Does this bother you? Report: George W. Bush charged $100,000 to speak at fundraiser for wounded vets

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 08:36:19 -0400

According to its website, the charity, Helping a Hero, helps to provide "specially-adapted homes" for wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to help "reintegrate them into their community."
--
Former President George W. Bush charged $100,000 to speak at a 2012 charity fundraiser for U.S. military veterans severely wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan, ABC News reported Wednesday.

The report also said former first lady Laura Bush collected $50,000 to appear a year earlier.

Speaking and traveling fees for the former president were paid by the charity, but the amount was underwritten by a private donor, the charity's lawyer told ABC News.

According to its website, the charity, Helping a Hero, helps to provide "specially-adapted homes" for wounded veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan to help "reintegrate them into their community."

Former Marine Eddie Wright served on the charity's board and criticized the president's fee to "speak on behalf of men and women he ordered into harm's way."

"You sent me to war," Wright told ABC News. "I was doing what you told me to do, gladly for you and our country and I have no regrets. But it's kind of a slap in the face."

The former Marine lost both hands in a rocket attack in Fallujah, Iraq, in 2004.

The report also mentioned that the former president was provided with a private jet to travel to the Houston-based charity at a cost of $20,000, the officials said.

According to ABC, the charity said the total expenditure was justified because the former president and first lady offered discounted fees and helped raise record amounts in contributions at galas held in 2011 and 2012. Bush discounted his usual fee of $250,000, the charity told ABC News.

Politico has reported that since 2009, Bush's fees have typically ranged from $100,000 to $175,000 per appearance.

"We are proud that President Bush attended the 2012 Helping A Hero Gala," the charity posted to Facebook on Wednesday. "His presence helped us raise an unprecedented amount of funds to build specially adapted homes for wounded heroes."

According to the charity's yearly reports to the IRS, it raised about $2,450,000, after expenses, from the 2012 gala where Bush spoke, ABC News reported. The report said the following year, the gala netted the charity substantially less, about $1,000,000.

A spokesperson for Bush confirmed the payment to ABC News, but declined to comment on the criticism.

Bush has made veterans' well-being and their re-entry into society one of his top post-presidency priorities. The Dallas-based Bush Institute hosts annual golf tournaments and bike rides for wounded veterans.

http://www.stripes.com/news/special-reports/wounded-warriors/report-george-w-bush-charged-100-000-to-speak-at-fundraiser-for-wounded-vets-1.357089

Response by SCPO David Lockwood made Jul 9 at 2015 8:44 AM

SCPO David Lockwood — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 08:44:24 -0400

Makes no sense. I mean it's nice that he is doing something for the wounded vets, but it's a fundraiser! Why charge!??????

Response by SSG Melvin Nulph made Jul 9 at 2015 9:05 AM

SSG Melvin Nulph — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:05:58 -0400

Depends what he does with it? If he turns it around to do something great for the charity I think it's a smart move for both him as well as the charity dealing with the tax stuff we all would like to pay less of.
If its for personal gain on his part,the only thing I can say is, "He is human but I hoped he was better then the way its written up". I'm no one to judge him without really knowing all of it. If someone called you and said, Sir, Mama or whatever, "I'm calling to offer you $100,000 (or any ammount) to come and talk to whoever for about 30 min or so. I think it will really help us raise a lot of money". Would you say no? But the media will not let us know that, so I find it unfair of us to fall into their world of partial truths, misguided stories or what you choose to call it. That's the way I see it and wounded if anyone else see's it that way also?
" Hope your week is going great and most of you are staying dry", think positive and enjoy...

Response by Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS made Jul 9 at 2015 9:30 AM

Sgt Aaron Kennedy, MS — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:30:41 -0400

Speaker fees are nothing new, especially for people with "premiums" on their limited time.

Based on the article, it did sound like President Bush did discount the engagement dramatically, but keep in mind not all that money goes directly to him. He's got "overhead" in staff, charities, taxes, etc as well.

In essence, the organization paid him based on Free Market principles. I can't fault the President on this.

