Uh-oh: Ridge says Bush WH pressured him to raise terror threat levels for re-election
posted at 2:50 pm on August 20, 2009 by Ed Morrissey
During the 2004 campaign, Democrats repeatedly accused the Bush administration and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge of using jumps in the terrorist threat level for political purposes in George W. Bush’s re-election campaign. Those allegations lost some weight when then-Senator Mark Dayton (D-MN) bugged out of the Beltway after supposedly hearing of an impending attack on Washington DC. Now, however, Ridge will release a tell-all book in which he accuses the Bush administration of pressuring him to do exactly what the Democrats alleged:
Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge was pressured to raise the terror threat level in the run-up to President Bush’s re-election, the former cabinet secretary will claim in a new tell-all book.
Titled “The Test of Our Times: America Under Siege…and How We Can Be Safe Again,” the memoir is intended to rouse Americans from their complacency about security issues, Ridge says. …
Ridge also claims he was never asked to attend a National Security Council meeting, and says he repeatedly warned against appointing Michael Brown to be the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA.) Brown resigned after lawmakers and journalists on both sides of the aisle accused him of mismanaging the response to Hurricane Katrina.
Ridge reportedly threatened to resign when this happened. The reports from US News and The Hill suggest that Ridge did not cooperate with the administration in using terror threat levels to manipulate the election, and that it didn’t happen in the end. Assumably, his threat to resign would have forced the White House to back off, since his resignation in the middle of the campaign would have raised a lot of questions, especially after the wide bipartisan support for his nomination to the position. (The Senate confirmed Ridge 94-0 in January 2003.)
Is Ridge telling the truth? There doesn’t seem to be any reason for him to lie about it. Unlike a couple of other Bush-administration figures, Ridge exited the administration with his reputation intact, and didn’t have any public conflicts with the administration that would indicate a feud or axes to grind. As late as this year, the Republican Party tried to get Ridge back into electoral politics by challenging Pat Toomey for the Republican nomination to the Pennsylvania Senate race in 2010. He declined the offer, perhaps understanding that his memoirs would make that run a rather difficult proposition.
None of this means Ridge is telling the whole truth; he may have an opinion about the necessity of raising the threat levels that conflicts with honest evaluations from other national-security staff, for instance, or he may have axes to grind that we haven’t yet seen. We will have to read the book to see the context and evaluate it then. However, if what Ridge says is true, that will be a big stain on both the Bush administration. No White House should be frightening American voters in order to manipulate an election, and the fact that it apparently didn’t happen doesn’t let those off the hook who tried to exploit their positions of trust in that manner.
Update: Ace lays out the best- and medium-case scenarios, and leaves the worst-case scenarios to the Leftosphere — which, as he says, will certainly cover those in depth.
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Where is your proof he lied? Witch hunt away! BDS continues
Ampersand on August 20, 2009 at 5:47 PM
crr6:
No, it is not improper for Bush to talk to Rove or whatever about the Attorneys, he talked to Harriet Miers too. Who cares, they were on his staff.
We have a president who was mentored by a man who has been indicted for all kinds of crap and that is okay. You don’t think that is any big deal, but you are bound and determined to make an issue of this nonsense.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 5:49 PM
Why four names?
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 5:51 PM
Here is the link that crr6 provided
Full of damnable evidence that will bring down the entire Bush adminis…ok it won’t do anything but make you laugh.
daesleeper on August 20, 2009 at 5:51 PM
The thing is that where Bush is concerned, people know there will be more of a market. That is thanks in large part to the media.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 5:52 PM
Because you could find one person who said bad things about Mother Teresa or just about anyone. The disloyalty, wholly unsubstantiated, by so many former members of Bush’s administration has been amazing. I blame it on Bush’s bad judge of character and willingness to overlook peoples past political affiliations. He was naive time and again to trust people to act in good faith.
peacenprosperity on August 20, 2009 at 5:55 PM
There were no improper firings….that’s the point. Anything else is just noise. What’s next, telling us Bush took improper lunch breaks because he ate at 12:30, while every other president ate at 12:00?
xblade on August 20, 2009 at 5:56 PM
crr6 keeps insisting the firings were ‘improper” while admitting they were not ‘illegal’. This is an obvious contradiction, but her entire argument is one big contradiction.
