garage and, a moment later, a police officer draping a blanket over the woman's body. Asserting that his Democratic opponent, Gov. Ann Richards, was soft on crime, Bush promised to get tougher with criminals. That stand helped him win, and an examination of his record over the five years he has been Governor shows he has been consistent in pressing a law-and-order agenda. Bush has presided over the nation's largest prison-building program and a record number of executions. "At the same time, breaking ranks with many law-enforcement officials, Bush has signed laws expanding the right of Texans to carry guns and has opposed gun-control legislation. 'For Governor Bush, gun control is not yet part of crime control,' said Bruce Elfant, the Travis County constable, one of the officials who have come to see gun control as important as fighting drugs and gangs in the battle against crime.... "How Governor Bush's record on criminal justice, particularly gun control, will appeal to voters in other regions remains to be tested as he campaigns for the Republican nomination for President. In Texas, experts on criminal justice are studying another question: whether his policies are responsible for the state's drop in crime.... [A]ccording to the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, crime had already fallen 25 percent under [Democratic] Governor [Ann] Richards, from 1991 to 1994, as she began the state's multibillion-dollar prison-building program.... Since Bush took office in 1995, crime rates have also fallen as much, or more, in most other states as they have in Texas. This has led governors and mayors across the country to take credit, even as many experts point out that the widespread decline in crime rates makes it less likely that any one policy can be credited.... "By nature, friends here say, Bush prefers to avoid taking stands on difficult issues. He is neither an ideologue nor confrontational, they say. But perhaps more than on any other issue, events in Texas have pushed him into defining his position on guns. The first step came in his race against Governor Richards, when he pledged to support the concealed-weapons bill. When, as Governor, he signed the bill into law in 1995, he declared, 'This is a bill to make Texas a safer place.' The bill had been championed by the National Rifle Association, but was opposed by the police chiefs of Texas's largest cities, who were concerned that the law would lead to more violent confrontations between individuals armed with guns and a greater risk to police officers.... A study by the Violence Policy Center, a gun-control advocacy group, found that since the Texas law took effect, 15 people with concealed gun permits had been charged with murder or attempted murder and 103 with assault or aggravated assault with a deadly weapon.... "This spring Bush was pushed into further defining his position on guns when the National Rifle Association, in response to the filing of lawsuits against the gun industry by a number cities and counties, began urging state legislatures to pass laws barring such suits. No Texas city suggested it was considering such a lawsuit, but the Legislature passed a law barring cities in the state from suing the gun industry and Bush signed it.... Bush went against the police chiefs of the state's seven largest cities this spring by opposing a bill to require background checks on all prospective firearms buyers at gun shows. According to the Federal Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms, gun shows are the leading source of guns for criminals and juveniles in Texas. The bill requiring background checks died in committee on April 20, a few hours after the killings in Littleton, which were carried out with guns bought at gun shows.... "This month the [Karla Faye] Tucker execution again became an issue because of a profile in Talk magazine that quoted him as mocking Ms. Tucker's plea for her life. Campaign officials have denied the profile's characterization of the Governor, saying his comments were misread. Bush did halt the execution of Henry Lee Lucas, who had received several life sentences in a series of killings, but who, evidence showed, had been nowhere near the scene of the crime for which Texas was about to execute him. Bush commuted the sentence to life in prison.... Given the frequency of executions, some Texas legislators introduced a bill this spring to bar the execution of the mentally retarded. Five such inmates have been executed in Texas since the death penalty was reinstated in 1976, according to the Death Penalty Information Center. After the bill passed the State Senate, Bush announced his opposition, saying, 'I like the law the way it is right now,' with juries having the right to make the decision. The bill died in the House.... "In another measure to deal with the number of executions and the growing number of inmates, the Texas Senate and House unanimously passed a bill this spring to create a state public defender system, guaranteeing that indigent defendants be assigned a lawyer within 20 days of arrest. Defense lawyers are now appointed by elected local judges, often from among their campaign contributors, leading to charges of cronyism, delays and incompetence. Bush vetoed the bill. 