Bush Legacy Tour

ROANOKE, VA & WINSTON-SALEM, NC- It was a sad occasion in Roanoke Saturday morning. We visited our last farmers market of the tour. We set up shop a half a block away from the downtown farmers market where they sell crafts and fresh produce. I spoke to some vendors who said foot traffic has decreased significantly as the economy worsens. We still managed to have a decent number of people come through the bus. The reaction was mixed. There were a few people who did not like the bus and a lot who did. One woman walked by and gave us an enthusiastic thumbs-down. She came back an hour later and apologized profusely as she thought the bus was pro-Bush. She then took a tour and thanked us for coming.

Roanoke has two local Representatives close-by that strongly supported Bush’s policies. Representative Virgil Goode supported the President’s failed agenda 93% of the time, while Representative Bob Goodlatte supported it 96% of the time. With Virginia getting an unprecedented amount of attention this election year, we hope both Representatives will have their support of Bush put front and center.

Like many teachers who have come on the bus, Rhonda McDonald commented on the straight-forward and simple layout of the exhibits. She felt that the bus was put together well and she even mentioned that she may use the tour in one of her lessons.

Local middle-school teacher Rhonda McDonald on the bus.

The new Frank Gehry-designed art museum in Roanoke opens in one week. The Bush legacy, a work of destruction, in front of a work of art.

In the afternoon we headed to Winston-Salem, NC to Representative Virginia Foxx’s office. Foxx may come close to getting a prize on the Bush Legacy Tour. She may actually have the highest voting percentage with the President thus far. Foxx voted with the President’s policies-drumroll-98% of the time!  This grandmother of two, voted against the State Children’s Health Insurance. She voted against raising the minimum wage while opposing allowing shareholders to reign in CEO pay. She even gave her elderly peers the boot and supported privatizing social security.

Foxx, however, is not to be outdone by Senator Elizabeth Dole. Although, Dole is rarely in North Carolina, she does make it to DC enough to have voted with the President 92% of the time. Dole supported tax cuts for the wealthy that shift the tax burden to the middle class. She did not support raising fuel economy standards and she has voted repeatedly to keep the troops in Iraq with no exit strategy.

In front of Virginia Foxx's office.