Like Clockwork, Fox Does it’s Duty…

Just another chapter from the 'Anything to Win' file.

Share article:

As predicted here the day after Ben Barnes came out to explain how he helped Bush leap to the front of the National Guard line, the smears based on the Republican Talking Points have made their way into the Media. Though that GOP web page gives no evidence of Barnes lying, nonetheless, they claim (falsely) that he’s changed his story on this issue. In fact, he never has.

Barnes has never claimed that anyone from the Bush family approached him for this favor. Rather that he was asked by a friend of the Bush family, a Houston oilman by the name of Sidney A. Adger.

But truth or decency doesn’t matter to Sean Hannity. As reported by the ever-meticulous Media Matters:

During the September 9 edition of FOX News Channel’s Hannity & Colmes, Armey labeled Barnes a “liar,” a “standing joke,” and not a “good person.” Hannity repeated the false claim that Barnes’s recent statements on 60 Minutes contradict sworn testimony from 1999, in which Barnes said he had not acted at the behest of the Bush family in recommending Bush for the Guard.

Later in the program, Barnes was accused of being “a partisan Democrat trying to help Senator Kerry”. While Media Matter notes that Barnes is indeed currently raising money for Kerry, he has also supported many Republicans — including Jeb Bush and White House press secretary Scott McClellan’s mother!!! — over the years…

As The New York Times reported on September 15, 2003, Barnes contributed $35,000 to the 2003 campaign of Texas State Comptroller Carole Keeton Strayhorn, the mother of White House press secretary Scott McClellan. The Dallas Morning News reported on October 25, 1994, that Barnes contributed $500 to Governor Jeb Bush (R-FL) during his unsuccessful 1994 bid for the Florida governorship. And the Austin American-Statesman noted on January 13 that Barnes has served on a fund-raising events committee for Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX).

Apparently that information didn’t show up on those Republican Talking Points for some reason. Anything to win.

Share article:

--- COMMENTS follow below Ad Content ---

Reader Comments on

Like Clockwork, Fox Does it’s Duty…

12 Comments

(Comments are now closed.)


12 Responses

  1. 1)
    Paul said on 9/14/2004 @ 5:30pm PT: [Permalink]

    From my hometown radio station:

    Daughter of Ben Barnes Disputes Father’s Claims as Political

    http://www.wbap.com/listingsent...wbaptopstories

    BARNES: I love my father very much, but he’s doing this for purely political reasons. He is a big Kerry fund-raiser and he is writing a book also. And [the Bush story] is what he’s leading the book off with. … He denied this to me in 2000 that he did get Bush out [of Vietnam service]. Now he’s saying he did.

    BARNES: Yes, yes. This came out in 2000 and I asked him then, at the time, if he [helped get Bush into the Guard]. He said: "No, absolutely not. I did not do that." –

  2. 2)
    jaime said on 9/14/2004 @ 6:10pm PT: [Permalink]

    Hey Paul…what was Bush’s score on the ANG entry exam?

    If you guessed lower 25th percentile (D-) you were right!!!!!!

    Explain how someone who was one bulb of a christmastree from failing the test able to leapfrog the hundred other people that scored well ahead of him? Charm? Not likely.

    Influence? Is there any other way to get in with shitty grades?

    Or are you going to tell me, the ANG accepts near failures as a matter of routine? Does Yale gladly accept C- students? Does Harvard accept C students as a matter of routine?

    What does acceptance with horrible scores in the ANG, High School and Yale have in common. B-U-S-H.

    And if you have any proof otherwise, please post them here (sourced, please).

  3. 3)
    Brad said on 9/14/2004 @ 7:33pm PT: [Permalink]

    Not to mention that Barnes’ daughter "Amy" who just happened to call the Mark Levine show has never been heard from again.

    Anything to win.

  4. 5)
    ED said on 9/15/2004 @ 9:17am PT: [Permalink]

    jaime,

    Lets talk about Hahvahd for a second. They did not kick Ted Kennedy out for cheating. Talk about influence. It happens on both sides. Yet you only want to talk about the Republicans. Why do I bother??

  5. 6)
    Brad said on 9/15/2004 @ 9:43am PT: [Permalink]

    Uh, Ed, one reason being that it’s Bush (not Kennedy) who is running for President. And claiming that he didn’t achieve his bragged about qualities due to family influence.

    As to the Kennedy/Harvard assertion, I’ve seen neither evidence of it (feel free to point me towards some) nor do I see how that applies to the question of Bush’s family influence.

    Are you now admitting that his family’s influence *did* help him into Harvard, Yale and the National Guard?

  6. 7)
    johnhp said on 9/16/2004 @ 3:03am PT: [Permalink]

    Brad,

    There’s one thing about education that Bush proves: we can’t trust private education. From Andover to Harvard, this guy was given social promotions. Now he commands the most powerful weapons in the history of humanity. One day we are going to figure out that we need smart leaders not smart bombs.

