SWIFT BOAT VETERANS FOR TRUTH'S INITIAL AD GENERATES $400,000 TO PAY FOR MORE AIR TIME

Lexington Herald- Leader ^ | Aug. 15, 2004 | Tom Infield

[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."

[BIGLOOK]

A TIME HONORED PROFESSION! The proud, the many, the Mom's!

[AGreatPer]

Thanks for your #57 Timmy. Glad to hear someone mentiioned this. The subject seems to have been dropped by the other networks.

[Homer_J_Simpson]

Brit Hume talked about the book forcefully this morning. Said it was a well written book where people stepped forward and made accusations publically, without hiding behind anonymous accusations. Said it was well sourced and the one item that has been investigated thoroughly, the Cambodia Christmas thing, turned out to be true and forced Kerry to retreat. He further advocated the press pay as much attention to it as they did the Bush natioinal guard thing.

A straightforward statement of truth, logic and fairness. How sad that it stands out as unique amid all the thousands of hours of sanctimonious disapproval we get from all the other lead news reporters in print and broadcast media.

[BIGLOOK]

As long as Swiftvets is unaffiliated, there's nothing to stop them. The case Swiftvets present is against Kerry the man, his character and conduct; Damn the torpedoes....

[MeekOneGOP]

John Kerry wrote his Review for "Apocalypse Now" on Oct 14, 1979 in the Boston Herald.

Here is the article in JPG format.

Thank you, thank you FreeRepublic.com !

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In the BOTTOM JPG, check out the TOP RIGHT paragraph regarding Cambodia .....

"On more than one occasion, I, like Martin Sheen in Apocalypse Now, took my patrol boat into Cambodia. In fact, I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border being shot at by our South Vietnamese allies who were drunk and celebrating Christmas. The absurdity of almost being killed by our own allies in a country in which President Nixon claimed there were no American troops was very real."

There is the lie. He NEVER WAS in Cambodia. The Swiftboat book Unfit for Command addresses that issue. And Nixon, who had WON election in November 1968, did not take office until January, 1969.

John Kerry is a LIAR! I think mostly Bush haters would vote for Kerry. I say George Bush in a landslide win November 2nd !

John Kerry's "Apocalypse Now" fantasy in Cambodia.
Great scan of 1979 newpaper article.

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Above published elsewhere:

John Kerry in Cambodia
["Apocalypse Now" Review]

Google Search "John Kerry 1968 Cambodia

[CyberAnt]

I find it extremely interesting that all the REPUBLICAN donors are NAMED .. but none of the donors to Soros' MediaFund or MoveOn.org are EVER NAMED. Why is that ..??

Maybe it's because the Soros' donors DON'T WANT TO REVEAL THEIR NAMES TO THE PUBLIC ..?? What a bunch of cowards.

[DelphiUser]

I wonder what happens when a 527 exercises their right of free speech (see http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html ) and gets slapped with this unconstitutional law, and challenges it? IMHO this law was passed to affect only this election, because it won’t last until 2008

[mwl1]

I agree more donations will continue IF the sbv's get off the medals controversy and onto Kerry's treasonous behavior after the war.

Some freepers believe all of America already knows of Kerry's anti-war behavior. The American people don't yet have a clue.

[fraidycat]

If she's a shut-in can't someone help her get an absentee ballot? No need not to vote just because you can't get out.

[GeorgiaBushie]

I am going to get a voter registration card for her and mail it to her along with a SASE to mail it to the proper place and then see about getting her an absentee ballot.

[USA_Soccer]

That's why we need 100,000 people donate to the SwiftBoat Vets (even if each only donate $5) - the media cannot distort that into saying that 1 or 2 key Bush donors are behind the ads.

[handy]

... in factt, I remember spending Christmas Eve of 1968 five miles across the Cambodian border ...

I too often confuse where I spend my Christmas Eve with a generic evening in January... /sarcaam

[MeekOneGOP]

bump!

[Interesting Times]

Brit Hume talked about the book forcefully this morning. Said it was a well written book where people stepped forward and made accusations publically, without hiding behind anonymous accusations. Said it was well sourced and the one item that has been investigated thoroughly, the Cambodia Christmas thing, turned out to be true and forced Kerry to retreat. He further advocated the press pay as much attention to it as they did the Bush natioinal guard thing. He had to slap Juan real hard, too. Thought he was going to fire him on the air.

Brit Hume initially expressed skepticism about the Swift Vets' charges, but now that he has read the book and is aware of the research and documentation behind it, Hume is taking the matter much more seriously.

That's exactly how you would expect a professional to react.

[Christian4Bush]

just answer "unemployed" for occupation and "n/a" for employer.

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or "nyb" for employer ("noneyabizness")

[El Gato]

What an amazing clipping. Kerry shows that he realizes the people of Vietnam are not just a bunch of gooks, and that not many were Viet Cong or VC sympathizers. Yet he would abandon them to their fate at the tender mercies of the VC and their Northern puppet masters. In fact his activities once he came home were a very large contribution to that abandonment which did in fact occur.

[El Gato]

Isn't there a cutoff date for 527 or special interest tv ads? Something like 60 or 30 days before the election?

No, that's just the point they are an exception to the general rule. It's 60 days for a general election, BTW, which is September 3rd by my count.

[El Gato]

Maybe it's because the Soros' donors DON'T WANT TO REVEAL THEIR NAMES TO THE PUBLIC ..??

The information is in the public domain. The reason you don't see their names in the media, is that the media itself doesn't want you to know about them, let alone their names.

[El Gato]

I wonder what happens when a 527 exercises their right of free speech (see http://www.law.cornell.edu/constitution/constitution.billofrights.html ) and gets slapped with this unconstitutional law, and challenges it?

The law has already been challenged, and in what has to be the worst and most disingenuous decision ever to come out that "honorable" body, the Supreme Court upheld virtually all of it, never mind what the First Amendment has to say on the issue. However, it doesn't apply to section 527 organizations. It does apply to organzations such as the NRA's Institute for Legislative Action, which, IIRC, was a party to the challenge to the law.

For this POS, we have McCain (among a cast of thousands) to thank. I believe that the Republicans got snookered on it, but they should have known better. The Presdient (Bush) stated that it was unconsitutional, but he signed it anyway, hoping the courts would throw out the unconsitutional parts.. they did not do so.

[El Gato]

the media cannot distort that into saying that 1 or 2 key Bush donors are behind the ads.

They can distort most whatever they choose. After all, who's going to tell the sheeple about it. Them? LOL!. The Swiftvets raised another $400,000 dollars in a couple of weeks after the ad appeared. The had 8,000 donors for that $400k ( I was one of them) Yet the media continues to push the "Bush Donor" distortion. Mr. Perry, the gentleman in question, also gave money to Shelia Jackson Lee. Given his location in Houston, I suspect he's given lots of money to Democrats, because untill about 15 years ago, they were the only game in Texas. Things changed, thank goodness, and now the Dims don't hold even a single statewide elected office, and are reduced to pulling stunts like fleeing out of state to prevent bills from being passed. (House Dims went to Oklahoma, later the Senate Dims went to New Mexico) :)