'While well-intentioned,' he said in a statement, the bill proposed 'drastic changes' that would have lowered the quality of representation and posed a public danger by requiring the release of defendants who were not assigned a lawyer within 20 days. The Houston Chronicle, in an editorial, said Bush should have signed the bill, since virtually alone among the states 'Texas has no system at all' for public defenders. When lawyers appointed by judges are competent, the paper said, they have an ethical conflict, since the judges who pay them want a speedy trial, not an aggressive defense. [State] Senator [Rodney] Ellis, who sponsored the bill, said Governor Bush had given in to lobbying by judges who did not want to lose their patronage system. 'One can be a proponent of the death penalty, as I am,' said Senator Ellis, 'but also sane enough to realize we need a real public defender system.'" [Butterfield, New York Times, 8/18/99] Washington Post: Bush Wasn't Likely to Block Execution of Mentally Ill Prisoner: "A Texas appeals court today delayed the scheduled execution of a convicted murderer diagnosed with paranoid schizophrenia, sparing Gov. George W. Bush the hard choice of whether to intervene in the case. Mental health advocates and others had been pressuring Bush to grant a temporary reprieve, arguing that the man's psychiatric condition drove him to kill five people.... For Bush, a self-described 'compassionate conservative' and the leading contender for the Republican presidential nomination, Robison's case has a sensitive political aspect. Texas law does not permit the governor to commute a death sentence unless the state Board of Pardons and Paroles recommends he do so. But he can issue a one-time, 30-day reprieve. Robison's supporters had been pressuring Bush to grant such a reprieve, to allow them more time to challenge Robison's death sentence in court. If Bush were to have allowed the execution to proceed, Robison's advocates would have mocked his 'compassion,' casting him as unenlightened about mental illness. But if Bush were to have granted a 30-day reprieve, it would have been his first since becoming governor in January 1995. Texas has executed 99 prisoners in that time and leads all other states by far with 184 executions since the Supreme Court allowed resumption of capital punishment in 1976.... Texas Gov. George W. Bush said it was not likely that he would have blocked the execution, the 99th during his tenure." [Duggan, Washington Post, 8/18/99] 2. MORE QUESTIONS RAISED ABOUT BUSH'S ROLE IN 'FUNERALGATE' Dallas Morning News: Questions Raised About Bush's Handling of Agency Involved in Whistle-Blower Lawsuit: "A top state Democrat on Tuesday questioned whether partisan politics played a role in Gov. George W. Bush's decision to have the comptroller's office oversee the Texas Funeral Service Commission. Molly Beth Malcolm, chairwoman of the Texas Democratic Party, said the Republican governor should allow lawmakers to take over the commission to dispel any suggestion of interference by Mr. Bush. The governor has been subpoenaed in a whistle-blower lawsuit by the agency's former director, who has alleged she was ousted for crossing an influential Bush campaign contributor.... The governor's decision to have Comptroller Carole Keeton Rylander's staff take over daily operations of the agency raises questions about his motives, she [Malcolm] said.... The agency's director, Eliza May, who was fired in February, has alleged that Bush staffers had tried to end an agency investigation of Houston-based Service Corporation International, owner of the world's largest funeral-home chain.... The company is headed by Robert Waltrip, a longtime political backer of former President George Bush. SCI's political action committee also donated $35,000 to George W. Bush in 1996 and 1997. The governor is not a party to the lawsuit but has been subpoenaed as a witness by Ms. May's lawyers. Mr. Bush's aides have said he will fight the subpoena because he has no direct knowledge of the case." [Kuempel, Dallas Morning News, 8/18/99] 3. BUSH'S SERIOUSNESS QUESTIONED – AGAIN Dowd: Bush Lacks