(2003-06-12) — New York Times writer Thomas Friedman said he “never imagined that the big shots at the Democrat National Committee were reading my little column.”
But DNC Chairman Terry McAuliffe read at least one, and decided to use it in the 2004 campaign. The DNC will give all of its candidates red, white and blue buttons which read: “It’s the services, stupid!”
In yesterday’s column, Mr. Friedman wrote, “Whenever Mr. Bush says, ‘It’s not the government’s money, it’s your money,’ Democrats should point out that what he is really saying is, ‘It’s not the government’s services, it’s your services’ — and thanks to the Bush tax cuts, soon you’ll be paying for many of them yourself.”
Mr. McAuliffe said the columnist struck a chord that will resonate with voters.
“Tax-paying Americans love to send their money to Washington for redistribution to other people, especially to government employees,” said Mr. McAuliffe. “When they hear that the Bush tax cuts will deprive them of that privilege, they’ll be outraged.”
The DNC leader explained that the federal government is “like the United Way,” efficiently distributing charity money throughout the land so that donors don’t have to choose which services to support.
“Of course, it’s a proven fact that the government runs the service business better than any private organization could,” he added. “That’s why paying taxes has replaced baseball as America’s pasttime.”

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