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A Daily Chronicle of Bush Administration Distortion December 9, 2003
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Bush Touts Small Business, Puts Big Business First



President Bush is fond of telling small business owners how much he cares about them. As he said on December 1st, "We want people to feel like if you want to be a small business owner, there's a chance for you."1 But just four days later, he showed his true colors in a visit to Home Depot - one of his largest campaign contributors, and a company notorious for taking away chances for small hometown businesses2,3. In a moment of candor, the President admitted "When a person has more money in their pocket, they're likely to come to Home Depot" - not one of the small businesses Home Depot regularly works to undercut and put out of business.

To make matters worse, when asked about why the President was touting such a company, a White House spokeswoman said, "Home Depot represents all those factors that have been keeping the economy going"4 - a direct insult to the small businesses that the President purports to care about and that Home Depot has decimated. The statement also seems to ignore the fact that during a time of war, Home Depot refused to do business with the U.S. government and military in order to avoid consumer protection laws5.

Of course, the President has a reason to trumpet Home Depot despite these concerns - Home Depot founder Bernard Marcus has given at least $321,000 in hard money6 and $273,000 in soft money contributions7 to Republicans since 2000. And photo-ops are not the only way the President has gone to bat for Home Depot over the interests of average people. Since 1999, "at least three customers and five workers have been killed in accidents in Home Depots,"8 and in 2002, the number of OSHA violations at Home Depot jumped 45%. Instead of increasing federal oversight, President Bush's most recent budget proposed cutting OSHA's budget9.

Sources:
  1. President Discusses Economy in Michigan, 12/01/2003.
  2. President Bush Discusses the Economy at the Home Depot in Maryland, 12/05/2003.
  3. "Increasingly, Voters Decide Fate of Big Stores", LA Times, 03/05/2002, part 2, page 6.
  4. WHITE HOUSE WATCH: Bush Lands At Big Donor Home Depot, Wall Stree Journal, 12/05/2003.
  5. "Home Depot shuns federal government", Associated Press, 06/18/2002.
  6. Center for Responsive Politics.
  7. Center for Responsive Politics.
  8. "Danger in the aisles", Atlanta Business Chronicle, 02/24/2002.
  9. "OSHA cuts enforcement budget, increases employer aid", Washington Business Journal, 02/25/2002.



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