-Caveat Lector-

http://www.consortiumnews.com/Print/011502a.html

consortiumnews.com

'Heartland Values,' Again?

January 15, 2002

George W. Bush is back on the road, flattering the nation’s “heartland” as a
place where people appreciate the values of  “family and faith, of personal
responsibility and hard work.” The implicit message is that Bush still finds
those values lacking in coastal cities, despite the events of Sept. 11.

Bush made his first big pitch for “heartland values” in August during his
working vacation, which included side trips to several cities where the
president highlighted what he saw as their basic decency. Some residents
living near the Atlantic and Pacific oceans viewed the hype about “heartland
values” as a not-so-subtle snub at the so-called “blue” coastal states that
favored Al Gore.

“Where exactly is this heartland so chock-full of values?” asked an editorial
in the Sacramento (Calif.) Bee on Aug. 18, 2001. “Is it just those red
states, the ones Bush carried on the map of last year’s presidential
election?” The Bee editorial argued that no part of the country had a
monopoly on positive values, or on shortcomings.

“Homicide rates are higher in places like Texas and the South than in
‘sinful’ places such as California and New York, and threetimes higher than
in New England,” the editorial said. “Teenage binge drinking is most common
in the upper Midwest states such as the Dakotas. The list of states with the
highest rates of dependence on alcohol and illicit drugs includes Iowa and
Wyoming. Gonorrhea rates are about twice as high in Kansas as here, and
Indianapolis leads the country in syphilis.”

Yet, whatever political advantage Bush saw in flattering the interior states
for their “heartland values” in August, the notion that Americans living near
the coasts were unworthy was shattered by the actions of everyday citizens
during the terrorist attacks on Sept. 11, especially the selfless heroism of
the firefighters in New York City, the rescue workers at the Pentagon and the
passengers who battled for control of a hijacked plane that had been headed
for San Francisco before crashing in Pennsylvania.

After Sept. 11, Bush dropped his “heartland values” rhetoric. But it was back
on Jan. 14 as Bush addressed a crowd in Springfield, Missouri. After flying
from Washington, Bush declared, “I’m also glad to be in the heartland because
it’s a place that understands values, the values of family and faith, of
personal responsibility and hard work.”
-----
Aloha, He'Ping,
Om, Shalom, Salaam.
Em Hotep, Peace Be,
All My Relations.
Omnia Bona Bonis,
Adieu, Adios, Aloha.
Amen.
Roads End

<A HREF="http://www.ctrl.org/";>www.ctrl.org</A>
DECLARATION & DISCLAIMER
==========
CTRL is a discussion & informational exchange list. Proselytizing propagandic
screeds are unwelcomed. Substance—not soap-boxing—please!  These are
sordid matters and 'conspiracy theory'—with its many half-truths, mis-
directions 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, CTRLgives no endorsement to the validity of posts, and
always suggests to readers; be wary of what you read. CTRL gives no
credence to Holocaust denial and nazi's need not apply.

Let us please be civil and as always, Caveat Lector.
========================================================================
Archives Available at:
http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html
 <A HREF="http://peach.ease.lsoft.com/archives/ctrl.html";>Archives of
[EMAIL PROTECTED]</A>

http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/
 <A HREF="http:[EMAIL PROTECTED]/";>ctrl</A>
========================================================================
To subscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SUBSCRIBE CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]

To UNsubscribe to Conspiracy Theory Research List[CTRL] send email:
SIGNOFF CTRL [to:] [EMAIL PROTECTED]

Om

Reply via email to