Posted on 08/06/2004 8:44:31 AM PDT by Conservative Coulter Fan
Last night, Fox News Commentator Bill O’Reilly launched a broadside on a new blistering Television Commercial produced by Swift Boat Veterans for Truth saying that sharply criticized Kerry’s service in Vietnam. Literally, the first words out of his mouth were about the “brutal attack ad” and he introduced the segment about the ad that “savagely attacked” Kerry. He kept up his endless denunciation by saying that he promised to deliver the “fairest election coverage” and said he covered left wing slander and now this ad as if to say it is right wing slander.
Bill O’Reilly, if my recollection serves me correct, has taken a position a while back saying he wouldn’t allow anyone or any information about Kerry’s role as the leader of the radical pro-communist VVAW, his connection to Jane Fonda, his bogus Winter Soldier Investigation, his testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971 or anything else to be aired on his program. Yet, Bill O’Reilly can have Douglas Brinkley, Kerry’s authorized biographer, and author of “Tour of Duty” come on and paint a glowing portrait of Kerry. This is what he means by “fair and balanced.”
Of course he has allowed Democrats to come on his program and make their argument that President Bush went AWOL from the Texas Air National Guard. The whole assertion that Bush was AWOL has been refuted, but the fact remains that he allowed such claims to be aired and when it come to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth – O’Reilly was all style and no substance.
He said that facts are that John Kerry volunteered to serve in Vietnam and that he had a Silver Star, Bronze Star, and three Purple Hearts. If he had paid attention to what the group was saying he would know that Kerry received the Bronze Star for killing a lone teenage VC and burning down a village. I recall in the Boston Globe that Kerry reportedly shot a wounded VC in the back. O’Neil says in ‘Unfit to Command’ that it was awarded two days after the incident, it wasn’t vetted by review, and it was designed to boost morale.
Odell was on Hannity and Colmes explaining that Rasmussen wasn’t pulled by Kerry from the water under fire, but that four people were in the water due to a boat hitting a mine and that his boat had picked up two of those people. Kerry had gotten the Bronze Star for this and Rasmussen has been following Kerry almost everywhere beating his drum.
Then there are the Purple Hearts. John Kerry was on a training mission and he fired either a mortar or a rocket at some rocks on shore and a piece of shrapnel ricocheted hitting him in the arm. The doctor pulls it out and puts a band aid on – the Kennedy Family writes a letter and he gets a Purple Heart for a self-inflicted wound requiring a band aid. The he attacks a flotilla that was carrying rice – I suppose that dangerous rice wounded him somehow – second Purple Heart. The third wasn’t related to enemy fire either.
So Bill O’Reilly needs to do his homework a little better before he talks about how “awful” it is with guest Dick Morris. One only wonders why he didn’t allow the group to defend itself or the ad. Dick Morris, not surprisingly, says the ad is “stupid” and dangerous.” O’Reilly continued his righteous indignation saying that he condemned the Left. What is awful or stupid about Veterans that served in Coastal Division 11 telling us the truth about Kerry and his service in Vietnam? It seems all we got from O’Reilly were these emotional attacks while Morris pondered the elusive connection between the group and the Republican Party.
He had the audacity to say that Rasmussen is unimpeachable, but I say to the contrary. He’s been out there on the campaign trail helping the Kerry Campaign sell Kerry as a “war hero.” He’s a willing political whore. Now we have accounts by Veterans, Kerry’s fellow officers, which contradict the account given about Kerry saving his life. Why isn’t that unimpeachable? Bill O’Reilly didn’t do his homework.
Dick Morris held the contention that you don’t attack Kerry on his “strongest suit.” Well, if what Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is saying is true – then the centerpiece of Kerry’s campaign becomes his weakest. My goodness, he has relied on this to inoculate himself against any criticism that he is weak on defense. I was outraged that he said no one is interested, because I’m immensely interested. What I wasn’t interested in was this circle jerk between O’Reilly and Morris trashing the Ad.
This ad will effect how people vote – showing Kerry is a liar and that his service was dishonorable and he didn’t earn those medals. Interestingly enough, Kerry said in a 1971 interview that he gave his medals back, but then he flip-flopped in 1984, 1988, 1996, 2003, and 2004 with evolving stories that he gave his ribbons back and those medals weren’t his and it is an issue “instigated by the republicans.” The 1971 footage blew him out of the water, but now he wants to highlight the medals he supposedly threw away or “gave back.”
I urge everyone to email Bill O’Reilly and fulfill his prediction that he would get tons of angry email from right wingers who think this sort of attack is okay.
