Brian Onorio’s Technician column that was erased from cyberspace

Playing Politics

Claims of playing politics with September 11 are heating up the race for the White House. But are these claims valid? In order to find the truth, the money trail must be examined.

By Brian Onorio

Democratic officials, a firefighters union, and a few widows of the September 11 terrorist attacks are berating President Bush for playing politics with the slaughtered. Recently, Bush launched his first ad campaign of the election year briefly showing a scene of 4 firefighters bringing out a flag-draped coffin from Ground Zero. The Bush campaign vigorously defended the ads as legitimate grounds for his campaign claiming the attacks of 9/11 serve as the defining moment of his presidency.

Former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani released a statement defending President Bush saying, ?Sept. 11 is the defining event of our times. This was a shared experience that the American people have all been through together.? Continuing his defense, he added, ?[Bush?s] leadership on that day is central to his record, and his continued leadership is critical to our ultimate success against world terrorism.?

The opposing side didn?t see the issue as so cut and dry. ?It?s offensive that he would have the audacity to use 9/11 in a political campaign,? remarked a widow of the attacks. Kathleen Hall Jameison, a professor at the University of Pennsylvania commented on the issue, saying, ?I think one needs to be aware that firefighters and those whose families died on Sept. 11 bring a very strong emotional reaction to any use of images from that time.? The chief of the firefighters union, Harold Schaitberger added ?I am absolutely disgusted and I find it disgraceful that the president would use images of our firefighters and our members carrying one of their own out of that disaster.?

But what?s the true story behind these vicious attacks against the President? At first glance, anyone might be convinced that the President acted in poor taste and probably shouldn?t have used September 11 as a campaign point. But listening to the remarks by those launching this counter-campaign, the air of arrogance cannot be ignored. Each person attacking the President behaves like they own the images of September 11. They feel that the events cannot be used by the President because, somehow, it is theirs. Let?s get real for a moment and recall that every news organization used the scenes from September 11 as somewhat of a ?cut scene? introducing the next news segment. Where was the outrage? Where were the widows demanding that the media should not use it? The scenes were ignored because the White House was not up for grabs.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy to mention that Schaitberger?s firefighters union endorsed John Kerry for president. This should not be overlooked when determining the source of the anger over the ads.

But the question still needs to be answered if President Bush is playing politics with September 11. Kristen Brightweiser and Monica Gabriel, two widows of the tragedy who have been outspoken about the ads, appeared separately on TV interviews on CNN, CNBC, NBC, and MSNBC shortly after the ads were aired. In these interviews, each of the women used almost identical phrases. On the 9/11 Commission: ?This President and his Administration blocked the creation of the commission, have stonewalled the commission?? commented Brightweiser while Gabriel identically said, ?This President and his Administration blocked the creation of the commission, have stonewalled the commission?? And it goes further: ?? [if these ads were] realistic from the morning of September 11 it would show President Bush before a group of schoolchildren listening to them read while the Twin Towers were burning? while the other said, ?if he wants to show a picture of 9/11 depicting what he was doing it should be a picture of him sitting and reading in a classroom to schoolchildren, that?s where he was on 9/11.? And there?s more, ?and we need to find out why 3,000 people were murdered on his watch? juxtaposed with ?well you know, this happened on his watch.?

So were these people who are attacking President Bush?s ads coordinated and organized? With strikingly similar language, it is almost hard to believe that it is not. It turns out that the two widows are members of Families for Peaceful Tomorrows, a radical left-leaning organization who opposed not only the war in Iraq but also in Afghanistan.

Byron York, the White House correspondent for National Review, appeared on the Fox News program ?Special Report with Brit Hume? on March 9 to discuss Families for Peaceful Tomorrows. York noted that the organization is a 501-C3 charity that has a fiscal sponsorship relationship with the Tides Foundation, a very large foundation which funds a variety of left-leaning organizations. Now here?s the kicker: The Tides Foundation receives a large amount of money from organizations associated with Teresa Heinz Kerry. The Howard Heinz Endowment (Teresa Heinz, Chairman) gave $3,793,500 to the Tides Foundation in addition to $857,000 given by the Vira I. Heinz Endowment (Teresa Heinz, Director) and $35,000 given by the Heinz Family Foundation (Teresa, Chairman and CEO) for a total of $4,685,500. Ignore the woman behind the curtain!

So there?s a link between Teresa Heinz and these widows of September 11. Who?s playing politics, folks? Now it?s disgusting enough that people have the audacity to play politics with September 11. It?s even more disgusting that people will accuse others of playing politics with 9/11 while playing politics with 9/11 themselves.

It should also be mentioned that Franklin D. Roosevelt launched his 1944 campaign with a trip to Pearl Harbor. It is not uncommon and it should be encouraged that presidents who had a national crisis or a war should campaign with those issues. They are by far the most important the nation faces. But according to Brightweiser and Gabriel, FDR was probably playing politics because he was reading with a bunch of school children on the morning of December 7 and not at Pearl Harbor itself. Ridiculous? You bet.

If this outrages you as well then cast a vote for America and President Bush this Election Day. Email Brian Onorio at [email protected] to voice your anger.