Smearing antiBush?

http://www.toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20031129/OPINION02/111290157

Toledo Blade  Saturday, November 29, 2003

THE DOSSIER BUILDERS

A Republican television campaign ad in Iowa charges that "some" are now 
attacking President Bush for attacking terrorists. Put alongside an FBI 
memo to law enforcement officials instructing them to monitor anti-war 
protesters, the ad raises the disturbing possibility that people attending 
straightforward Democratic political rallies will become the subjects of 
FBI information-collecting actions.

Last week, the Republican National Committee began airing in Iowa, in 
advance of the caucuses, an attack ad that puts on the screen the words, 
"Some are now attacking the president for attacking the terrorists." The 
ad is targeted against Democratic candidates who are including criticism 
of Mr. Bush's Iraq war policy in their campaign speeches.

Of equal concern is an FBI memorandum circulated Oct. 15 to local law
enforcement officials advising them to report information on "any
suspicious activity" they collect at anti-war rallies to FBI
counterterrorism squads. Given that some of the Democratic candidates
campaign events might draw some anti-Iraq war advocates, the stage is thus
ominously set for Democratic Party supporters at rallies where Mr. Bush's
Iraq war policies are criticized to end up in the files of local police
and subsequently the FBI.

To carry the logic of this concern to its extreme, it is also worth noting 
that the Bush Administration has not hesitated to designate some American 
citizens "enemy combatants" and hold them in military detention now for up 
to 18 months without benefit of lawyer, trial, or other elements in due 
process of law. The full picture could thus become alarming indeed.

The Republican Party and Mr. Bush should think twice before seeking to 
smear anyone who criticizes him - including Democratic presidential 
candidates - as supporters of terrorism. There is clearly a pressing need 
for a Clean Campaign Pledge to be put in place in the coming election 
year.

Also, the use of the FBI and local law enforcement officials to collect 
information on Americans who attend anti-Iraq war events, a category that 
potentially includes Democratic political campaign rallies, is an utterly 
inappropriate use of those bodies, and is inconsistent with respect for 
Americans' civil rights.

Mr. Bush certainly has the right to run for president on his record of 
fighting terrorism post-Sept. 11. But neither he nor his party has the 
right to call anyone who criticizes him a supporter of terrorism.