Anti-Bush Tour Bus Makes Its Debut

Americans United for Change has long opposed many of President Bush’s policies, but this year it’s found a new way to say it–with a 28-ton bus.

The group today launched its Bush Legacy Bus, a rolling museum dedicated to the “worst policy failures” of the Bush administration. The bus will travel the country for the next five months, stopping in 150 cities and bearing a simple message: that Bush’s policies have wreaked havoc on America.

The bus features interactive exhibits on the Iraq war, the economy, and healthcare. A screen displays images of New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina, with captions that criticize the government’s response. A chart entitled “not just Bush’s war” traces Iraq war support to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio), Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), and former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R-Texas). The floor shows a timeline of events in the Bush presidency.

The bus is not just one group’s effort. Its funding comes from a network of liberal interest groups that often work with Americans United for Change under the “progressive” umbrella: sponsors and partners include MoveOn.org, Center for American Progress, Service Employees International Union (SEIU), AFL-CIO, VoteVets.org, and American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME).

The bus will make its first stop in Dayton, Ohio tomorrow to campaign against Boehner. It will visit Louisville, Ky. Thursday to campaign against McConnell.

“Eight years later, conservative government rule, of which President Bush served as the vessel, has left an economy in recession, the costs for healthcare, college tuition, food and gas skyrocketing and out of reach for most Americans,” Americans United for Change President Brad Woodhouse said in a statement that accompanied the bus’s launch.

“But to be clear, this effort is not about Bush–it is about the conservative ideology he and his allies in Congress, including John McCain, represent,” Woodhouse said.

The bus is part of the group’s Bush Legacy Project, which has sought to to criticize of Bush since January, when the group aired a television ad near the president’s State of the Union address. The idea for the bus came in February, and Americans United for Change has been planning its construction for the past several months, a spokesman said.

The group unveiled the bus today at a cookout in front of the AFL-CIO’s national headquarters, across Lafayette Park from the White House. The bus then left for the Capitol, where it sat on display this afternoon.