If Bush had fired them for refusing to prosecute the President’s political enemies, that’s A-OK. If he had fired them for prosecuting the President’s political allies, that’s just fine and dandy (as opposed to an IG, which was clearly illegal). If he fired them for refusing to kick the President’s cute fuzzy kittens, just because the President wanted the kittens kicked and didn’t have the gonads to do it himself, guess what? That’s cool too.
But leftists don’t care about what’s legal, it is their job to destroy anyone who disagrees with them. Period. That’s where you get this idiotic ‘improper’ crap, even after admitting nothing illegal was done. And you will never, ever disabuse them of any such notions.
runawayyyy on August 20, 2009 at 5:59 PM
peacenprosperity:
I don’t think it is about Bush as a judge of character. Look at Iran/Contra…are we to assume that Reagan was a bad judge of character because people in his administration either had to be pardoned or were sent to prison?
And there were people who knew him who exploited that over years.
And look at Clinton, all sorts of books by people who were associated with the Clintons over the years have been written.
I think that there have always been people who would cash in, if they could..but as time passes it seems there is more and more of a tendency to do that. I am not so sure that it is about being a good judge of character…these books have become a cottage industry.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 6:20 PM
One thing I have noticed over the past few months which has bothered me. Anyone else see the pattern of when some dreadful news on the economy, or health care, or poll numbers there is some magic new Bush story that appears. If it only happened once or twice I wouldn’t pay it any mind, but it has happened ever since April when unemployment started to creep up dramatically. Am I just seeing a pattern where there is none?
txaggie on August 20, 2009 at 6:22 PM
Watch Cheney come out and blast him out of the water. Ridge is an opportunist. He wants to be a darling of the left because that’s what side he has always been on. Just wait… he’ll be out campaigning for Specter.
suzyk on August 20, 2009 at 6:24 PM
No shock here. One problem conservatives continue to have is that George W. Bush, like the Republican Congress that preceded the current Democratic pile of crap, was a true mixture of genuine strength of character and ridiculous stupidity.
Incredibly Good: Afghanistan (before Iraq), tax cuts, wire tap terrorists
Incredibly Stupid: Prescription drug coverage, amnesty for illegals, Harriet Myers, Michael Brown/FEMA, and now this Ridge nonsense.
It doesn’t matter if Ridge is a clown, because Bush showed himself prone to the kind of political idiocy.
Yes, the left is obsessed and deranged w/ BDS, but not acknowledging his true flaws just give them more ammo.
peski on August 20, 2009 at 6:30 PM
God, you’re annoying. Of course Ridge, being a moderate’s moderate, wouldn’t have any reason to pump his own book sales. And he was such a stalwart in the War on Terror. And a great do-nothing governor to boot. You must be proud.
http://www.instapunk.com/archives/InstaPunkArchiveV2.php3?a=1853
HotAir has really turned out to be so much hot air. When the history is written about these days, there won’t be much praise for the folks who, like your boss, saw little difference between GWB and Obama. Like there was no difference between Wilkie and Roosevelt.
Disgust.
Instapunk on August 20, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Having been an intelligence analyst during those days, I don’t recall ever seeing the threat level raised without some justification, even before the 2004 election. That was because al-Qa’ida could try to make Bush look ineffectual against an attack and thereby get him thrown out of office. It could be that Ridge didn’t think that was possible or probable.
NNtrancer on August 20, 2009 at 6:30 PM
Of course, Clinton never fired anyone. Uh, did he?
Johan Klaus on August 20, 2009 at 6:54 PM
Nor Obama.
Scrappy on August 20, 2009 at 7:07 PM
Whether true or not …this admission excludes him from ever holding any position in any capacity in government … period.
He’s an admitted liar…then or now.