Response by COL Mikel J. Burroughs made Jul 9 at 2015 9:35 AM

COL Mikel J. Burroughs — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:35:06 -0400

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. Nothing new about former President's charging fees for speeches! Take a look at all of the last (10) Presidents and what they charged. A lot of it is paid by private donors and fundraising organization that result in a lot more contributions than the amount they paid for the President. American Capitalism at its best. Get use to it, Obama will do the same thing and it will go on and on! Why are they just publishing the story now on 2015? Maybe a little more mud slinging for Jeb in the 2016 race for President! What's the underlying purpose?

Response by SSG Keith Cashion made Jul 9 at 2015 9:39 AM

SSG Keith Cashion — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:39:34 -0400

Remember News sells....Good news is not as much as a money maker as bad, trashy or tabloid level news is. Play it in your head...Think Don Henley - Dirty Laundry. You know the song....go ahead and hum. But in all seriousness, without the actual documentation, and oh and by the way this happened 3 years ago, is this really still on the top topics. I listened to some of the Senate meetings last night with GEN. Dempsey explaining our operations and stuff with ISIL, and the shortages, and McCain told him appropriations is down the hall basically. Is it me or our elected officials who were great supporters of the Military now turning away? Have a great day.

Response by SCPO Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2015 9:48 AM

SCPO Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:48:38 -0400

Now, find out what he did with every penny of the speaking fee!!!

Response by SrA Edward Vong made Jul 9 at 2015 9:49 AM

SrA Edward Vong — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:49:38 -0400

This is something I would've done for free from the good graces of my heart, especially for wounded veterans. Certain things I would charge for, not this.

Response by LTC Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 9 at 2015 9:52 AM

LTC Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:52:18 -0400

I am pretty certain there is a "Rest of the Story" to this story. President Bush donates a lot of his time to taking care of the troops and believe that he either donated the funds back to the organization or rolled the funds into another worthwhile event.

Response by LTC John Shaw made Jul 9 at 2015 9:59 AM

LTC John Shaw — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 09:59:30 -0400

SPC Jan Allbright, M.Sc., R.S. Yes, this bothers me. I get that people are paid to speak and build organizations to highlight those foundation talking point. Even if discounted and the money is supporting whatever organization needs to maintain a schedule.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Jul 9 at 2015 12:57 PM

PO1 John Miller — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 12:57:06 -0400

Hell, not just former Presidents but former First Ladies (HILLARY!) charge for "speaker fees!"

Response by SPC Andrew Griffin made Jul 9 at 2015 3:01 PM

SPC Andrew Griffin — Thu, 09 Jul 2015 15:01:23 -0400

it bothers me Deeply! He sent them!

Response by LCpl Mark Lefler made Jul 11 at 2015 4:36 PM

LCpl Mark Lefler — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 16:36:15 -0400

I don't care who the president is that is doing it, charging a vet charity that kind of money is inappropriate, I don't care if its a republican or a democrat.

Response by CW3 Richard Mann made Jul 11 at 2015 4:41 PM

CW3 Richard Mann — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 16:41:56 -0400

It bothers the hell out of me! I started a big ol' rant but my blood pressure started spiking so I'm just leave it at that....

Response by SPC Matt Johnson made Jul 11 at 2015 4:54 PM

SPC Matt Johnson — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 16:54:48 -0400

$100K should have been used to help the wounded vets, not him.

Response by 1SG Michael Farrell made Jul 11 at 2015 9:24 PM

1SG Michael Farrell — Sat, 11 Jul 2015 21:24:03 -0400

I fault the organization for paying him. I'm sure a lot of people who would be bigger attractions and have more to offer than the former president. I suspect a lot would have donated their time or done it just for expenses if that. Serious people, like Jim Webb or Wes Clark or a number of general officers, admirals and so on. If a college wastes money of a couple of hundred grand on a speaker, the administration normally changes when the trustees see what it cost. So some alumni pick or foundation will pick up the tab. In this case, the whole thing makes me wonder about this particular charity.
Frankly, I'd rather hear him explain trading Sammy Sosa from the Rangers to the Cubs...that would be more interesting and probably more interesting to him.