Thank you for your service but Jimmy Carter ran to the right of Gerald Ford, the worst kind of liberal rino in 1976. Ronald Reagan narely lost to Ford in the GOP primary that year and to get even, we Reagan Democrats of the era, particularly in the south, voted for Carter.
Four years later we voted for a real conservative and then changed parties.
Looks like the Boston Globe did not tell the truth, not Captain Elliot.
The so-called "retraction" dated August 6, 2004 <-- Mash here
Paragraph 3 "In support of the advertisment, I provided an affidavit dated July 21, 2004. I wholly reaffirm that affidavit with the following immaterial clarification as to the final sentence only. In that sentence, I state '. . . in connection with his Silver Star, I was never informed that he had simply shot a wounded, fleeing Viet Cong in the back.' That statement is wholly true. As the affidavit makes clear, I received no such report.
Linked to www.hundredpercenter.com
O'Bloviate is too obviously biased toward the middle. He purports to make his living by pointing out the absurdity of the extreme left and the extreme right. The problem is, the extreme left is far more active, numerous, and illogical. In addition, it has captured one of our two major political parties. Thus, O'Bloviate, in an attempt to appear centered, must overreact to anything done by those who are at least to the right of Joseph Stalin.
Good evening, pod. I now understand what the phrase "the silence was deafening" means. My wife and I were basically screaming at the TV for Sean to calm her down a little.
TOTAL BS. Elliott has already gone on the record stating it was total dim fabrication, not misquotes, not misunderstanding, TOTAL FABRICATION by a "reporter for the Glob" who just happened to be an ex'dim employee. Check it out.
amen
you need to keep up sink.
I happen to think they matter to off set the 95% dem media....that matters to me.
Hannity and Liddy and Rush are the only ones giving the Swifties a fair shake.....Gibson too.
Now the rest of the media spends months over W's Alabama NG records.
i loike seeing Kerry take heat.
I loike puppies and kittens.
That will also make no difference in this race.
People keeping up with the actual facts of the news? Are you kidding?
W. is going to lose and not for the far left's hatred but for the fact the so-called conservative movement has as many morons that can't think for themselves amongst it as do the Dems.
Face it, since about 1988 the average voter has gotten increasingly more stupid. And "conservatives" these days seem to live and die by the "one issue" and can't see the forest for the trees. Unlike the Dems that walk through life with blinders on as long as you mouth the right words.
I still watch, occasionally, and was surprised at the attack on the Swiftvets ad.
Then again, he was relentless on that private party "prom" a while back, and never followed through on those scummy lawyers in Kali.
Anyway, H&C probably lost viewers with that atrocious performance of Susan Estrich. (and the unending updates
of Scott Peterson. "...and Geragos' nuance today...") )
O'Reilly and Glenn Beck both seem to have some kind of issue...with the truth.
Republicans begin to fight back and everyone whines...
Screw them. The gloves are off...The truth hurts.
I already mailed OREilly and I hope he chokes on the email he gets, but he doesn't read it his staff does. He has probably hired some good looking, fast talking liberal female and he is running with her opinion. I quit watching him 2 yrs ago, he's just trying to get ratings...so don't give him ANY....we need all republicans to drop OReilly...period.
You can't run a show without ratings, its OReilly's time to go! He is over edge anyway. In beginning he seemed fair and balanced, but I guess since he went to the Grand Canyon with his old liberal camping buddies, he's gone Kerry. The pressure of WMD did him in, he couldn't see bigger picture of WHY we had to go to Iraq.
People like OReilly have only one candidate and that's themselves...and whoever can give him ratings. WE can only affect him by NOT turning him on, even if we go there to check out his idiocy...we give him ratings. So we make choice whether he stays or goes by watching or NOT WATCHING.
NOT WATCHING is my choice. He could care less about emails.
The purpose of the ADS are to open the eyes of ALL voters, so they can get the information on Kerry. There are republicans thinking of voting for Kerry based on issues like healthcare, and legalization of marijuana. They think he is OK since he served in Vietnam. SO that issue must be dealt with to show he is liar, and the other issues are only campaign promises (healthcare was used by Clinton and not done).
NO media...NBC< ABC< MSNBC OR FOX would bring out these issues openly, the ADS were done by the VETS WHO HAD THE TRUTH, and the book, in order to inform the public who were being BLASTED by KERRY's war record. I agree with the ADS, how else could they have got the information out???
And yes, hind-sight is always 20:20. However, O'Reilly lost the offensive at that point which is something no talk show host should do, and he failed to regain it.
Tony Snow covered for O'Reilly last night. I did not watch. How did Snow handle the vets?
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