Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth Formally Disband.

Right In A Left World ^ | June 20, 2008 | Lew Waters

[DakotaRed]

Early in the 2004 presidential campaign, a group of over 250 Combat Tested and Highly Decorated Viet Nam Veterans banded together with one goal in mind, stop one of their own from ever attaining the highest office in the land.

Initially ignored as a mere nuisance, the group persevered and their words of betrayal by Senator John F. Kerry upon his return from a short 4 month tour in Viet Nam, versus the more regular 12 month or longer, began to spread.

Other Veterans of Viet Nam and other conflicts began to hear of the groups words and migrated to their website and discussion forum. We either recalled when Senator Kerry threw every Viet Nam Veteran under the bus with his outrageous lies of our conduct and actions, or were just learning who the lieutenant we had heard of doing this actually was, and now, he wanted our support for the highest office in the land.

As the group’s popularity grew and more and more Americans took notice of them, the slander by the left and the Kerry campaign began and continue down to this day. Charges were leveled and ignored by the campaign as he enlisted his minions to attack the guys any way they could, save physically.

They were slandered as a GOP Front Group. Senator John McCain, now seeking the presidency, called their ads “dishonest and despicable.” President Bush called upon all such groups to cease. Still, the small band of Veterans pursued their goals, spreading the truth about John Kerry and his traitorous conduct after a scant 4 months in Viet Nam.

John O’Neill, the group’s spokesman and a Democrat up until this election, was shouted down in TV appearances and called “LIAR” continually by outraged liberals who could not refute or discuss the charges made by the Veterans.

Ted Kopel, of Nightline, even went so far as to travel to Viet Nam and interview former Viet Cong and Communist North Vietnamese to dispute American Veterans charging a political opportunist with his treasonous and treacherous activities.

The group was shortly joined by a group of former American Prisoners of War, held many years by the North Vietnamese Communists and who recalled hearing John Kerry’s words being used against them by their captors, in an effort to break their will and join the Communists in condemning American Soldiers fighting for the Vietnamese People in South Viet Nam. Two of that group were awarded the Congressional Medal of Honor for their heroism, the highest Military Award in the United States Military.

They too were not saved from the wrath of the leftist supporting Democrats and Kerry.

Still, the small group kept on and received donations from all over the country, large and small. Donations from wealthier Republicans brought charges of a “Republican funded hate group” by leftists as they ignored the massive donations made to leftist groups in support of the Democrats and Kerry, such as Moveon.org.

In the end, the groups efforts paid off as Kerry’s lies caught up with him and enough questions were asked and went unanswered to convince American voters that Kerry was indeed, “Unfit For Command” and voters rejected him.

Stung by a true grassroots campaign of ordinary American Veterans, the slander and lies against the group continued. Kerry made excuses and his supporters adopted the mantra that all of the charges made by the Swift Boat veterans and POWS for Truth were “disproved,” never offering any substantiation of their claims.

To counter any future efforts by the group, they coined the term “Swiftboating” to indicate unfair charges and lies against their cronies, when if factually defined means, "Exposing the lies, deceit and fraud of self-glorifying public officials or candidates for public office who exaggerate their military service by lying about feats of heroism or combat wounds." They cry about how wrong it is and was to “slander” a “war hero” like Kerry, totally ignoring that their every word slandered hundreds of Honorable and Decorated Veterans whose only goal was to get Americans the Truth.

Some paid dearly by losing their jobs and facing charges. Harassment lawsuits were filed by friends of Kerry, he keeping his distance so as to make it look impersonal, when it was obvious he was directing their moves. Once requests for made for deposing these friends under oath were filed, charges were dropped, but not after running up legal fees against the group.

Democrats even went so far as to file charges against them with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for wrongfully registering as a 527 group instead of a Political Committee, the group and the FEC settling the issue with a fine, which also included other groups like MoveOn.org and the League of Conservation Voters.

The leftist Democrats have feared the group since they succeeded in 2004, even though they ‘stood down’ right after the elections that year. Veterans speaking out against Senator John McCain’s candidacy brought comments of the Swift Boat Veterans regrouping to attack Veterans from Democrats, when we veterans already know today’s Democrats do not honor veterans, just pander to us and treat us as victims.

Fear not, dear leftists, the Swifties have not regrouped at all, their sole job of keeping Kerry from attaining the presidency finished. They maintained a loose affiliation in case Kerry made another run, but since he hasn’t and there is no chance he will run this season, they have officially disbanded as a group.

A couple weeks ago the following silently appeared on their “latest news” section of the web site;

June 1, 2008 -- Swift Vets and POWs for Truth has formally disbanded and ceased all operations as of May 31, 2008. SwiftVets.com will continue to be maintained for historical purposes only by New American Media Online Services (NAMOS).

The group may have disbanded and ceased all operations, but they left a good lesson for all America. Common people can stand up to the power elite and make change, or defeat unfit candidates who have the favor of the media.

