Posted on 08/21/2004 5:33:07 PM PDT by franklog
When John F. Kerry rescued James Rassmann from the Bay Hap River in the jungles of Vietnam in March 1969, neither man could possibly have imagined that the episode would become a much-disputed focus of an American presidential campaign 35 years later.
For Kerry, then a green and gangly Navy lieutenant junior grade and now the Democratic challenger to a wartime Republican president, that tale of heroism under fire has become integral to his campaign. A centerpiece of public rallies, videos and a new campaign advertisement last week, it has helped distinguish the candidate from his Democratic primary rivals and from President Bush, who spent the war at home as a member of the Texas Air National Guard.
For the Massachusetts senator's critics, who include three of the five Swift boat skippers who were present that day, the incident demonstrates why Kerry does not deserve to be commander in chief. They accuse him of cowardice, hogging the limelight and lying. Far from displaying coolness under fire, they say, Kerry was never fired upon and fled the scene at the moment of maximum danger.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
here is the link to the latest Seattle PT article......it is an AP piece, though.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apelection_story.asp?category=1131&slug=War%20Politics
Read between the lines. From my reading of it, WaPo seems to implicitly endorse the Swifties claim that Kerry fled the scene.
It also shows how Brinkley said a Kerry BOB was on a mission with him when he wasn't.
It also shows that Kerry and Brinkley refuse to go on the record and that Kerry refuses to release his diary and his full military records.
We also have the fact that Kerry only used 4 months in Nam. Kerry backers had routinely said, " Kerry served two tours in Nam." Now it is common knowledge that he only served 1/3 of a tour.
WaPo should have shown that Kerry's website and Brinkley's "tour Of Duty" place Rassman on a boat other than Kerry's. That's really fishy. Rassman says he was on Kerry's boat. Kerry and Brinkley lied about it because then they would have to explain how Rassman fell off his boat-- the truth is Rassman fell off when Kerry fled not from a second explosion.
And WaPo should have said that Kerry's arm injury was a bruise. That no-good, treasonous SOB poached a "Get out of Nam" Purple Heart for a bruise on his arm and rice in his A$$ (that didn't even happen in a combat situation).
Kerry is a fraud.
I just read the entire article and I'm stunned!
It's the most objective example of main stream media I've seen in a year.
Kerry has to be mad as hell.
Surely you don't expect the Wash Post to discover and print the truth, do you?????
THE FACTS ABOUT SENATOR JOHN KERRY (D-MA)
KERRY: DUKAKIS
'S LT. GOV. WHO VOTESOn Key Votes, Kerry Voted 100% Of The Time With Senator Kennedy In 2001, 1999, 1998, 1993, 1992, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, and 1985. Over the course of his Senate career, Kerry has sided with Senator Kennedy 94% of the time for key votes.
As Michael Dukakis' Lt. Governor From 1983-1985, Kerry Supported Granting Prison Furloughs To Hundreds Of Massachusetts Inmates. Later as a U.S. Senator in 1988, he defended the program: "The furlough program in Massachusetts is tougher than the federal program." (John King,
"Bush Surrogate Gets Ambushed In Dukakis Territory," The Associated Press, July 6, 1988)KERRY CLAIMS HE
'S FOR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT VOTES FOR HIGHER TAXES, AND AGAINST TAX CUTSKerry Has Voted Against A Balanced Budget Amendment At Least Five Times. Other fiscally irresponsible votes include at least three key votes against lowering overall spending.
Kerry Voted Against President Bush's Tax Cuts, At Least The Tenth Key Anti-Tax Relief Vote Of His Senate Career.
Kerry Voted For The Biggest Tax Increase In American History Under President Clinton.
Kerry Has A Lifetime Rating Of 26% From Citizens Against Government Waste And Is A Long-Time Supporter Of Federal Funding For Boston's "Big Dig." Former Senate Government Affairs Chairman John McCain called the project "the biggest, most costly public works project in U.S. history." The "Big Dig" was estimated to cost $2.6 billion when it was approved in 1985. The cost to date has totaled more than $13.6 billion. (
"Congressional Ratings," Citizens Against Government Waste Website, www.cagw.org, Accessed January 7, 2003; Natalie M. Henry, "Senate Commerce Investigates Overspending On Boston's Big Dig,'" Environment And Energy Daily, May 3, 2000)KERRY IS EXTREME ON ABORTION, SUPPORTING FEDERAL FUNDING AND PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS
Kerry Voted At Least Three Times Against Banning Partial-Birth Abortions.
Kerry Voted To Allow Federal Funding Of Abortions And To Provide Abortion Counseling In Federally-Funded Clinics.