Response by MAJ Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 12 at 2015 8:46 AM

MAJ Private RallyPoint Member — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 08:46:28 -0400

Non-issue. A prominent leader's time/knowlege/support/security all have costs. Those are factored into the organization's event plan and anticipated ROI. This private organization considered it a good investment. End of story.

Response by PO1 Michael G. made Jul 12 at 2015 10:56 AM

PO1 Michael G. — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 10:56:29 -0400

So there's a couple of things that strike me about this. First, I would find it very unlikely that President Bush put all of $100K straight into his own pockets; there's any number of expenses associated with his own organization, like travel expenses, staff to pay for, etc. Second, it seems that he discounted his usual rate, probably to the point that his own personal cut was reduced. Third, the charity said that the cost was actually covered by a private donor. Last, it seems like his presence at the event raised a significant amount of money, certainly enough to offset whatever cost there was to the charity, and then some. Much ado about nothing? I think so.

Response by SGT Timothy Rocheleau made Jul 12 at 2015 5:05 PM

SGT Timothy Rocheleau — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 17:05:49 -0400

So I've tried to post on this subject inside of Facebook, via Safari on my iPhone and here at RP and the lost button has malfunctioned each time. So I am taking the easy way out this time, I'm just going to post a screen shot of my attempted response.

Response by SGT Timothy Rocheleau made Jul 12 at 2015 5:17 PM

SGT Timothy Rocheleau — Sun, 12 Jul 2015 17:17:00 -0400

President Bush didn't even accept the payment, he immediately returned the check. Although it is completely normal to be paid "appearance or speaker fees" at events such as this he refused payment. This charity made over two million dollars at this event and most of those funds can most likely be attributed to his appearance, he drew in big wallets and for them to write checks for this cause.

President Bush has been and continues to be one of our military's biggest supporters. He sponsors and attends numerous programs and events yearly solely to assist our military, our veterans and our families. He opens up his ranch and invites our wounded to attend events there.

He has spent many a night at the bedside if wounded men and women, holding hands with, praying and crying alongside children, spouses, moms and dads and other family members. He has acknowledged and taken ownership of his role in ordering our men and women into combat roles, he has never taken his orders lightly and has always had the military's "six".

Mainstream media will never report or acknowledge this, it doesn't fit into their narrative of President Bush being inept. President Bush, although cones across as an imbecile at times is one of the smartest persons to ever hold any elected office let alone the presidency. For every meeting, irregardless of what the content was he was extremely prepared and asked the hard questions, he asked questions of everyone in fields that should have known more than him that these people were astounded by. He gets a bad wrap for his "good ole boy" persona and his many flubs in speaking engagements and speeches while still in office.

It is disheartening to see people question his motives and actions when his motives and actions in regards to our military men and women and our wounded as well as though KIA have always been stellar and directed towards how he could best assist in recovery and showing gratitude for the sacrifices made by those he sent into combat situations. Future presidents should strive to be a little more like him than any other president we've had when it comes to his actions regarding our military.

Response by SPC David Hannaman made Jul 13 at 2015 12:11 PM

SPC David Hannaman — Mon, 13 Jul 2015 12:11:10 -0400

I see two sides to the argument:
1. If a carpenter was hired to build a stage for the event, would we expect him to donate his time? Doesn't he have every right to charge a fair price for his services, and a responsibility to provide for his family? The former President's presence most likely contributed greatly to the raising of 2.5 times what was raised the previous year.

2. It would have been nice if he would have donated his time to a good cause, (that he has spent a long time cultivating at least the image of supporting) but that wouldn't have made the news would it?

Response by SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter made Nov 21 at 2017 9:55 PM

SSgt Harvey "Skip" Porter — Tue, 21 Nov 2017 21:55:40 -0500

Well its not surprising he is a Politician that's what they do fabricate how much they care about Veterans then they screw us. This is nothing new from them.

Peace!