Substance: "W. is the kind of guy who doesn't want to know more than he has to know -- the President of the fraternity who thought it was not cool to study too much or work as hard as the geeks in the library. He seems to have good instincts, and he knows how to get good advice. But does that qualify him to lead the country? That's the substance abuse we should worry about." [Dowd, New York Times, 8/18/99] 4. DOLE ATTACKS ON CLINTON ADMINISTRATION DRUG POLICIES ARE NOT ACCURATE Washington Post Editorial: Dole's Claims About Drug Policy Are Inaccurate: "Speaking in Iowa, Mrs. Dole denounced the administration's drug policy. There is always a lot to say, pro and con, about any administration's drug policy. Mrs. Dole may not have made the wisest choices. She began by accusing the president of failing to use the bully pulpit to warn children off drugs. In fact he has mounted an ambitious and by some accounts effective advertising campaign to do just that. She went on to accuse Mr. Clinton of cutting the budget for drug interdiction. Actually, the 1999 interdiction budget is up 11.8 percent from the previous year. Finally, Mrs. Dole implied that Mr. Clinton was especially indifferent to the flow of drugs through Mexico. If elected, the candidate went on, she would demand that the Mexicans stanch this flow; if that failed, she would use her powers as president 'to shut that spigot off.'... More or less as she was speaking, the FBI and U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration were closing in on a Mexican-based drug ring that distributed marijuana and cocaine to American consumers. The bust involved some 100 arrests. Among other things, it is said to confirm that the recently stepped-up information-sharing between Mexican and American anti-drug officials is a project worth pursuing. Candidates almost always oversimplify. It's the nature of campaign communication. But Mrs. Dole, in addition to calling for forcefulness, needs to show she understands the complexities of the battle against drugs abroad." [Washington Post editorial, 8/18/99] 5. REPUBLICANS FEAR BUCHANAN DEFECTION WILL COST THEM ELECTION Washington Times: Republicans Try to Keep Buchanan From Leaving Party; Oregon GOP Chairman Worries Bush Would be "Mush" in a Debate: "Republican Party leaders are treating Pat Buchanan with kid gloves for fear he will bolt to the Reform Party ticket and take votes away from the GOP's presidential standard-bearer next year. 'Anyone who heard Pat Buchanan's speech in Ames [at the Iowa GOP straw poll] on Saturday, and, more importantly, anyone who saw the enthusiastic response he received from that Republican audience knows that the Republican Party is Pat's home,' Republican National Committee Chairman Jim Nicholson told The Washington Times yesterday. Texas Gov. George W. Bush, the front-runner for the GOP nomination, took the threat of a Buchanan third-party challenge so seriously that, in Ames on Saturday, he personally asked Mr. Buchanan not to leave the GOP. Mr. Buchanan later called Mr. Bush's request 'gracious' and 'generous.'... Perry Atkinson, chairman of the Oregon GOP, agreed that the party ought to do nothing to antagonize Mr. Buchanan. But Mr. Atkinson also said a Buchanan third-party run might not be all bad for the GOP, because it would give Mr. Buchanan a platform for his message and 'force Bush to sharpen his own message and delivery.' 'Otherwise, let's face it, if G. W. [Bush] were to go before [Vice President Al] Gore in a debate, it would be real mush,' said Mr. Atkinson." [Hallow, Washington Times, 8/18/99] QUOTE OF THE DAY: "W. is the kind of guy who doesn't want to know more than he has to know -- the President of the fraternity who thought it was not cool to study too much or work as hard as the geeks in the library. He seems to have good instincts, and he knows how to get good advice. But does that qualify him to lead the country? That's the substance abuse we should worry about." – New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd. [Dowd, New York Times, 8/18/99] DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER ========== CTRL is a discussion and informational exchange list. Proselyzting propagandic screeds are not allowed. Substance—not soapboxing! These are sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory', with its many half-truths, misdirections and outright frauds is used politically by different groups with major and minor effects spread throughout the spectrum of time and thought. That being said, CTRL gives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no credeence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply. 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