KERRY IN DEPTH
KERRY: DUKAKIS
'S LT. GOV. WHO VOTESOn Key Votes, Kerry Voted 100% Of The Time With Senator Kennedy In 2001, 1999, 1998, 1993, 1992, 1989, 1988, 1987, 1986, and 1985. Over the course of his Senate career, Kerry has sided with Senator Kennedy 94% of the time for key votes. (Roll Call Key Votes, http://oncongress.cq.com, December 2001)
Kerry's Lifetime Vote Rating From Americans For Democratic Action Is Five Points Higher Than That Of Fellow Massachusetts Senator Ted Kennedy. While Kennedy only rates an 88 lifetime average, Kerry has a lifetime average of 93. (Americans For Democratic Action Website, www.adaction.org, Accessed December 9, 2002)
Kerry And Kennedy Had Exactly The Same Low Rating From The American Conservative Union In Both 2001 (4%) And 2000 (12%). Kerry
's lifetime rating from the ACU is 5%. (American Conservation Union Website, www.acuratings.org, Accessed December 9, 2002)Kerry Is Against The Death Penalty.
"I'm opposed to the death penalty in the criminal justice system because I think it's applied unfairly . . . ." (NBC's "Meet The Press," December 1, 2002)Kerry Is An Extreme Environmentalist Who Voted With The Activist Group, The League Of Conservation Voters, An Average Of 95% Of The Time In The Last Three Congresses. (League Of Conservation Voters Website, www.lcv.org, Accessed December 9, 2002)
Kerry Has Voted For At Least Seven Major Reductions In Defense And Military Spending Necessary For Our National Security. (S. 1438, Roll Call Vote #286: Motion agreed to 53-47: R 21-28; D 31-19, September 25, 2001; S. 1087, Roll Call Vote #397: Passed 62-35: R 48-4; D 14-31, September 5, 1995; S. 1298, Roll Call Vote #251: Adopted 50-48: R 6-36; D 44-12, September 9, 1993; S. 3114, Roll Call Vote #182: Motion Rejected 43-49: R 34-5; D 9-44, August 7, 1992; S. 2399, Roll Call Vote #56: Motion rejected 50-48: R 3-40; D 47-8, March 26, 1992; H.R. 2707, Roll Call Vote #182: Motion Rejected 28-69 R 3-39; D 25-30, September 10, 1991; S. 1352, Roll Call Vote #148: Motion agreed to 50-47: R 37-6; D 13-41, June 27, 1989)
As Michael Dukakis' Lt. Governor From 1983-1985, Kerry Supported Granting Prison Furloughs To Hundreds Of Massachusetts Inmates. Later as a U.S. Senator in 1988, he defended the program: "The furlough program in Massachusetts is tougher than the federal program." (John King,
"Bush Surrogate Gets Ambushed In Dukakis Territory," The Associated Press, July 6, 1988)KERRY CLAIMS HE
'S FOR FISCAL RESPONSIBILITY, BUT HAS A HISTORY OF VOTING FOR HIGHER TAXES AND AGAINST TAX CUTSKerry Called For "Fiscal Responsibility," Just Like When He Voted For The 1993 Tax Hike, The Largest In History. "All the Democrats have generally resisted the GOP proposal to make the tax cuts permanent. . . . Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry called for a return to the fiscal responsibility we gave this country in 1993 when we passed the Deficit Reduction Act.'" (Will Lester,
"Top Democrats Complain About Bush Economic Plans, But Some Steer Away From Tax Debate," The Associated Press, October 15, 2002)Kerry Has A Lifetime Rating Of 26% From Citizens Against Government Waste And Is A Long-Time Supporter Of Federal Funding For Boston's "Big Dig." Former Senate Government Affairs Chairman John McCain called the project "the biggest, most costly public works project in U.S. history." The "Big Dig" was estimated to cost $2.6 billion when it was approved in 1985. The cost to date has totaled more than $13.6 billion. (
"Congressional Ratings," Citizens Against Government Waste Website, www.cagw.org, Accessed January 7, 2003; Natalie M. Henry, "Senate Commerce Investigates Overspending On Boston's Big Dig'," Environment and Energy Daily, May 3, 2000)Kerry Voted Against President Bush's Tax Cuts, At Least The Tenth Major Anti-Tax Relief Vote Of His Senate Career. (H.R. 1836, Roll Call Vote #165: Adopted 62-38: R 50-0; D 12-38, May 23, 2001; H. Con. Res. 83, Roll Call Vote #69: Adopted 53-47: R 4-46; D 49-1, April 4, 2001; S. 1429, Roll Call Vote #247: Passed 57-43: R 52-2; D 4-41; I 1-0, July 30, 1999; H.R. 2646, Roll Call Vote #169: Adopted 59-36: R 51-2; D 8-34, June 24, 1998; H.R. 2646, Roll Call Vote #288: Rejected 56-41: R 54-1; D 2-40, October 30, 1997; H. Con. Res. 84, Roll Call Vote #92: Adopted 78-22: R 41-14; D 37-8, May 23, 1997; S. 1028, Roll Call Vote #72: Adopted 52-46: R 5-46; D 47-0, April 18, 1996; H.R. 2264, Roll Call Vote #190: Passed 50-49: R 0-43; D 49-6, June 25, 1993; H. Con. Res. 64, Roll Call Vote #83: Adopted 54-45: R 0-43; D 54-2, March 25, 1993; H.R. 3628, Roll Call Vote #298: Rejected 51-47 (needed 2/3 majority): R 45-0; D 6-47, November 15, 1989)
In September 2001, Kerry Said We Should Not Raise Taxes In An Economic Downturn.