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 7:46 PM
Also posted on the earlier thread in headlines:
KittyLowrey on August 20, 2009 at 12:41 PM
KittyLowrey on August 20, 2009 at 7:51 PM
Excellent point. If he was complicit? What does it say about him?
cubbieblue25 on August 20, 2009 at 7:53 PM
Posted earlier in headlines:
KittyLowrey on August 20, 2009 at 7:54 PM
I have to say, GWB is very poorly served by the citizens of this nation. He has given us ZERO reason to think he made decisions out of political expediency, especially in the matter of the WoT and the security of this nation, yet time and again he is doubted and each time some story alleging wrong-doing and malfeasance emerges (usually with MSM spin setting the tone from the start so the subsequent FACTS matter not a whit to some) only to crumble away when we hear the “rest of the story”.
People may think they’re being “fair” but they’re not. They are being very unfair and it certainly was part of the reason his approval sank so low. Who stood by him? A minority and we are the ones who can hold our heads high and know we didn’t betray the trust he EARNED from this country.
Yes, Ridge’s book may well turn out, as so many have before, to not contain the steak the opening sizzle promised, but he had to have known the roll-out. He’s sticking a knife in Dubya’s back.
KittyLowrey on August 20, 2009 at 8:05 PM
I also posted earlier on the headline thread (as did others, as I’m sure they have here—I haven’t read comments on this one, yet) a reminder of bin Laden’s video emerging days before the election.
The threat level did not get raised at the time (the one time it was raised in 2004 was in August and that for only certain cities) but it is insane to think that in the wake of the video there weren’t factions thinking the level merited raising and that would not be due to political considerations.
KittyLowrey on August 20, 2009 at 8:09 PM
ROFLMAO
An MSNBC link? Today of all days?
Why not link to DailyKos for proof? As bad as the left claims Fox to be… MSNBC has been outed as being worse.
malclave on August 20, 2009 at 8:15 PM
hey kitty,
Do you think Ridge lied then to help Bush or now to sell books?
No sarcasm intended….I want to know what you think.
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:15 PM
Who cares what he is, so long as what he’s telling is the truth.
YYZ on August 20, 2009 at 8:16 PM
Never mind… you answered here…
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:17 PM
Wow … who knew Bush read Alinsky?
darwin on August 20, 2009 at 8:21 PM
FTR… I believe is was a combination of both…putting safty first.
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:22 PM
I mentioned this earlier but wasn’t Homeland Security a brand new department? If so then everything those employees did set a precedent. I am sure there was room to improve, there always is, but why all the heartburn about changing the level of security around election time? This sounds like much ado about nothing but I guess it will encourage Lefties to buy books. We will also have to watch Gov. Ridge all over the television this weekend. Boo.
Cindy Munford on August 20, 2009 at 8:22 PM
Cindy:
I won’t be watching him. In fact I watch less TV all the time.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 8:25 PM
YYZ;
It goes to credibility. Besides, how do we even know what is really in the book, much less what is really true?
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 8:27 PM
The word that escaped me… thanks. just a senior moment…;)
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:34 PM
Remember that the Al-qaeda threat assessment (I believe it was the PDB) that had no specifics and was basically a rehash of intelligence gathered during the Clinton Administration is proof positive that Bush was warned about 9/11 and did nothing.
So now we are to believe that the many threat assessments that we got before the 2004 elections were supposed to be ignored and the threat assessment should not have been raised:
Liberal pretzel logic at it’s best!!!
(VIA Ace of Spades)
As some have posted here before,there appears to be ample reason to have raised the threat levels since al-qaeda is well known for attacks during elections to scare the population.
It is happening in Iraq and Afghanistan right now.
Scott McClellan made the same kind of excitable leaks before his book came out.
It became quickly clear that he knew nothing and was involved in no discussions of any significance.
It is well known in the industry that you need a “hook” to get in the headlines for book sales.
If this is the best Ridge has to offer for liberals to get excited about then prepare to be underwhelmed.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 8:35 PM
I know what you mean.
Cindy Munford on August 20, 2009 at 8:35 PM
Congessional Quarterly reports McCain has staunchly supported the GOP opposition to BO so its apparent Ridge sees an vacuum that needs to be filled!
chickasaw42 on August 20, 2009 at 8:35 PM
Kitty:
I agree. One thing about Bush, he did not go out of his way to pander to public opinion.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 8:38 PM
jerrytbg:
I ain’t no spring chick myself my dear.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 8:39 PM
good point Baxter…I think I’ll let this dog lye… ;)
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:42 PM
Well, now he has a new reputation … as a back-stabbing ingrate.
