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Ann Coulter - File under: 'Omission Accomplished'
townhall.com ^ | 2/19/04 | Ann Coulter

Posted on 02/18/2004 11:51:42 PM PST by kattracks

Liberals are hopping mad about last week's column. Amid angry insinuations that I "lied" about Sen. Max Cleland, I was attacked on the Senate floor by Sen. Jack Reed, Molly Ivins called my column "error-ridden," and Al Hunt called it a "lie." Joe Klein said I was the reason liberals were being hysterical about George Bush's National Guard service.

I would have left it at one column, but apparently Democrats want to go another round. With their Clintonesque formulations, my detractors make it a little difficult to know what "lie" I'm supposed to be contesting, but they are clearly implying – without stating – that Cleland lost his limbs in combat.

It is simply a fact that Max Cleland was not injured by enemy fire in Vietnam. He was not in combat, he was not – as Al Hunt claimed – on a reconnaissance mission, and he was not in the battle of Khe Sanh, as many others have implied. He picked up an American grenade on a routine noncombat mission and the grenade exploded.

In Cleland's own words: "I didn't see any heroism in all that. It wasn't an act of heroism. I didn't know the grenade was live. It was an act of fate." That is why Cleland didn't win a Purple Heart, which is given to those wounded in combat. Liberals are not angry because I "lied"; they're angry because I told the truth.

I wouldn't press the point except that Democrats have deliberately "sexed up" the circumstances of Cleland's accident in the service of slandering the people of Georgia, the National Guard and George Bush. Cleland has questioned Bush's fitness for office because he served in the National Guard but did not go to Vietnam.

And yet the poignant truth of Cleland's own accident demonstrates the commitment and bravery of all members of the military who come into contact with ordnance. Cleland's injury was of the routine variety that occurs whenever young men and weapons are put in close proximity – including in the National Guard.

But it is a vastly more glorious story to claim that Cleland was injured by enemy fire rather than in a freak accident. So after Saxby Chambliss beat Cleland in the 2002 Georgia Senate race, liberals set to work developing a carefully crafted myth about Cleland's accident. Among many other examples, last November, Eric Boehlert wrote in Salon: "[D]uring the siege of Khe Sanh, Cleland lost both his legs and his right hand to a Viet Cong grenade."

Sadly for them, dozens and dozens of newspapers have already printed the truth. Liberals simply can't grasp the problem Lexis-Nexis poses to their incessant lying. They ought to stick to their specialty – hysterical overreaction. The truth is not their forte.

One of the most detailed accounts of Cleland's life was written by Jill Zuckman in a lengthy piece for the Boston Globe Sunday magazine on Aug. 3, 1997:

Finally, the battle at Khe Sanh was over. Cleland, 25 years old, and two members of his team were now ordered to set up a radio relay station at the division assembly area, 15 miles away. The three gathered antennas, radios and a generator and made the 15-minute helicopter trip east. After unloading the equipment, Cleland climbed back into the helicopter for the ride back. But at the last minute, he decided to stay and have a beer with some friends. As the helicopter was lifting off, he shouted to the pilot that he was staying behind and jumped several feet to the ground.

Cleland hunched over to avoid the whirring blades and ran. Turning to face the helicopter, he caught sight of a grenade on the ground where the chopper had perched. It must be mine, he thought, moving toward it. He reached for it with his right arm just as it exploded, slamming him back and irreparably altering his plans for a bright, shining future.

Interestingly, all news accounts told the exact same story for 30 years – including that Cleland had stopped to have beer with friends when the accident occurred (a fact that particularly irked Al Hunt).

"He told the pilot he was going to stay awhile. Maybe have a few beers with friends. ... Then Cleland looked down and saw a grenade. Where'd that come from? He walked toward it, bent down, and crossed the line between before and after." (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Dec. 5, 1999)

"[Cleland] didn't step on a land mine. He wasn't wounded in a firefight. He couldn't blame the Viet Cong or friendly fire. The Silver Star and Bronze Star medals he received only embarrassed him. He was no hero. He blew himself up." (Baltimore Sun, Oct. 24, 1999)

"Cleland was no war hero, but his sacrifice was great. ... Democratic Senate candidate Max Cleland is a victim of war, not a casualty of combat. He lost three limbs on a long-forgotten hill near Khe Sanh because of some American's mistake ..." (Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Sept. 29, 1996)

The story started to change only last year when the Democrats began citing Cleland's lost Senate seat as proof that Republicans hate war heroes. Indeed, until the myth of Republicans attacking Cleland for his lack of "patriotism" became central to the Democrats' narrative against George Bush, Cleland spoke only honorably and humbly about his accident. "How did I become a war hero?" he said to the Boston Globe reporter in 1997. "Simple. The grenade went off."

Cleland even admitted that, but for his accident, he would have "probably been some frustrated history teacher, teaching American government at some junior college." (OK, I got that wrong: I said he'd probably be a pharmacist.)

Cleland's true heroism came after the war, when he went on to build a productive life for himself. That is a story of inspiration and courage. He shouldn't let the Democrats tarnish an admirable life by "sexing up" his record in order to better attack George Bush.

Ann Coulter is host of AnnCoulter.org, a Townhall.com member group.

