Date: Sat, 5 Jun 1999 08:06:57 +1000
Subject: AUT: Bogus:Bush Position On "Corporate Personhood" Bogus (fwd)


Seems Doug is right . . .

____________


I'm flabbergasted as well - they blow hot and they blow cold!!


---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Fri, 04 Jun 1999 07:16:05 -0700
=46rom: Michael Givel <mgivel-AT-earthlink.net>
To: mai-not-AT-flora.org
Subject: Bush Position On "Corporate Personhood" Bogus

Subject:
             Bush criticizes Web site as malicious
        Date:
             Fri, 4 Jun 1999 14:17:04 -0700
       From:
             Dave Patterson <pdavid-AT-RATREE.PSU.AC.TH>


I recall reading the original Bush piece on corporations, and figuring
at the time that it had to be parody - no mainstream politician is going
to EVER say anything about increasing corporate regulation or
responsibility in any way at all. Evidently others took it seriously - I
checked around a bit today after reading "Source of GW Bush's Quote on
"Corporate Personhood"; But is it Viable?", and it is indeed parody, as
the following article explains.

(Generally speaking, for myself, I think that making shareholders
legally responsible as the Bush parody suggests is a hell of a good
idea. Details to be worked out sitting under a mushroom somewhere - i.e.
I don't see it ever happening, however.)


http://www.dallasnews.com/specials/bush_campaign/0522bush1bushsite.htm



                   Bush criticizes Web site as malicious

                   Owner calls it a parody of White House bid

                   05/22/99

                   By Wayne Slater / The Dallas Morning News


AUSTIN - Saying "there ought to be limits to freedom," Gov. George W.
Bush has filed a legal complaint against the owners of a Web site that
lampoons his White House bid.

                   The designer of the unofficial Bush site described it
on Friday as a parody and said the governor is trying to limit what is
written about him on the Internet.

                   But Mr. Bush, a front-runner for the Republican
presidential nomination, had harsh words Friday for the site
(www.gwbush.com), which offers mock interviews and policy initiatives on
drugs and crime.

                   "There's a lot of garbage in politics, and, obviously,
this is a garbage man,"  said Mr. Bush.

                   Attorneys for the Bush presidential exploratory
committee have filed complaints with the Federal Election Commission
seeking to have the owners post a disclaimer identifying who built the
site and who is paying for it.

                   "It [the site] is filled with libelous and untrue
statements whose aim is to damage Governor Bush," the campaign said in its
letter to the FEC. "The headline of the site is, 'Just Say No to Former
Cocaine User for President.' This site's innuendoes and false statements
attack the governor's positions on tough standards for convicted drug
dealers."

                   Karen Hughes, a Bush campaign spokeswoman, said the
site so closely resembles the official Bush campaign site
(www.georgewbush.com) that people could be confused. Ms. Hughes said the
unofficial site urges people to vote against Mr. Bush, making it subject
to federal disclosure requirements.

                   Sites that are strongly critical of candidates but do
not urge voters to take action are exempt from federal rules.

                   Frank Guerrero, a spokesman for the designer, said the
site is meant to poke fun at Mr. Bush by comparing what he calls his
"youthful indiscretions" with his tough-on-crime policies as an adult.

                   He said the site does not advocate the defeat of any
candidate and is such a clear parody that no one would confuse it for the
real Bush campaign
Web page.

                   "We're not affiliated with any other campaign," said
Mr. Guerrero of the site's designer, Rtmark, a loose-knit group of
corporate critics. "In fact, we see ourselves as completely nonpartisan."

                   The FEC confirmed Friday that it had received a
complaint but declined to discuss the case, citing agency rules.

                   Ron Harris, an FEC spokesman, said the commission has
not dealt with many Internet-related complaints and the current case could
break new legal ground on how the Web is governed under campaign laws.

                   The unofficial Bush site has a photo of Mr. Bush and a
banner that reads, "Presidential Exploratory Committee."

                   It includes a mock initiative dubbed "Amnesty 2000,"
which suggests Mr.  Bush would pardon prisoners convicted of drug crimes
if they have "grown up."

                   As a potential presidential candidate, Mr. Bush has
declined "to catalogue my youthful indiscretions," saying that he has
learned from his mistakes.

                   The site also pokes fun at Mr. Bush's characterization
of himself as a "compassionate conservative."

                   "G.W. Bush has indeed been forgiven again and again by
others. First there was his rambunctious youth," the site says. "Then, as
an unsuccessful Texas businessman, he was bailed out with millions of
dollars from friends of his vice president father. As president, G.W. Bush
wants to create an America in which everyone gets as much forgiveness and
as many chances to grow up as he had."

                   The Bush campaign filed an initial complaint about the
look-alike Bush site in April. Mr. Guerrero said changes were made so it
would look less like the official site, but Bush campaign lawyers filed a
second complaint with the FEC this month demanding a disclaimer and
disclosure of funding sources.

                   "We appreciate humor. We appreciate parody. George Bush
is known for his sense of humor," said Ms. Hughes. "But there's a
difference between expressing opinion, poking fun and breaking the law."

                   Mr. Guerrero estimated about $70 had been spent to
construct the site.  He said the money came from Zack Exley, a
Massachusetts computer consultant who initially registered and maintains
the gwbush.com site.

                   Bush campaign political consultant Karl Rove has
purchased at least 60 domain names that include the Bush name in an
apparent attempt to curtail other anti-Bush site-makers.

                   "We've put out a request for domain names for [Vice
President Al] Gore
as well," said Mr. Guerrero. "We're trying to be
bipartisan."


Staff writer Andy Dworkin in Dallas contributed to this story.



              [ The Bush Campaign | Texas & Southwest | National |
Dallasnews.com ]

                             =A91999 The Dallas Morning News


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