KS Rex on August 20, 2009 at 8:43 PM
Not sure if this is posted somewhere already but Boston Globe has a response from a Bush adm official:
KittyLowrey on August 20, 2009 at 8:43 PM
That’s pretty sharp and a good idea.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 8:50 PM
Terrye,
that may be true but you don’t have as many of those moments as I do…’)
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:51 PM
jerrytbg:
What moments? Oh yeah…..I forgot.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 8:52 PM
Baxter…yup…it will wash out…
I predict no more than 75k copies. Not worth the ink.
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:54 PM
terrrye,
‘) lol !
jerrytbg on August 20, 2009 at 8:57 PM
I would agree that disloyalty and unsubstantiated gossip makes big money these days but the number of former Bush people who’ve done it is unprecedented. Even that dirtbag treasury secretary snow badmouthed Bush when he left and the scumbag was using secret service agents to drive his mistress around and he was flying back to his home state on taxpayers money to boink her. As far as iran/contra, 1) those people involved where fervently loyal to Reagan 2) it may have been illegal but it wasn’t that bad an idea and it worked in overthrowing a communist regime in our hemisphere and 3) if Reagan knew about it those people protected him at their own expense. And when it comes to clinton, give me some names that really revealed any dirt. That was possibly the most corrupt administration in history and bill and hillary are still rockstars. hillary had 900 FBI friggin files in the White House, she probably even knows anything you have done wrong, and no one dropped dime on her. charles colson had 6 FBI files and spent a year and a half in prison, stephanopolus and deedee myers wrote that hillary yelled at them and that’s about as bad as anyone revealed.
peacenprosperity on August 20, 2009 at 9:05 PM
I posted this in the new headlines thread too so sorry for the redundancy…
Check this out from Aug 2004…
Monica on August 20, 2009 at 9:34 PM
I think partisans have such strong emotions that it clouds there judgment. Hence the whole birther movement on the right, and on the left the fear that all liberals would be rounded up in Fema concentration camps as just two examples. As someone who exposes himself to far left and far right thinking I see many such similarities in how left and right perceive reality. For example, an inability to accept the will of the people when your party doesn‘t win an election, in 2004 it was evil Diebold voting machines disenfranchising voters, and in 2008 it was the corrupt ACORN that committed voter fraud. Both sides fall victim to demonizing the opposition and interpreting fact and opinion through the prism that one side is good while the other is evil
As for Tom Ridge, I think we need to wait till the book comes out to truly understand his accusations. If he and his superior had a disagreement on threat levels then its one thing, but if the political arm of the bush administration pressured him to manipulate terror threat levels, then it would be a damning indictment how the Bush administration inappropriately conflated the political and executive arms of the administartion together.
For me what’s ironic is that Karl Rove might have had a enduring republican majority had the bush administration not been so grossly incompetent in regards to the Iraq, Katrina, the economy ect. Really the 2006 and 2008 elections were more a referendum on the sins of the republican party that the virtues of the democratic party. I guess time will tell if democrats have learned from history or are repeating it.
Ric on August 20, 2009 at 9:47 PM
“We will have to read the book to see the context and evaluate…”
First you’ll have to buy the book, Ed. And Ridge will get his cut for sure. He’s out to make a buck and certainly won’t allow honor to stand in his way.
As for the “stains” on the Bush/Rove/Cheney admin, well there certainly was good reason to raise the threat level due to the number of OTM’s from terrorist nations crossing our wide-open southern border: link
No shortage of shame and dishonor to go around, for sure. Sadly, our GOP Hierarchy is in the same state of dysfunction that it was way back when. Nothing has changed. Darvin Dowdy
Darvin Dowdy on August 20, 2009 at 9:57 PM
Ridge is full of crap. Anything anti-Bush will sell, unfortunately. I cannot wait for Andy Card or Cheney to come out and blow his ridiculous assertion out of the water!
lovedinthekeys on August 20, 2009 at 9:59 PM
Ric:
I disagree. We are looking at incompetent right now, Bush was never as clueless as the man in the White House today and he won largely because the same press that exploited Katrina and Iraq helped him win.