©2003 Universal Press Syndicate

Contact Ann Coulter | Read Coulter's biography



TOPICS: Editorial; News/Current Events; Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: anncoulter; maxcleland
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1 posted on 02/18/2004 11:51:43 PM PST by kattracks
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To: kattracks

2 posted on 02/18/2004 11:55:47 PM PST by SAMWolf (Terrorists are vulnerable to silver bullets... and any other bullets.)
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To: kattracks
Don't mess with Annie, she'll fry your bacon.
3 posted on 02/18/2004 11:57:47 PM PST by MissAmericanPie
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To: SAMWolf
nice Annie post
4 posted on 02/19/2004 12:05:32 AM PST by XHogPilot
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To: MissAmericanPie
Wow!

I love this truth teller.....Go Ann

5 posted on 02/19/2004 12:12:01 AM PST by BARLF
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To: kattracks
[Liberals simply can't grasp the problem Lexis-Nexis poses to their incessant lying. They ought to stick to their specialty – hysterical overreaction.]

LOL! Go get 'em Annie!

6 posted on 02/19/2004 12:14:39 AM PST by Mad_Tom_Rackham (Any day you wake up is a good day.)
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To: SAMWolf
I'd like the tee-shirt version of that!
Great post!
7 posted on 02/19/2004 12:15:27 AM PST by Lancey Howard
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To: kattracks
My mission in life is to marry Ann. I don't care how much older she is than I.
8 posted on 02/19/2004 12:17:40 AM PST by Crazieman
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To: kattracks
Methinks she set some liberals up for this one. I never took Ann for a Chess player.
9 posted on 02/19/2004 12:18:28 AM PST by Spiff (Don't believe everything you think.)
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To: kattracks
If I am not mistaken
this is the third time this has been posted tonight.
But that's OK.
I don't mind reading it again.
10 posted on 02/19/2004 12:20:22 AM PST by Allan
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To: Crazieman
We shall Duel for her! I got dibs already.
11 posted on 02/19/2004 12:32:12 AM PST by wadeintothem (www.NoJohnKerry.org - Stop Hanoi John!)
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To: kattracks
"[Cleland] didn't step on a land mine. He wasn't wounded in a firefight. He couldn't blame the Viet Cong or friendly fire. The Silver Star and Bronze Star medals he received only embarrassed him. He was no hero. He blew himself up." (Baltimore Sun, Oct. 24, 1999)

SAaaaayyyy? Didn't Kerry put himself up for the same medals?

12 posted on 02/19/2004 12:33:51 AM PST by fella
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To: kattracks
The GOP need better access and a better strategy for the American media.

The messages of Ann, Rush and Mark cut through the ether and impact.

The rest of the GOP messages seem to bounce off the outer atmosphere, or burn up before they are ever heard.
13 posted on 02/19/2004 12:43:00 AM PST by Stallone (Guess who Al Qaeda wants to be President?)
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To: kattracks
The last paragraph is priceless. I hope Cleland reads it. I pray it will resonate with him.
14 posted on 02/19/2004 12:57:14 AM PST by CyberAnt (The 2004 Election is for the SOUL of AMERICA)
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To: kattracks
bump
15 posted on 02/19/2004 1:19:07 AM PST by lainde (Heads up...We're coming and we've got tongue blades!!)
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To: kattracks
If Robert Novak wasn't such a weenie, he'd make Ann a regular on that sorry Saturday show of his with Al Hunt, Mark Sheilds, and that awful Margaret Carlson. Can't ever remember the name of thing, since I quit watching it years ago.
16 posted on 02/19/2004 1:30:37 AM PST by onyx (Your secrets are safe with me and all my friends.)
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To: kattracks; Ann Coulter
WOW! Ann says it like it is!

LIBERALS can't handle the truth!
17 posted on 02/19/2004 2:02:24 AM PST by Las Vegas Dave
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To: Las Vegas Dave
Odd that Algore wasnt made out to be a Nam war hero. He was there but even the worst flaming libs knew he was a way behind the lines senator's son. Otherwise they would have claimed he singlehandedly conquered the Ho Chi Minh trail.
18 posted on 02/19/2004 2:21:23 AM PST by doosee
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To: onyx
The Capital Gang
19 posted on 02/19/2004 2:22:24 AM PST by Fledermaus (Be careful who you are posting to...It could be a Moby tweaking you with lies!)
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To: kattracks
I'm glad Ann wrote this column.

Then:

There was no bravery involved in dropping a grenade on himself with no enemy troops in sight.

Now:

And yet the poignant truth of Cleland's own accident demonstrates the commitment and bravery of all members of the military who come into contact with ordnance.

Then:

But he didn't "give his limbs for his country," or leave them "on the battlefield."

Now:

... and he was not in the battle of Khe Sanh ...

He picked up an American grenade on a routine noncombat mission and the grenade exploded.

Let's be clear about this. He was in the battle of Khe Sanh, Operation Pegasus, in which combat operations were on-going when Cleland earned his Silver Star, and later when he was injured. He was not injured in combat.

More here

20 posted on 02/19/2004 2:48:20 AM PST by optimistically_conservative (This tagline recently seen at Taglinus FreeRepublicus)
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