Posted on 03/23/2004 11:10:18 PM PST by quidnunc
Over the past week, the New York Sun and the Kansas City Star have been reporting another unsavory story about John Kerry's antiwar past. Witnesses and FBI meeting minutes conclusively place Kerry at an event he has always denied attending: The November 1971 meeting of Vietnam Veterans Against the War (VVAW) in Kansas City, in which a plan to assassinate pro-war senators was discussed. How seriously the plan was debated is in dispute; some veterans say it was nothing more than "guys ticked off and talking big at midnight," while others remember a bitter confrontation over the idea. All agree, however, that Kerry was not involved in the discussions and would never have approved of such a plan.
Nevertheless, the Kerry campaign is eager to distance itself from one of VVAW's most notorious episodes. Now that the evidence of his attendance is overwhelming, the campaign is trying to chalk up its earlier denials to faulty memory. Late last week Kerry spokesman David Wade conceded that Kerry had been there, but clung to the contention that the senator simply didn't remember the meeting. Wade's description of the Kansas City meeting as a "historical footnote" was too clever by half — if the meeting and Kerry's attendance really were footnotes, the campaign would never have cared about the story in the first place.
On Monday, the Sun reported on a former VVAW member who claims Kerry operatives urged him to change his story about Kerry's presence in Kansas City. John Musgrave, a Marine who earned three Purple Hearts in Vietnam, claims that John Hurley, head of Veterans for Kerry, asked him to call back the Star reporter he had spoken with and "tell him you were wrong." Hurley insists he only asked Musgrave "to be very sure of his recollection." Apparently this simple instruction required two phone calls to impart.
The Kansas City story has emerged at the same time that the FBI has revealed it conducted surveillance on Kerry during 1971 and 1972, when he was rising to fame as an antiwar spokesman. The FBI monitored the Kansas City meeting as well, though it's not clear if it picked up the chatter about assassination plots. When informed of the FBI story recently, Kerry unleashed his practiced moral indignation, harumphing about civil liberties and the sad abuses of power of the Hoover-era FBI: "I'm surprised by [the] extent of it. I'm offended by the intrusiveness of it. And I'm disturbed that it was all conducted absent of some showing of any legitimate probable cause [italics mine]. It's an offense to the Constitution. It's out of order." Then the Kerry campaign trotted out more of its defiant, desperate macho, claiming that the FBI revelation was "a badge of honor."
-snip-
(Excerpt) Read more at spectator.org ...
Another question that comes to mind is whether Kerry felt any obligation to report the plot to authorities. Under certain conditions, knowing about such a plan — even a plan that was probably half-baked at best — and not reporting it could be a crime in itself. Gerald Nicosia, the author of Home to War, a largely positive treatment of the VVAW, absolves Kerry of any responsibility: "I think if the thing ever got off the ground, Kerry would do something to stop it." Still, it would be worthwhile for someone to ask Kerry directly, if only because Kerry would provide at least two answers to choose from.
(Don't worry, Hellary is ready to rescue the 'rats.)
Good lord, he is an insufferable nancyboy.
He reminds me of Stinky from the old Abbott and Costello show.
OK .. let me see if I have this right ..
Having an FBI file on you regarding an assassination plot against U.S. Senator is a a badge of honor???
"I want to say one thing to the American people. I want you to listen to me. I did not have assassination relations with that group, the VVAW," he said.
Mr Kerry's face was red and his voice was shaking as he spoke to the assembled media at the Idaho Ski Lodge.
With a raised clenched fist, Mr Kerry went on: "I never told anyone to lie, not a single time, never. These allegations are false and I need to go back to campaigning for the American people."
You are kidding right? He only served 4 months, got three purple hearts and spent no time in the hospital? Do you have a source on this? Seriously, do you have a link to detail on service time, purple heart qualifying injuries?
"http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1071981/posts"
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.