Take that you bully!

Update on www.gwbush.com

Last year (Razor Wire, July/August, 1999) we reported on a satirical website owned and maintained by Zack Exley. The website mission is obvious, exposing the hypocrisy of George W. Bush. What had gotten this young man so riled as to take on a presidential candidate in a David vs. Goliath struggle over a highly publicized website? Three direct statements from GW Bush himself.

When the Texas Governor and presidential contender was asked about prior illegal drug use early last year, Bush replied, "I'm not going to talk about what I did as a child. What I am going to talk about - and I am going to say this consistently - [is that] it is irrelevant what I did 20 to 30 years ago. What's relevant is that I have learned from any mistakes I made. I do not want to send signals to anybody that what Gov. Bush did 30 years ago is cool to try."

The presidential hopeful then went on to proclaim, "I am committed to helping usher in the responsibility era, an era in which all individuals in this great land understand they are responsible for their actions and the decisions they make."

As if that were not enough hypocrisy to stomach, Bush lay down these words of warning for the nation's children, "If we are going to save a generation of young people, our children must know they will face bad consequences for criminal behavior. Sadly, too many youths are not getting that message. Our juvenile justice system must say to our children: We love you, but we are going to hold you accountable for your actions."

Exley already knew this governor had been tough on children. Bush lowered the age at which minors can be tried as adults to fourteen, and new Texas prisons were constructed at an unprecedented rate.

Exley moved into action creating www.gwbush.com in protest of Bush hypocrisy, galled that a man running for president would go unchallenged by citizens or the press. Bush trashed Exley, calling him a "garbage man" and saying there should be "limits to freedom". Exley quickly and prominently displayed this quote on the website and printed it on T-shirts, attributing the words to the candidate who said them.

A complaint was filed by Bush campaign officials in May of 1999, arguing that the site, www.gwbush.com, attempts to influence the presidential election and should therefore be treated as a political committee subject to federal election laws.
The matter has finally been settled. The Federal Election Commission has dismissed the complaint. Of the dismissal Zack Exley points his words to GW Bush and says quite simply,

"Take that ya bully!"