I have been disheartened many times as people call on the Swifties to regroup and take a stand, when it is they who should be taking the stand along with their friends. The Swifties were just common ordinary men who performed their duty in Viet Nam and when America was threatened by one of their number, even if a brief member, stood up and once again performed their duty with dignity and honor, in spite of the slander leveled against them.

They showed us that we the people do count. We can stand together and stop the liberal socialist takeover of America, but we have to commit ourselves and be subjected to the left’s hatred in return.

Still, Freedom is not Free, never has been. It costs and if we want it, we need to be prepared to pay the price.

Conservative Americans, Moderate Democrats, we outnumber the socialist left and can oppose and defeat them, if only we take a stand. We cannot look to others to do it for us any longer.

Our freedoms and liberties are at stake. President Bush, as disappointing as he may have been, isn’t the problem; the left is, as they waste our tax dollars on senseless investigations on settled and known matters. As they convince many that bans on legal conduct and restrictive punitive laws for the “good of all,” as they pervert the traditional meaning of marriage of one man, one woman, as they restrict what values we may teach our own children and as they continue disarming us, our freedoms and liberties are slowly sliding away, as their power and riches grow.

Take a stand, America. Oppose liberal socialism and reinstate conservatism. Don’t buy into the feel good lies they speak to you.

Your own fragile freedoms are at stake.

The Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth gave us an excellent example of how we can persevere. Let’s not waste it.

[angkor]

>>>>>We don’t need those swift boat hacks. They embarrass me. They should embarrass you.

Yours is one of the more profoundly ignorant posts I’ve seen on FR in a good while.

You are aware that those “hacks” were Kerry’s subordinates, peers, and commanders in Vietnam, yes?

You are aware that there are discrpancies between Kerry’s assertions in 2000, and his own diary from 1968, right?

And you know that Kerry shuttled amongst 3 commands during his entire 4 months of services in VN, correct?

Lastly did you know that that the Vietnamese language newpapers in the US saw right through Kerry’s “hero” act (they’ve been watching him for decades) and regularly called him what we will not: “phan boi”, or “traitor”.

[chopperman]

I always thought W should’ve recruited our Vietnamese immigrants into his campaign.

[angkor]

>>>>The Swifties put together a class political smear book. It had it’s efficacy in that it was influential enough to help keep Kerry from being elected.

Keeping Kerry from being elected was precisely the point, you are right about that. No one ever claimed any other purpose.

You need to devote some time to actually reading the book Unfit For Command, and then come back to address specific points if “the truth” is actually your concern.

[OESY]

We don’t need those swift boat hacks. They embarrass me.

These decorated Vietnam veterans and POWs were anything but “hacks” as you've labeled them. Ironically, using your words, your smear is hardly a class-act.

The most persistent MSM charge made against these vets were that they had not served on the same boat. Well, I can tell you that I knew and could judge fellow officers in my unit and other units whether or not I rode in the same jeep or on the same tank with them. The MSM used a false argument as other interaction can be intensive.

Kerry's conduct was scurrilously opportunistic, and thank goodness there were those with the decency and courage, despite the abuse they received from types like you, who stood up and told what they knew about this presidential contender.

It is relevant now since there is speculation in the Obama campaign that Kerry might be appointed Secretary of State.

Lest we forget:

Swift Vets Ad

.

[onedoug]

So what do you have that’s independent and reliable proof of their claims?

Kerry's own admission in it that he once took his boat out of action for an unauthorized trip to Saigon for some boom-boom. An offense for which he should have been court-martialed then, and be denied any leadership position since.

[OESY]

Lest we forget who might be our next Secretary of State:






Swift Vets ad: SELLOUT


John Kerry: Reporting for Duty


Swift Vets ad of Kerry renouncing his medals


John Kerry ad straight up lying


Other Links

.

[RightOnline]

"Typed too fast..."

...and it's a shame you didn't think faster.

I will suggest, as others on this thread have previously, that you actually READ the books you are smearing and do your own research to decide if the information is substantiated or not.

Your intellectual laziness doesn't mean that the information that came out about Kerry wasn't true. What I find most interesting, really, is your assumption that it was all just some sort of left-wing-like, baseless attack. Very telling, indeed.

[OESY]

Lest we forget who might be our next Secretary of State:







Kerry on Iraq



















"We can't drive our SUVs and eat as much as we want and keep our homes
on 72 degrees at all times ... and then just expect that other countries are going
to say OK. That's not leadership. That's not going to happen." -- Barack Obama


Bonus:


Gore on President George H. W. Bush and Iraq

.

[johnthebaptistmoore]

All the better reason to have Obama eventually pick John Kerry for his final VP choice! I seriously hope that he does. Two leftist elitists who truly deserve each other.

[hellbender]

It's too bad the Swifties didn't keep up the battle and get Kerry tried for treason; his slander of the military and collaboration with the enemy qualifies him for prosecution.