Ridge was on record back then saying there was no politics involved. So, if he says different now..what does that tell us about him?
I do think we will need to see what was really said, sometimes these advance things are not really all that accurate…but if Ridge is going to make a claim like that it would be nice if there was some kind of evidence.
But then again, if people like you are willing to believe something like this..he does not need any.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:08 PM
peacenprosperity:
My point is that you said that Bush was a lousy judge of character because some of the people he had let go wrote books. But Reagan’s people were loyal. A couple of things, Reagan’s own children were less than loyal and the people Reagan picked for his cabinet ended up in all kinds of trouble…does that make him a bad judge of character? Do you think that the Iran/Contra affair and the fact that Reagan administration people had to be pardoned or went to prison helped Reagan’s legacy?
Back then it was not as common to make money like this, but that does not mean that Reagan’s people always served him well. You can say they were loyal, but then again the same thing could be said for some of Nixon’s people.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:14 PM
And btw, if you are going to say that the Iran/Contra thing was justified, keep in mind that Iran was part of that equation as well. The point being that what Ridge is saying here does not come anywhere near the level of potential scandal that the Iran/Contra was. Not even close. You can say it was justified, but it was still illegal.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:18 PM
That quote is going to hurt this narrative of the “Evil Bush Administration” so don’t expect liberals to repeat it.
I am sure that we will be seeing a lot more evidence to contradict this hook to sell a book.
We can just add this to the other complete failures of bogus conspiracy theories put forth against Bush:
on…and …on…and….on we had to endure 8 years of this idiotic crap from liberals.
Not one of their conspiracy theories or faux scandals was proven or produced anything substantive against Bush and Cheney.(Scooter Libby was guilty of obstruction,not exposing Plame. That was the democrat Armatige).
democrats have had the power since 06 and have filibuster proof majorities in the House,Senate,and reside in the White House.
NOT ONE SINGLE CHARGE BROUGHT AGAINST THIS SUPPOSED WAR CRIMINAL THAT LIBERALS HAVE CRIED ABOUT FOR 8 YEARS.
Count me unimpressed with the new faux scandel that is just in time for the left to ignore their agenda and America’s economy and international standing going down the tubes while the “smart ones” are in control.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 10:20 PM
Baxter:
I agree.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:22 PM
I hope it is a really thick book.
When it hits the discount stand beside McClellan’s, I might buy a few copies to set under the food bowls for my Rotties so they won’t have to bend over so far to eat.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 10:27 PM
Ah yes, when Fox ‘News’ showed the terrurr alert level to be orange! the redneck viewers became ‘right afeared’ and got out their duct tape and their guns and secured their double-wides. Because, you know, they were high value targets.
simplesimon on August 20, 2009 at 10:29 PM
Speaking of conspiracies from the left,
Drudge has the liberals coming up with a new one right on cue:
Obama: GOP conspiracy out to kill health reform
http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2009/aug/20/obama-gop-conspiracy-out-kill-health-reform/
How pathetically transparent!!!
This must be what the meeting with Bill Clinton was all about.
The Onion couldn’t make this sh!t up.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 10:31 PM
Wow!!
Did the wittle liberal think up all that bigotry and stereotyping all by his wittle self or did his hero “I can’t satisfy a woman so I yell all the time” Olberman serve this up for you.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 10:35 PM
simplesimon:
That was so sweet. You managed to drag Fox news and regional snobbery into the same lame ass post.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:35 PM
deceptaconservative, just like 99% of the Bush administration.
Ridge just wants his name out there for his book. “Oooo we have to read about that dude we hated for 8 years!”
andrewtf on August 20, 2009 at 10:36 PM
So. Were all those women who said Bill Clinton sexually assaulted them telling the truth? After all, it can’t be everybody else now can it?