  7. 10)
    Brad said on 9/16/2004 @ 10:41am PT: [Permalink]

    Wow, Ed. There is NOTHING sourced on the page you pointed to. Simply one assertion after another, without a single link to a single piece of evidence!

    And you believe it!

    And yet, when evidence after evidence is presented to you, from mulitple sources (for example, no WMD, Bush did not fullfill ANG requirements) you don’t except it.

    Perhaps if I just started making stuff up, posting no sourcing for the information, you’d be more inclined to believe it! Amazing.

(Comments are now closed.)


--- Ad Content ---

BB SIDEBAR NOTICE

Thanks to you, The BRAD BLOG has been trouble-making and muckraking for … 22 YEARS!!!

Please help The BRAD BLOG, BradCast and Green News Report remain independent and 100% reader and listener supported in our 23rd YEAR!!!

ONE TIME
any amount...

MONTHLY
any amount...

OR VIA SNAIL MAIL
Make check out to...
Brad Friedman / BRAD BLOG
7095 Hollywood Blvd., #594
Los Angeles, CA 90028

RECENT POSTS

Trump’s Name Removed from Kennedy Center Building

UPDATES: Court rejects last minute appeal, rules name must come down off building; Workers build scaffolding solely to obscure removal; By Saturday morning, name is reportedly down, sign still curtained off...

Trump Policies Imperiling Social Security, Depleting Trust Fund; ‘BradCast’ 6/11/2026

Guest: Nancy Altman of Social Security Works; Also: FL Supremes okay GOP's unconstitutional U.S. House map; Ebola outbreak explodes amid U.S. leadership vacuum...

‘Green News Report’ – June 11, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

Maine Dems Elect Platner in Landslide: ‘BradCast’ 6/10/2026

Repub Hilton 'wins' slot in CA Guv general election; Inflation spikes again; New U.S. solar milestones despite Trump; Primary results from ND, NV, SC and ME...

Corporate Donors to White House Ballroom Win $50 Billion in New Government Contracts, Funding: ‘BradCast’ 6/9/2026

Guest: Robert Weissman of Public Citizen; Also: Updates on the races for CA Guv, L.A. Mayor, Trump's evidence-free allegations of election fraud...

‘Green News Report’ – June 9, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

‘Crooked or Stupid’: Trump Rails Against ‘Rigged’ CA Elections, Offers No Evidence, Storms off Interview: ‘BradCast’ 6/8/2026

Counting continues in CA; Critical ME primary tomorrow; Also: Callers ring in, some who have fallen for phony rightwing 'voter fraud' claims...

Sunday ‘Tick Tick Tick Tick’ Toons

THIS WEEK: Breaking News at CBS ... On the Money ... Iran and Iran We Go ...

‘I’m not a Victim. I was a Criminal’: J6er Says ‘No’ to Trump’s ‘Weaponization’ Slush Fund Money: ‘BradCast’ 6/4/2026

Guest: Convicted MAGA rioter Jason Riddle; Also: Pelley charges new CBS execs pushing 'falsehoods', 'bias' into '60 Minutes'...

‘Green News Report’ – June 4, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

Trump’s Favorite Election Fraud Criminal Now Runs Free: ‘BradCast’ 6/2/2026

Also: Not so 'hot' after all, as data finds international tourism to U.S. plummeted in 2025...

‘Green News Report’ – June 2, 2026

With Brad Friedman and Desi Doyen

One Failure After Another: ‘BradCast’ 6/1/2026

We are in an historic moment, as the Trump Presidency begins its collapse; Also: Callers ring in on tomorrow's wild California Gubernatorial primary...

Did Trump and His Attorneys Conspire to Defraud the United States?

The court-ordered reopening of Trump's lawsuit against the IRS could have impacts well beyond blocking access to a $1.8 billion slush fund...

UPDATE, Midday 6/1/26: Trump announces plan to drop 'Weaponization Fund'...

About Brad Friedman...

Brad is an independent investigative journalist, blogger and broadcaster. Full Bio & Testimonials… Media Appearance Archive… Articles & Editorials Elsewhere… Contact…

He has contributed chapters to these books…
…And is featured in these documentary films…

BRAD BLOG ON THE AIR!

THE BRADCAST on KPFK/Pacifica Radio Network (90.7FM Los Angeles, 98.7FM Santa Barbara, 93.7FM N. San Diego and nationally syndicated, Monday-Thursday, on many other affiliate stations! ALSO VIA PODCAST: RSS/XML feed | Pandora | TuneIn | Apple Podcasts/iTunes | iHeart | Amazon Music
GREEN NEWS REPORT, nationally syndicated, with new episodes on Tuesday and Thursday. ALSO VIA PODCAST: RSS/XML feed | Pandora | TuneIn | Apple Podcasts/iTunes | iHeart | Amazon Music
Media Appearance Archives…

--- Ad Content ---

ADDITIONAL STUFF

Brad Friedman/
The BRAD BLOG Named...

Buzz Flash's 'Wings of Justice' Honoree
Project Censored 2010 Award Recipient
The 2008 Weblog Awards