Posted on 08/15/2004 11:28:42 AM PDT by Roscoe Karns
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWS SERVICE
A group of Vietnam veterans that is challenging Sen. John Kerry's claims of heroic war service says it received a flood of donations in recent days after advertising its contentions on television in three states.
The group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said it hoped to use the money to monitor Kerry's campaign travels and run ads in cities where he appears.
"That's our goal," said John E. O'Neill, a Houston attorney who's one of the group's leaders and co-author of Unfit to Command, a 251-page book being distributed by Regnery Publishing house. The book quotes Navy veterans as saying Kerry distorted his record as a river boat commander in Vietnam's Mekong Delta in 1968 to 1969.
Democrats have said the group is nothing but a Republican hit squad determined to besmirch their candidate.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is registered with the Federal Election Commission as a so-called 527 organization, not affiliated with any party. It got off the ground with a $100,000 donation from Texas homebuilder Bob J. Perry, a prominent Republican donor.
Roy F. Hoffman, a retired admiral and chairman of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said the first TV ad, which ran for one week in Ohio, Wisconsin and West Virginia at a cost of $550,000, got so much national news attention that it generated an additional $400,000 from 8,000 donors around the country.
"We are putting together the second ad," said Hoffman, 78, of Richmond, Va. As a Navy captain in 1968 and 1969, Hoffman commanded a unit of 1,650 sailors that included Kerry as a lieutenant.
Hoffman said the unit, known as Task Force 115, included about 16 swift boats and their crews, which patrolled the delta looking for Viet Cong and other enemy fighters.
"I knew Kerry pretty well," he said. "I did not ride his boat, but we operated very close together. ... I can't say I was a personal friend or buddy-buddy, but I sure knew him ... and I never felt he had the qualifications."
Kerry has made his war service the centerpiece of his campaign for president. His supporters include men who served on his boat, including a former Green Beret who said Kerry rescued him from the water while under fire.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth first gained public attention in May when its leaders -- including men who served on boats near Kerry's -- called a news conference at the National Press Club in Washington.
Hoffman said the group is not connected to the Republican Party. He said he hasn't been politically involved since leaving the Navy in 1978. Yes, he said, the group had taken cash donations from Republicans. But that became necessary, he said, because the news conference received little attention on network television and in national newspapers.
The group concluded that it needed to buy its own TV ad, he said. And that required money. Hoffman said of Perry: "We had our hand out, and he put money in it. ... As far as I'm concerned, he's a wealthy construction person. If he owns the money legally, I'm all for it."
The group reported $158,000 in donations as of June 30, its latest filing with the election commission.
Donors as of that date included O'Neill and Texas real estate developer Harlan Crow, also a Republican contributor. Each of them gave $25,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics, a Washington non-profit that tracks political donations.
Current advisers include Creative Response Concepts, a public relations firm in Arlington, Va., that Mike Russell, a spokesman, said has done work for the Republican Party and "conservative-oriented causes."
When contributing by check, please include your occupation and employer. Checks should be made payable to "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth."
www.SwiftVets.com
"But that became necessary, he said, because the news conference received little attention on network television and in national newspapers."
Boy is that ever the truth. They just thought - hoped - they would go away and nothing would come of it.
.....the group is nothing but a Republican hit squad.....
They misunderestimate their foe. The antiwar wussies have riled real warriors who are conducting a very successful guerilla campaign to kill, not besmirtch.
These are not sensitive half or quarter measures. These are for real, for all the marbles, for death of the campaign.
They are successful and the defense is incapable of repelling the attacks. The whites of their eyes are clearly visible.
BUMP
BUMP
AND
MORE BUMP TTT
Just wondering.Why include your occupation and employer when contributing by check?
Why don't they make a comment like that with anti-Bush ads, such as George Soros donated a Million, or Teresa Heinz Kerry's company funnelled money from here to there to finance political ads.
They asked the same on the web page. I guess it is a way of making sure that if too many contribution come in from a single employer they will have to double check to make sure they are willing donations, I dont know. I listed mine as a military parent.
---The group, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said it hoped to use the money to monitor Kerry's campaign travels and run ads in cities where he appears.---
Didn't Grant say, "Everywhere Lee goes, there I will be"?
Could be.They're a good bunch,so I bet they have a good reason for asking.
> Just wondering.Why include your occupation and
> employer when contributing by check?
Because too many law firms send in max-allowed checks in
the name of each and every employee, and often the emp
doesn't even know. The FEC looks for the fingerprints of
this game.
#3 - Very well put!
Campaign donation reports require this info everywhere- even for small town elections. I did paperwork for local Supervisor race. BTW- these reports are PUBLIC papers, and sometimes it is really interesting reading just who is contributing to your opposition candidates. We did, and it was VVEERRRY interesting. Vocally, local movers & shakers said one thing, but the donation and expenditures reports told a different story.
I have seen lists of donors and it seems germane. If I notice a bunch of civil servants are contributors to something I certainly become suspicious.
Made another contribution.
You have to do the same thing if you contribute by credit card on their website. I suspect it has something to with the tax and political contribution laws, although I wonder about the occupation part myself. Employer I can sort of understand, they want to be sure some corporation or partnership isn't "laundering" contributions through it's employees. By why it matters if you sweep the floor, design the products or keep the books, I haven't a clue.
Not one Sunday Talking Heads show mentioned this that I am aware of. Anyone correct me if I am wrong.
I attempted to leave it blank when I made my online contribution and I was unable to proceed until it was complete. I am a housewife.
From the Privacy Policy:
Legislation signed into law in 2000 requires that groups organized under code section 527, which Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is, file regular reports with the IRS that detail their contributions and expenditures. We must identify the name and address of contributors of $200 or more. If the donor is a person, we must also ask for the employer and occupation of that individual. Other than as required by law, we do not disclose this information to any other third parties.
Kerry... the one-hit wonder.
Stick, fork, through.
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