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:36 PM
Baxter:
How can the GOP kill health care when Obama has a majority? It is not the fault of the GOP that the man can’t sell his sorry agenda.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:38 PM
Every other girl I meet claims to have been raped. It’s an attention getter… Just like this.
andrewtf on August 20, 2009 at 10:40 PM
andrew:
I think Bill is a groper. That is just what he is. If he had been a Republican, his extramarital affairs would have killed his career before he ever got out of Arkansas.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:42 PM
Thank you for putting that here…I hadn’t seen it on the other thread and it’s a very important quote to keep track of.
KittyLowrey on August 20, 2009 at 10:44 PM
As for the Clintons, check out google and see how many people have written books on one or both of them.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 10:47 PM
Terrye, you are using logic and facts.Liberals could care less about these.
It’s all about the narrative and getting these talking points out to their activists friends in the MSM.
They can’t win on facts.
The CBO,public opinion,total failure by government to run anything right,combined with past quotes that contradict their narrative now have doomed them.
All they have is faux scandal and nefarious conspiracy theories left to ignite their left wing base.
It is no different really than the Iraq war/pre-war intel
conspiracy theories.
How were the democrats going to reconcile with their left wing base and come out politically ahead after they spent 10 years saying the same things Bush said about Saddam and then voting for war.
“Bush lied”
“We were tricked”
Then rely on their activists friends in the media to run 24/7 all of Bush’s speeches and press conferences while totally ignoring their own words.
Get their left wing base fired up with bogus conspiracy theories to bring in more money,more votes,and drive down Bush’s numbers all at the same time with major help from the MSM.
In the end all investigations clear Bush but the damage is done.
Clinton did the same thing.
Ignore the fact I lied under oath,this is all a right wing conspiracy to bring me down.
Seems more than a coincidence that Bill is meeting with Obama 2 days ago and then Obama comes out with the “Right wing conspiracy” shtick.
The Town hall People are “racist” and a bunch of “extremist” has not worked so this is the new plan.
Your post is dead on because in the end,the Republicans have no power to stop this if all the democrats are on board.
Expect most of the MSM to ignore this point as they push this new narrative.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 10:55 PM
Baxter:
I think that as time passes these tactics are of less use to the Democrats. People have heard it all before.
Terrye on August 20, 2009 at 11:01 PM
Who cares? We currently have the terrorist’s best friend as a “president”. I’d take overly-cautious above overly-Alinsky anyday.
ErinF on August 20, 2009 at 11:06 PM
I think that is a great point.
I have held back being to excited about watching these polls go south on Obama,his policies,and the demonization of conservatives while a totally liberal activists media goes full blown Pravda in propagating for our Hustler and Chief.
It gives me the impression that maybe finally the American public has turned it’s back on the pathetic bias and activism generated by the MSM.
There is no way all of these people are listening to AM radio or Sirius.
I can only hope that more people are going to the INTERNET
to do research and validate the talking points issued by the Couric’s,MSNBC,and entertainment industry.
I think watching the full court press by the entertainment industry and liberals concerning global warming and all the hysterical predictions that have not come true have made many people second guess the credibility of the “smart ones” also.
Baxter Greene on August 20, 2009 at 11:09 PM
I saw the crawl on Fox say that Rumsfeld’s office said this was “nonsense” and that there was a release tape of Bin Laden make threats of action for the Fall of 2004.
Cindy Munford on August 20, 2009 at 11:20 PM
Gee Thanks Ridge for causing an unnecessary distraction off our focus on the Corrupt Obama Administration’s cram job on the Heath Sector Take Over.
Tom Ridge, you are a freakin’ tool.
Geochelone on August 20, 2009 at 11:39 PM
@Baxter Greene:
Bush lied. Unfortunately many Republicans and the leadership of the GOP can’t bring themselves to admit that they were lied to.
As to your second point, just because charges have not been brought forward it doesn’t necessarily mean there isn’t enough evidence. Politics trumps justice…
1 – If charges were brought against Bush or Cheney it would involve Democrats as well.
2 – If charges were brought against Bush or Cheney then it would invite charges against Obama when he’s out of office because his hands will not remain clean in The War on Terror.
popularpeoplesfront on August 20, 2009 at 11:46 PM
Of course the terror threat levels were political.
