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A bus traveling the nation on a Bush Legacy Tour for Americans United for Change made a stop in Albuquerque yesterday.
The bus was parked in the Nob Hill area of Central, in front of a Flying Star, and features a large picture of President George W. Bush and the words "Bush’s legacy" on the side.
"It’s called the Bush Legacy," said Julie Blust, the press secretary for the tour. "But it’s really a legacy of failed conservative policies and most people when they think about legacy, they think about a good thing and this has not been a good legacy."
The bus is described as a "45-foot, 28-ton Bush Legacy Museum on wheels." The walls of the interior of the bus highlight some of the less flattering parts of the Bush administration. On education, the exhibit says, "The three R’s of No Child Left Behind: Rhetoric, Retreat, Renege." On health care, the exhibit says, "It’s a mess."
But the largest part of the exhibit is dedicated to the war in Iraq. "We have a timeline of the march to war that begins in the 90s essentially, with George’s allies and their agenda on Iraq," Blust explained, saying the war in Iraq is the exhibit that gets the most attention. The timeline runs across the entire floor of the bus.
One person who stopped in to see the bus thinks the money spent on Iraq was the part of the exhibit that made the biggest impression.
"You can see how much time is going toward the war moment by moment both in the nation and the state of New Mexico," Darlene Goodman told the New Mexico Independent.
One piece that received a lot of attention was the combat boots of Sgt. Patrick McCafferty. Blust explained the exhibit:
He was killed in Iraq in 2004. He enlisted in the National Guard the day after 9/11. He was sent to Iraq, he and his unit were training some Iraqi soldiers in combat and what not, they actually turned on him and his unit and opened fire, killing him along with another person in his unit. And so his mother has now spoken out constantly against the war ever since and has developed an organization to help our veterans and soldiers over there with the things that the government is failing to do for them. She’s been very vocal and helpful and you can see his boots and his personal effects in a display case in the bus.
The bus isn’t just about Bush, Blust insists. It is also about the members of Congress who vote for the policies for which Bush advocates.
"We’re talking about Senator Domenici, Representatives Pearce and Wilson here in Albuquerque and we want to make sure that they’re held accountable as well."
In a press release, Americans United for Change said it had "held Sen. [Pete] Domenici accountable for rubberstamping Bush’s failed policies 92 percent of the time as well as Reps. [Steve] Pearce and [Heather] Wilson, who voted in lockstep with Bush 91 percent and 66 percent of the time respectively, according to Congressional Quarterly."
All three are Republicans. Domenici is retiring from the Senate, and both Pearce and Wilson ran for the Republican nomination for the Senate seat. Pearce won and is facing Rep. Tom Udall in November’s general election.
The attempt to tie the Republicans to President Bush is nationwide, and because of Bush’s unpopularity.
"They want to distance themselves from him and our point is you can’t distance yourself if you voted for his policies and they need to be held accountable as well," Blust said.
Many people who saw the bus were just passing by and decided to see what was going on, including Alvaro Urquidez.
"I was just driving by and I saw it. At first, the way that’s it’s written up there, the Bush legacy, I’m like, ‘What the hell is this?’" Urquidez said.
After realizing it was not a pro-Bush bus as he previously believed, Urquidez’ only criticism was he " wished it would be in a more prominent place where more Albuquerqueans could see it."
Many other parts of the country will get to see the bus as well. Blust said the bus has been to more than 50 cities, and will make 150 stops in 42 states between now and November. This is the third New Mexico tour stop; the bus was in Las Cruces on Aug. 2 and in Alamogordo on Sunday. The bus will be in Farmington Tuesday before driving to Arizona. The schedule is available at the tour website.
