Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
Encyclopedia
Bush Family Fortunes: The Best Democracy Money Can Buy is a 2004 documentary film directed by Steven Grandison and Greg Palast
. The film, which examines various aspects of the Presidency of George W. Bush, including the 2000 US Presidential election and the Iraq War, is adapted from the 2003 BBC
production Bush Family Fortunes and based on the 2002 book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
by investigative journalist Palast, who had spent years tracking the Bush family for the BBC
and The Guardian
newspaper. The research for the original BBC film, which claims to have exposed the George W. Bush military service controversy
, was also drawn upon by Michael Moore
for Fahrenheit 9/11
(2004) and footage was used by Robert Greenwald
in Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election
(2002).
with particular reference to his popular image as a war hero cemented in the public mind by his landing on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
for the 2003 Mission Accomplished Speech. However Palast alleges that Bush used his father’s influence to gain a draft-dodging placement with the Texas Air National Guard
which he subsequently failed to serve.
and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris
used their influence to purge and discount the ballots of predominantly Gore-supporting black voters through the “fake felons list” compiled by private company DBT/ChoicePoint
for US$4 million.
CEO Ken Lay, who as members of Bush’s pioneer network contributed huge sums through family and friends, and who he claims subsequently profited from the Bush presidency with senior government appointments, no-bid contracts, executive orders and deregulation.
who funded the family’s entry into the oil business, citing the example of Bush’s Harken Energy
winning a contract to drill in the Persian Gulf
thanks he alleges to Bush Snr’s presidency.
, who was a part owner of Bush’s failed Arbusto Energy.
in Houston. Camp Mabry is actually located in Austin
.
Greg Palast
Gregory Allyn Palast is a New York Times-bestselling author and a freelance journalist for the British Broadcasting Corporation as well as the British newspaper The Observer. His work frequently focuses on corporate malfeasance but has also been known to work with labor unions and consumer...
. The film, which examines various aspects of the Presidency of George W. Bush, including the 2000 US Presidential election and the Iraq War, is adapted from the 2003 BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
production Bush Family Fortunes and based on the 2002 book The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy
The Best Democracy Money Can Buy is a 2002 book written by investigative journalist Greg Palast. It is about corporate corruption, global capitalism, environmental destruction, third world exploitation, freedom of speech and political corruption, and the United States presidential election of 2000...
by investigative journalist Palast, who had spent years tracking the Bush family for the BBC
BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...
and The Guardian
The Guardian
The Guardian, formerly known as The Manchester Guardian , is a British national daily newspaper in the Berliner format...
newspaper. The research for the original BBC film, which claims to have exposed the George W. Bush military service controversy
George W. Bush military service controversy
George W. Bush's National Guard service was an issue in the 2000 presidential campaign and in the 2004 presidential campaign. A controversy centered on questions of how George W...
, was also drawn upon by Michael Moore
Michael Moore
Michael Francis Moore is an American filmmaker, author, social critic and activist. He is the director and producer of Fahrenheit 9/11, which is the highest-grossing documentary of all time. His films Bowling for Columbine and Sicko also place in the top ten highest-grossing documentaries...
for Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11
Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
(2004) and footage was used by Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald
Robert Greenwald is an American film director, film producer, and political activist.-Early life:Greenwald was born and raised in New York City, the son of Ruth and Harold Greenwald. He attended the city's High School of Performing Arts...
in Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election
Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election is a 2002 47-minute documentary made by Richard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler and narrated by Peter Coyote about the contested 2000 presidential election in Florida...
(2002).
Synopsis
The film starts with a brief pre-title clip from presenter Greg Palast’s aborted interview with Florida Director of Elections Clayton Roberts, who walks out.The War Hero
Palast introduces George W. BushGeorge W. Bush
George Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
with particular reference to his popular image as a war hero cemented in the public mind by his landing on the aircraft carrier USS Abraham Lincoln
USS Abraham Lincoln
Various ships have borne the name Abraham Lincoln, in honor of the 16th President of the United States.-United States Navy:* The , was a ballistic missile submarine.* The , is an aircraft carrier currently in service.-Fictional:...
for the 2003 Mission Accomplished Speech. However Palast alleges that Bush used his father’s influence to gain a draft-dodging placement with the Texas Air National Guard
Texas Air National Guard
The Texas Air National Guard is the air force militia of the U.S. state of Texas and a component of the Texas Military Forces...
which he subsequently failed to serve.
The Candidate
Palast picks up the story with Bush’s 2000 US Presidential Election campaign where he claims Florida Governor Jeb BushJeb Bush
John Ellis "Jeb" Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd Governor of Florida from 1999 to 2007. He is a prominent member of the Bush family: the second son of former President George H. W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush; the younger brother of former President George W...
and Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris
Katherine Harris is an American Republican politician, former Secretary of State of Florida, and former member of the United States House of Representatives. Harris won the 2002 election to represent Florida's 13th congressional district in the U.S. House of Representatives. She held that post...
used their influence to purge and discount the ballots of predominantly Gore-supporting black voters through the “fake felons list” compiled by private company DBT/ChoicePoint
ChoicePoint
ChoicePoint was a data aggregation company based in Alpharetta, near Atlanta, Georgia, United States, that acted as a private intelligence service to government and industry...
for US$4 million.
The Money
Palast goes on to examine the corporate donors to Bush’s election campaign, such as EnronEnron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
CEO Ken Lay, who as members of Bush’s pioneer network contributed huge sums through family and friends, and who he claims subsequently profited from the Bush presidency with senior government appointments, no-bid contracts, executive orders and deregulation.