Honestly, what exactly was the average citizen supposed to do with the information that the threat level was “Orange”?
What does that mean exactly?
The only point was to remind people that there was a war on terror going on and to drum up support.
Now to go as far as to say, the threat level was just made up out of nothing? Why would they have to? There is absolutely no reason, there are 100s of threats against the US at all times, they can judge the threat level to be whatever they want it to be.
jhffmn on August 21, 2009 at 12:34 AM
If true, doesn’t matter a hill of beans
The alternative to Bush was just unthinkable
ToddonCapeCod on August 21, 2009 at 12:48 AM
This is hilarious!!!
Exactly what I posted about.
People’s front of Judea here is so influential and all knowing that the mere fact that she says= “Bush lied ” well then it must be true.
In the real world facts to back this up,maybe an indictment with a conviction would probably go a lot further than…well…because I said so.
Get back to us when you can refute the
2003 Senate intelligence report,
Butler Report,
Duelfer report,
2008 Senate Intelligence report (chaired by a majority of democrats)….
That all state that Bush neither lied,manipulated pre-war intel,or forced our intelligence agencies to lie.
Your democratic heroes also put forth a mountain of evidence concerning the ties between Saddam and al-qaeda.
WaPo: Bush “substantiated by intelligence” – UPDATED
http://theanchoressonline.com/2008/06/09/wapo-bush-substantiated-by-intelligence/
The president’s statements “were generally substantiated by intelligence community estimates.”
The president’s statements “were substantiated by intelligence information.”
“Substantiated by intelligence information.”
(a separate section of the intelligence committee report)? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.” Delivery vehicles such as ballistic missiles? “Generally substantiated by available intelligence.” Unmanned aerial vehicles that could be used to deliver WMDs? “Generally substantiated by intelligence information.”
“were substantiated by intelligence information.” Statements that Iraq provided safe haven for Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and other terrorists with ties to al-Qaeda “were substantiated by the intelligence assessments,” and statements regarding Iraq’s contacts with al-Qaeda “were substantiated by intelligence information.”
Once again…this is the conclusions of a democratic lead investigation.
But don’t mind all these senate investigations and conclusions…
Charges and convictions are not forth coming because politics won’t let it.
What does the People’s Front of Judea base this on and validate this serious charge of our entire government covering up major war crimes with…….
well once again, no facts, no indictments or convictions that actually mean something in the real world….
just her all knowing and powerful opinion.
Look people’s front, this may work over at huffpo but in the real world, people are not held accountable,tried and convicted on opinions.
That’s why we have courts of law and many checks and balances in place so that people are INNOCENT UNTIL PROVEN GUILTY.
You have done nothing but prove my point.
liberals have done nothing but make up bogus scandals and push factless,baseless, pathetic conspiracy theories that have produced NOT ONE SINGLE CONVICTION ON ANY OF THE CHARGES THEY ALLEGE.
Zero…
Nothing…
Nada….
Batting 000
Is this the best that Axlerod can do…
People’s front of Judea and her all knowing “opinions”…
Absolutely pathetic.
Baxter Greene on August 21, 2009 at 2:36 AM
More links:
Baxter Greene on August 21, 2009 at 3:02 AM
So, what’s the point?
Is that anything like FDR extending the Great Depression?
Dr. ZhivBlago on August 21, 2009 at 5:06 AM
Oh yeah Tom? Well, back in high school I was pushed by an unattractive girl named Alyson to have sex with her. Guess what? I didn’t. But I’m not out complaining about now.
Book selling whore.
RWLA on August 21, 2009 at 6:18 AM
If Ridge’s accusation is true, Ridge is a villain for going along with the scheme.
If it’s not true, Ridge is a villain for trashing good people to sell more books.
jgapinoy on August 21, 2009 at 7:20 AM
If Ridge is telling the truth and possessed even a modicum of character and honor he would have resigned instead of threatening to resign. There are two sides to every story and Ridge was part of the problem if his side of the story is accurate. This is one book that I will not purchase.
sinsing on August 21, 2009 at 8:11 AM
Any allegations so long after the fact should be weighted against their revelation in a book as opposed to immediately after leaving the office/position.