Anyway, great another group has not disbanded--at least they are still present in cyberspace:

http://communistsforkerry.com/

[TruthWillWin]

T. Boone Pickens, in his one million wager, requested all records pertaining to Kerry’s Reserve Service from 1972 to 1978. Again, nothing produced that I ever heard of.

Anyone know the status of Pickens million dollar wager?

[ConorMacNessa]

God bless the Swifties!

[angkor]

>>>>I always thought W should’ve recruited our Vietnamese immigrants into his campaign.

Perhaps. They certainly tend to side with conservatives on most issues (second only to Filipinos among immigrant groups).

But did you note the number of VN-American vets and immigrants supporting Kerry? Zero. Kerry asserts that he “speaks Vietnamese” after 4 months in VN (yeah, right), but strangely had not one single Vietnamese vet supporting him in any visible fashion.

I would be shocked if Kerry speaks more than “di” and “cam on” in Vietnamese.

[DakotaRed]

If you expect prominent Democrats or Kerry himself to endorse Swett’s book, won’t happen. However, if, as you claim, you read it, did you miss the pages of documentation at the rear for you to seek and find?

While there is nothing wrong with raising the bar, setting it beyond reach of all is a bit over the top.

Interesting that any who did endorse his book are considered “Not honest, intellectually independent conservatives with influence, but rather teeth-gnashing hacks with no actual power” by you.

I would imagine many might be a bit offended at your description of them.

But, to me, I find customer reviews from common ordinary people more reflective and with the number of 5 star reviews on the book by fellow Viet Nam Veterans, I don’t really need “honest, intellectually independent conservatives with influence,” whoever you might consider them to be.

[ContraryMary]

They did a great service on behalf of our nation. It should remind us all that the people can make a difference.

[alnick]

I wonder if McCain still thinks the Swiftees are “dishonest and dishonorable?”

I doubt he ever believed that. He just said what he felt was politically expedient at the time. The jackass.

[angkor]

this looks to be fairly thorough, meaning nothing’s happened since 11/20/2007

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swift_Boat_challenge

[rlmorel]

You are kidding me, right? What kind of substantiation do you want?

These men who served with him and in the same unit nearly unanimously banded together to warn the country of the danger of this ersatz “war hero”.

Three officers and ten enlisted men (7 or 8 of those enlisted men actually did serve on his boat at one time or another in that four months he was in Vietnam) out of hundreds and hundreds of men who served at the same time. Add to that EVERY SINGLE OFFICER in the chain above him, and EVERY SINGLE OFFICER that he served with (excepting THREE) came out vociferously against him.

Those statistics are FACTS.

These guys could have easily sat on the sideline, let the election take its course, and nobody would have said anything to them.

But being the men they are, they recognized the stain that would be imparted on, and the danger to the fabric of our country. They stood tall to serve their country once again.

As did the group of POW’s led by Col. “Bud” Day.

Kerry was a man who ACTIVELY aided the enemy in his trip to Paris and communications with them while STILL a Naval Officer, slandered his brothers in arms and was a pompous, self-serving backstabber to boot. The specifics of how he got his three purple hearts aren’t as important as his conduct while in theater.

The fact that these were three minor wounds that other more honorable men wouldn’t even have pursued medals for is one thing, but the fact that he leveraged those bogus awards to skip out early on a tour of duty to leave others to do the fighting and shedding of blood for him is a disgrace indeed.

What John Kerry did was worse than not serving. It was a form of apostasy to most who served. The antiwar people in the USA often didn’t know better, becoming involved for as many reasons as they did. But he knew better. Because he served, he should have lived up to the commissioned officer’s oath he took:

“I, John F. Kerry, do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; that I take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion; and that I will well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office on which I am about to enter. So help me God.

He did not support and defend the Constitution of the United States. He became an enemy.

He did not “bear true faith and allegiance to the same”, as history shows he went to Paris and spoke to the communists there.

He did not “take this obligation freely, without any mental reservation or purpose of evasion” as his actions clearly show.

And lastly, he did not “well and faithfully discharge the duties of the office”. If he had, he would not have left on a dishonorable technicality.

These Swift Boat Veterans, some of whom I had the privilege of meeting personally on several occasions, stood up when they had to for the good of the country, and absorbed the slander of the left as well as litigation that was brought to bear on at least one of them due to his actions, costing him his job. Their efforts to bring the actions and nature of this traitorous oathbreaker to light saved our country from a ruinous Kerry presidency.

You denigrate the “unsubstantiated smear” by the Swift Boat Vets against Kerry. Where is your characterization of the smear by Kerry against every veteran who served in Southeast Asia, and against everyone who has ever worn a uniform, by extension?

Perhaps you think the phony soldiers that were paraded in front of the Winter Soldier Investigation classify as substantiated sources?

If you are not joking, you should be apologizing for not giving these men a salute on this day instead of classifying their well founded and substantiated issues as a “smear”.

[freema]

T’wasn’t even fun while he lasted....
Toodleoo, RedWhitetAndBlue.

[freema]

RedWhitetAndBlue lived a short life at FR. He/she is gone.