Not So Swift (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Takes Side of the Swift Boat Vets! WE'RE BREAKING THROUGH!)

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette ^ | 8/15/04 | Jack Kelly

[KentTrappedInLiberalSeattle]

Accepting the Democratic nomination for vice president, John Edwards said of John Kerry, "If you have any question of what he is made of, just spend three minutes with the men who served with him then." The Democratic National Committee is trying hard to keep you from spending a minute with most of the sailors who served with Kerry during his abbreviated tour in Vietnam, because they have unflattering things to say. The DNC is threatening to sue television stations which run a commercial produced by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

Of the 23 officers who served with Kerry in Coastal Division 11, only one supports him for president. Two others are dead, and four want nothing to do with politics. The remaining 16 have declared him "Unfit for Command," the title of the book written by former Lt. John O'Neill, who took over Kerry's swift boat, PCF-94, when Kerry left Vietnam.

[basil]

Well, this is one break in the media silence re the Swift Boat personnel and their view of of Kerry. Let's hope that others will soon follow.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Burgh'

[TheGeezer]

I'm not familiar with Kelly. Is he conservative?

[buzzyboop]

No, afraid not. Mr. Kelly has a slightly more consevative voice, and is thus a token only. It's a direct result of the competition from the Trib.

[rmgatto]

Is this the paper that the "shove it" guy works for? If so, this will be dismissed as a product of Richard Scaife and the VRWC.

[syriacus]

Nice thread!! Thanks for posting this.

[FormerACLUmember]

This was the newspaper that Charlatan Kerry's psycho-hag billionaire wife told to go "shove it" if I am not mistake.

They have the best investigative reporting and the most interesting editorial pages in PA.

[Viet-Boat-Rider]

A die-hard LIB friend of mine gave me the following "excuase" for Kerry regarding the Swift Vet issue.

Setting aside the fact that the Swift Boat vets is a group started and funded by a rich Texas Republican there may be pieces or truth in their story. The main facts remain clear.

Kerry was there, he lived it. He was there longer than the 4 months he spent on the swift boat, it was not pretty duty, the average on a swift was about 6 months. I’m sure he did things he was, and was not proud of. Where were you and what were you doing when you were that age?

We know where Mr. Bush was, or at least we know where he was supposed to be. You want to judge that character. You would call Kerry a drunken coward for that, does it fit?

As far as what Kerry did when he got back. I don’t know if any of you know anyone who was there and in the shit, but I do. I’ve sat next to a friend on a bar stool and after enough rounds passed by had him turn to me and say “you wouldn’t believe some of the shit we did and were ordered to do. I had it easy running the 50 out of the huey, we’d hit a village and it didn’t matter who was down there. They said hit it and we did, then we got the hell out of there and I didn’t have to see it. Some of those bastards on the ground, they were just sick”. Then he killed his drink, said he had to go and wouldn’t look at me as he got up and left. We never talked about it again.

I don’t blame most of them. They were kids caught up in the evil of the situation. But there were some who really crossed the line. And others who were not controlling the situation and in some cases were encouraging it. They should have been held accountable.

Kerry went, and he believed what he saw there was wrong. When he got back he backed that up with action. The fact that some of his harshest critics were giving orders at the time isn’t a big surprise.

That’s more character than Junior has displayed in his entire life. The high point in is character parade being when he gave up the bottle when his wife threatened to leave him.

I feel sorry for him regarding the amount of facts I can respond with. I doesn't matter though. This guy would rather die than not vote Dem.

[annyokie]

You are thinking of the Tribune-Review.

[Viet-Boat-Rider]

oops italics quit for some reason.

[jjmcgo]

No, this is the other Pittsburgh newspaper, the Post-Gazette. Scaife owns the Tribune-Review where Colin "Shove It" McNickle works.

[claudiustg]

Mama T should have been nicer to that newspaper boy! Neither Mama T or Johnyboy are all that likable and that's a big minus when the scandals hit.

[fuzzthatwuz]

Good post! The last paragraph pretty much says it all.

"Kerry could clear up much of the confusion if he would authorize release of all his military records. His failure to do so suggests there may be something he doesn't want Americans to know."

[cake_crumb]

VERY good editorial and bad news for the Kerry Kampaign. Thanks for posting.

[nmh]

"Kerry could clear up much of the confusion if he would authorize release of all his military records. His failure to do so suggests there may be something he doesn't want Americans to know."

He won't. Just like the pathological liar Clinton wouldn't release any records.

[martin_fierro]

	It's a 'Burgh Thing.TM
Send FReepmail if you want on/off BPT list
Learn Pittsburghese!

"To put it in terms they can understand, imagine if Dick Cheney campaigned for the presidency on the basis of his time at Halliburton, and a majority of the Halliburton board and 80 percent of the stockholders declared he was unfit for office."

[BigBobber]

Ask your Democrat friend these questions when he compares Kerry's military record to Bush's:

1) Did he vote for Bush the Elder (Decorated combat pilot) or Clinton?

2) Did he vote for Dole (decorated war hero) or Clinton?

These questions will shut them up fast.

[OpusatFR]

Again, they have no response to the charges made against Kerry. The left is all emotional blather and no substance.

[Viet-Boat-Rider]

Bigger,

Of COURSE he voted for Clinton, and he just HATES having to argue in support of military charactor.

Thanks for your advice.