And honestly isn’t the President the final authority on the security against outside threats to the country, not the Attorney General?
Neo on August 21, 2009 at 8:29 AM
Once a Rhino, always a Rhino
jaboba on August 21, 2009 at 8:43 AM
Take everything Ridge says with a grain of salt.
/yeah, that applies to everyone, but particularly to the man who’d jump at the opportunity to build the DEPARTMENT OF HOMELAND SECURITY without insurmountable obstacles to prevent federal fascism. Ridge is another opportunistic abuser, happy to hurt everyone in order to gain a personal advantage.
maverick muse on August 21, 2009 at 8:44 AM
That Ace link is no good.
But man, I hope this isn’t true. Pretty soon, they’ll be telling us that bush was actually behind the 9/11 attacks. Like an inside job or something.
EMR on August 21, 2009 at 8:51 AM
Perhaps the administration officials also had the Madrid Train bombings fresh on their minds from a few months before and remembered how terror was used to influence the Spanish elections. So logic would bear that they’d be crazy not to try the same thing with the U.S. elections especially with a knucklehead like John Kerry running. So to keep us safe from terror (and John Kerry), why not raise the alert levels? Ridge is an idiot and it’s obvious from this why his sorry a$$ was probably fired and he should never have been Homeland Security chief.
mozalf on August 21, 2009 at 8:56 AM
WIND in Chicago (John and Cisco) played the audio of an interview with Ridge when this first came up around the election in 2004. In the context of this story, it’s unintentionally hilarious.
Ridge says something to the effect of “I’d like to show those people (who think this is all politics) the terrorism reports we see every day”.
Bzzzzzzt — end of story.
Jaibones on August 21, 2009 at 9:50 AM
PS Oh, the other punchline is that reportedly Rumsfeld and Ashcroft were pushing for higher terrorism warnings, and Bush asked Ridge if he thought that was warranted. Ridge said no, and Bush said “OK; don’t change it.”
I say Ridge is right! I call for the Obama administration to immediately remove Rumsfeld and Ashcroft from any further consideration for positions in the Homeland Security apparatus.
Jaibones on August 21, 2009 at 9:52 AM
Tom ridge is now playing the victim card? Give me a break, man up Tommy boy.
la.rt.wngr on August 21, 2009 at 11:21 AM
Apparently Tom Ridge caught the book promotions fantasy virus from Scott McClellan.
viking01 on August 21, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Stop your complainaint RIDGE. You are an adult and you are responsible for your own actions. You don’t get to blame Bush for your decisions.
tx2654 on August 21, 2009 at 1:02 PM
Just because Obama is evil, does not mean Bush was not a HACK lacking in integrity and capable of doing this. He did not dance with the party that brung ‘em: immigration, running up huge debt, medicare prescription deal, shipping jobs overseas so that the only way families could get by was on credit which was bound to explode in the nations face as it has. What a waste. Just because Obama is evil, does not mean Bush didn’t ruin the brand. And the next contender would do well to note true Conservatives are still pissed.
Simona on August 21, 2009 at 1:26 PM
American Spectator today provides more debunking of the story including an actual quote from the Ridge book:
It’s a long entry at the AS so go to link to read the whole thing. The fact remains Ridge is allowing this story to be spun and used by anti-Bush people (and affect independents who might otherwise be inclined to have a good opinion of GWB and his administration but for the endless parade of “scandals” that turn out out to be fake but they might not hear the debunking after the trumpet clarion of the initial take on the allegations).
KittyLowrey on August 21, 2009 at 1:29 PM
Says the troll who cites talking points from MS-DNC in the same post.
getalife.
Del Dolemonte on August 21, 2009 at 6:09 PM
You had no problem with a Pentagon employee running a political errand for Bill Clinton. Fellow by the name of Ken Bacon?
Look him up, he just died last week.
Del Dolemonte on August 21, 2009 at 6:19 PM
The quote from Ridge includes “I wonder” before his speculation that the threat level was raised for elective politics. This is bad reporting, Ed.
JKahn913 on August 21, 2009 at 6:55 PM
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