News Releases
For Immediate Release: July 1, 2005
Contact: Kirsten Stade (202) 265-7337
BUSH & PRO-WAR FOOTAGE TO BE ADDED TO LINCOLN MEMORIAL VIDEO — Total Revamp of Memorial Exhibits May Bring Summer Closure
Washington, DC — The National Park Service has bought footage
of President George W. Bush, his father, pro-Iraq War demonstrations and anti-gun
control rallies from news organizations for inclusion in a video to be displayed
at the Lincoln Memorial, according to documents obtained by People For the American
Way Foundation (PFAWF) and Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility
(PEER).
The two groups obtained hundreds of pages of records through a lawsuit they
filed this past January under the Freedom of Information Act. The surrendered
records contain thousands of redactions; in many cases whole pages are blacked
out. While the groups are negotiating for additional disclosures as part of
an ongoing suit, the excerpts released so far paint a compelling picture of
how much time and energy the Bush administration has expended in an effort to
censor brief clips of footage depicting gay rights, reproductive rights and
anti-war demonstrations at the Lincoln Memorial from an educational eight-minute
video that has been shown at the memorial since 1994.
The groups filed their FOIA request in October 2003 after being alerted that
Park Service officials planned to develop a “more balanced” version
of the videotape to satisfy the objections of right wing organizations. The
right wing organizations reportedly complained that brief segments of footage
showing gay rights, reproductive rights, and anti-Vietnam War demonstrations
implied that “Lincoln would have supported homosexual and abortion ‘rights’
as well as feminism.”
The documents show that the Bush administration has acted on their
demands, having authorized over $200,000 for video acquisition, editing, and
production. In one email, a Park Service official writes “the Director
just stopped in to relay that Judge Manson [the Assistant Interior Secretary]
wanted to move quickly on the recommendations in the Video paper.” In
another email from this January, an official writes that he has been ordered
to “fast track” work on the Lincoln Memorial, causing other scheduled
projects to be delayed.
In order to revise the video, the Park Service paid thousands to purchase additional
footage. Though the agency redacted much of the identifying information, the
un-redacted portions indicate that the footage includes conservative events
and both President Bush and his father. The Park Service has not disclosed the
content of the new video, the instructions given for the revisions or who approved
the final product.
“I had not realized the extent to which the Lincoln Memorial exhibits
had turned into a vanity project for the Bush administration,” added PEER
Executive Director Jeff Ruch, noting that high school students from around the
country put the current video together with no input by political appointees.
“No expense is being spared to erase even fleeting images of feminists,
war protestors and gays from display as part of our nation’s history.”
The records also reveal that in late 2004 – perceiving that their earlier
effort to remove the video had been stymied – administration officials
decided to replace all of the memorial exhibits some time this summer and at
considerable expense to the cash-strapped Park Service. The planned renovation
is so extensive that it may force closure of portions of the memorial during
the height of the tourist season.
"This is yet another example of the Bush administration's efforts to turn the federal government into a right wing propaganda machine," said Ralph G. Neas, president of People For the American Way Foundation. “We’ve seen this administration use taxpayer money to pay off journalists and create fake news segments promoting its policies. We’ve seen them pressure civil servants to support their policies and withhold information from the public and Congress. Now they’re trying to rewrite history on the basis of ideology and abuse FOIA to conceal the evidence.”
###
See a listing of some of the footage brought by the Park Service from CNN and Associated Press
Look at a sample of Park Service redactions of video purchase records
View the Park Service FY 05 spending plan for the Lincoln Memorial
Read the work order for a new "balanced" Lincoln Memorial video completed in December 2003
View the summary of expenses incurred by the video project
Learn more about the Lincoln Memorial video controversy