The Oil
Palast outlines what he refers to as the Bush-cycle, where Bush family members use money to gain political office and then use the office to gain even more money, dating back to Senator Prescott BushPrescott Bush
Prescott Sheldon Bush was a Wall Street executive banker and a United States Senator, representing Connecticut from 1952 until January 1963. He was the father of George H. W. Bush and the grandfather of George W...
who funded the family’s entry into the oil business, citing the example of Bush’s Harken Energy
Harken Energy
HKN, Inc., formerly known as Harken Energy Corporation, is a small American oil and gas production company, with ownership interests in other production companies. The company is headquartered in Southlake, Texas, near Fort Worth. There is a second office near Dallas, in the town of Paris. The...
winning a contract to drill in the Persian Gulf
Persian Gulf
The Persian Gulf, in Southwest Asia, is an extension of the Indian Ocean located between Iran and the Arabian Peninsula.The Persian Gulf was the focus of the 1980–1988 Iran-Iraq War, in which each side attacked the other's oil tankers...
thanks he alleges to Bush Snr’s presidency.
The Connection
Palast alleges that both prior to and since the September 11 attacks Bush has blocked investigations into members of the Bin Laden family and other rich Saudis, who are alleged to have provided funding to Al Qaeda and which have long been funnelling money into Bush family business ventures via businessman James R. BathJames R. Bath
James Reynolds Bath is a former director of Bank of Credit and Commerce International , and also former part owner of Arbusto Energy with George W. Bush, with whom Bath served as a member of the Texas Air National Guard during the Vietnam War...
, who was a part owner of Bush’s failed Arbusto Energy.
The Plan: Iraq
Palast concludes with Bush’s declaration of the Iraq War, which he claims was made to fulfil a long planned strategy, drawn up at the beginning of Bush’s presidency, to divide and sell up all of Iraq’s assets, especially the oil, to the Bush family’s corporate donors against the interests of the Iraqi people and their democratic ambitions.Errors
At 10:57 mention is made of picking up records at Camp MabryCamp Mabry
Camp Mabry is a military installation in Austin, Texas that houses the headquarters of the Texas Military Forces. Its original site, three miles northwest of downtown west of Mopac Expressway, was deeded from the city to the state in 1892. It was named for Brigadier General Woodford H. Mabry the...
in Houston. Camp Mabry is actually located in Austin
Austin
Austin is the capital of the U.S. state of Texas.Austin may also refer to:-In the United States:*Austin, Arkansas*Austin, Colorado*Austin, Chicago, Illinois*Austin, Indiana*Austin, Minnesota*Austin, Nevada*Austin, Oregon...
.
Participants
- Clayton Roberts – Director of Elections, Florida
- Jim HightowerJim HightowerJames Allen "Jim" Hightower is an American syndicated columnist, activist and author.-Life and career:Born in Denison, Texas, Hightower came from a working class background. He worked his way through college as assistant general manager of the Denton Chamber of Commerce and later landed a spot as...
– Former Agriculture Commissioner - Bill White – Former Fighter Pilot
- Terry Johnson – Bush’s College Room-mate
- Robert Dieter – Bush’s College Room-mate
- Bill BurkettBill BurkettBill Burkett was the CBS source in the Killian documents affair of 2004. He retired as a Lieutenant Colonel from the Texas Army National Guard....
– Retired Lt. Col., Texas Air Guard - Willie Steen – Florida Voter
- Pam IorioPam IorioPam Iorio is an American politician and author, who served as mayor of Tampa, Florida from 2003 to 2011.Her first book, Straightforward, is expected to be released in November 2011...
– Election Supervisor, Tampa, Florida - Craig McDonald – Texans for Public Justice
- Andrea & Dean McWilliams – Bush/Enron Lobbyists
- Nick Kralj – Lobbyist
- Wayne MadsenWayne MadsenWayne Madsen is a Washington, D.C.-based author, columnist, and investigative journalistspecializing in intelligence and international affairs. He has written for The Village Voice, The Progressive, CounterPunch, CorpWatch, Multinational Monitor, CovertAction Quarterly, In These Times, and The...
– Former Intelligence Analyst - Pete Breton
- David Rosen – Oilman
- Stephen Push – Families of September 11
- Ron MotleyRon MotleyRonald L. Motley is a noted American trial attorney, and a principal of Motley Rice LLC, a Mount Pleasant, South Carolina-based law firm.- Career synopsis :...
– Lawyer - General Jay GarnerJay GarnerJay Montgomery Garner is a retired United States Army lieutenant general who was appointed in 2003 as Director of the Office for Reconstruction and Humanitarian Assistance for Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq but was soon replaced by Ambassador Paul Bremer and the ambassador's successor...
- Grover NorquistGrover NorquistGrover Glenn Norquist is an American lobbyist, conservative activist, and founder and president of Americans for Tax Reform...
– Lobbyist
See also
- Unprecedented: The 2000 Presidential ElectionUnprecedented: The 2000 Presidential ElectionUnprecedented: The 2000 Presidential Election is a 2002 47-minute documentary made by Richard Ray Pérez and Joan Sekler and narrated by Peter Coyote about the contested 2000 presidential election in Florida...
(2002) - Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11Fahrenheit 9/11 is a 2004 documentary film by American filmmaker and political commentator Michael Moore. The film takes a critical look at the presidency of George W. Bush, the War on Terror, and its coverage in the news media...
(2004) - Big Easy to Big Empty (2007)