Washington Post: Democrat Says He Helped Bush Into Guard to Score Points

[Feanorcurufinwe]

A former senior politician from Texas has told close friends that he recommended George W. Bush for a pilot's slot in the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War because he was eager to "collect chits" from an influential political family. The reported comments by former Texas lieutenant governor Ben Barnes add fuel to a long-running controversy over how Bush got a slot in an outfit known as the "Champagne Unit" because it included so many sons of prominent Texans. Friends said that Barnes had recorded an interview for the CBS program "60 Minutes" that will address the question of whether Bush pulled strings to evade being sent to Vietnam.

Barnes, a longtime Democrat who works as a lobbyist and political consultant in Austin, has said that he is now "very ashamed" of helping "a lot of people who had family names of importance get in the National Guard." He made the statement during a meeting with John F. Kerry supporters in Austin on May 27, a video of which is now circulating on the Internet. Friends said Barnes will expand on the remarks in his interview with "60 Minutes" while taking care not to contradict sworn testimony from 1999, in which he said that no member of the Bush family had directly asked him for help. Barnes was unavailable for comment yesterday.

<snip>

According to a friend who has spoken with Barnes in recent days, Barnes is now willing to go public with a charge that he first made behind closed doors in September 1999, when he testified in a wrongful dismissal lawsuit brought by a former associate. In a sworn affidavit, Barnes testified that he had been approached by a longtime Bush family friend, Houston businessman Sidney Adger, for help in getting George W. Bush into the National Guard.

Barnes is now telling friends that he understood that Adger was making his request on behalf of the Bush family, even though Barnes has no memory of Adger explicitly saying he was. Barnes based his understanding on the knowledge that Adger was extremely close to the Bush family and Barnes's feeling that Adger would not have acted without the family's consent. At the time, Barnes was speaker of the Texas House of Representatives and in close touch with the head of the Texas Air National Guard, Brig. Gen. James Rose. Adger and Rose are dead.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A60319-2004Sep3.html

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

1. If it's in the Washington Post then other papers will pick it up an run it

[Pirate Smile]

2. The news channels can pick it up citing the WP. It should increase

air play.

[Cush]

5. he's going to be on 60 minutes

not sure if it's tomorrow, or next Sunday

[AlinPA]

7. Media will hide it . The story will be dead in two days after 60 minutes

runs the piece.

[BootinUp]

3. Fox 1

Going hot.

[Malva Zebrina]

4. will be blamed on Adger, who is now, I think, dead.

There is plausable denial here, unfortunately. the doofus crowd will not wonder why Bush showed up to enlist there at all. They will believe he innocently wandered in, not knowing a thing bout Adger's request and was immediately , on the same day he signed up, given a slot ahead of a hundred or so others because he happened to be lucky.

[Octafish]

6. Barnes was rewarded for being, um, discrete.

Lotto fever.

STILL UNREPORTED: THE PAY-OFF IN BUSH AIR GUARD FIX

Saturday Aug 28, 2004
by Greg Palast

In 1968, former Congressman George Herbert Walker Bush of Texas, fresh from voting to send other men’s sons to Vietnam, enlisted his own son in a very special affirmative action program, the ‘champagne’ unit of the Texas Air National Guard.  There, Top Gun fighter pilot George Dubya was assigned the dangerous job of protecting Houston from Vietcong air attack.

This week, former Lt. Governor Ben Barnes of Texas 'fessed up to pulling the strings to keep Little George out of the jungle. "I got a young man named George W. Bush into the Texas Air Guard - and I'm ashamed."

THE PAY-OFF

 That’s far from the end of the story. In 1994, George W. Bush was elected governor of Texas by a whisker. By that time, Barnes had left office to become a big time corporate lobbyist. To an influence peddler like Barnes, having damning information on a sitting governor is worth its weight in gold – or, more precisely, there’s a value in keeping the info secret. 

Barnes appears to have made lucrative use of his knowledge of our President’s slithering out of the draft as a lever to protect a multi-billion dollar contract for a client.  That's the information in a confidential letter buried deep in the files of the US Justice Department that fell into my hands at BBC television.

CONTINUED...

http://www.gregpalast.com/detail.cfm?artid=365&row=0

[Rose Siding]

8. This whole story shows that Barnes was a climber

and that Bush benefitted. But that says nothing of any Bushes pulling any strings- in fact it proves they didn't. Barnes is the one who looks bad. I don't see how this adds anything to the existing resentment.

[bobbyboucher]

9. Bull.

That's exactly what Kkkarl will say, or has he already said it.

This looks like exactly what it is, that daddy voted for the war then got his son out of it. Do you think Barnes just decided to get pussy George in the air guard for the fun of it. Somebody asked him to.

Quit with the water carrying.

[Rose Siding]

10. Try to keep a level head

and reason things through. Although the slavish devotion is impressive, Barnes says Bush didn't ask for it. Is the plan to believe some parts of what he says but not others?

Do you have details of the story that haven't been revealed? Is so, please share!

[bobbyboucher]

11. Thanks for setting me straight, Karen.

Barnes names the guy who asked for his help. Why would the guy ask for Barnes' help to get George the wanker in the guard? Obviously it wasn't Barnes' idea, so why did the other guy? Oh, he's a close associate of Big Pussy? What a coincidence.

So what about that Karen? If Barnes didn't initiate it and a close Bush ally did, then only kool-aid drinkers would say what you and Karl are saying.

And kiss my ass, waterboy.