"The first priority is the economy of our nation. And when you have a downturn in the economy, the last thing you do is raise taxes or cut spending. We shouldn't do either. We need to maintain a course that hopefully will stimulate the economy. . . . No, we should not raise taxes, but we have to put everything on the table to take a look at why we have this structural problem today. . . . you don't want to raise taxes." (NBC's "Meet The Press," September 2, 2001)In April 2002, Kerry Said He Wanted A Larger Tax Cut And Was "Not In Favor Of" A Repeal. CNN's Tucker Carlson: "Senator Kerry, . . . [many Democrats] [g]et a lot of political mileage out of criticizing [President Bush's tax cut], but nobody has the courage to say repeal it. Are you for repealing it?" Kerry: "It's not a question of courage. . . . And it's not an issue right now. We passed appropriately a tax cut as a stimulus, some $40 billion. Many of us thought it should have even maybe been a little bit larger this last year . . . . [T]he next tax cut doesn't take effect until 2004. If we can grow the economy enough between now and then, if we have sensible policies in place and make good choices, who knows what our choices will be. So it's simply not a ripe issue right now. And I'm not in favor of turning around today and repealing it." (CNN
In December 2002, Kerry Flip-Flopped. NBC's Tim Russert: "Senator . . . should we freeze or roll back the Bush tax cut?" Kerry: "Well, I wouldn't take away from people who've already been given their tax cut . . . . What I would not do is give any new Bush tax cuts. . . ." Russert: "So the tax cut that's scheduled to be implemented in the coming years . . . ." Kerry: "No new tax cut under the Bush plan. . . . It doesn't make economic sense." Russert: "Now, this is a change, because let me show you what you said in September of 2001 when I asked you the very same question." (NBC
Kerry Voted At Least Five Times To Raid The Social Security Trust Fund. (H.R. 2014, Roll Call Vote #211: Conference Report Agreed To 92-8: R 55-0; D 37-8, July 31, 1997; H.R. 2264, Roll Call Vote #247: Conference Report Agreed To 50-50, With Vice President Gore Voting Yea: R 0-44; D 50-6, August 6, 1993; H.Con.Res. 268, Roll Call Vote #167: Conference Report Agreed To 58-29: R 21-20; D 37-9, June 6, 1988; H.R. 3545, Roll Call Vote #419: Conference Report Agreed To 61-28: R 18-23; D 43-5, December 21, 1987; H.R. 3128, Roll Call Vote #379: Conference Report Agreed To 78-1: R 40-1; D 38-0, December 19, 1985)
KERRY IS EXTREME ON ABORTION, SUPPORTING FEDERAL FUNDING OF ABORTIONS AND PARTIAL-BIRTH ABORTIONS
Kerry Voted At Least Three Times Against Banning Partial-Birth Abortions. (H.R. 1833, Roll Call Vote #596: Adopted 54-44: R 45-8; D 9-36, December 7, 1995; H.R. 1833, Roll Call Vote #301: Veto Override Rejected 57-41: R 45-6; D 12-35, September 26, 1996; H.R. 1122, Roll Call Vote #277: Veto Override Rejected 64-36: R 51-4; D 13-32, September 18, 1998)
KERRY'S KEY VOTES 107th Congress, 2001 Senate Votes Against The Bush Tax Cut: Kerry voted against a $1.35 trillion tax cut package to reduce income-tax rates, alleviate the
For Reducing Size Of The Tax Cut: Kerry voted to reduce Bush's proposed tax cut ceiling by $448 billion over 10 years. (H. Con. Res. 83, Roll Call Vote #69: Adopted 53-47: R 4-46; D 49-1, April 4, 2001) |
Against Ashcroft Nomination: Kerry voted against confirming John Ashcroft to be Attorney General. (Roll Call Vote #8: Confirmed 58-42: R 50-0; D 8-42, February 1, 2001) |
106th Congress, 1999-2000 Senate Votes |
Against Genetic Privacy: Kerry voted against approving a GOP plan to restrict use of genetic information by health insurers. (Amendment To H.R. 4577, Roll Call Vote #165: Amendment Passed 58-40: R 55-0; D 3-40, June 29, 2000) |
For Expanding Hate Crime Protections: Kerry voted to include gender, sexual orientation and disability in federal hate crime protections. (Amendment To S. 2549, Roll Call Vote #136: Amendment Passed 57-42: R 13-41; D 44-1, June 20, 2000) |
Against Reducing Taxes: Kerry voted against reducing federal taxes by $792 billion over 10 years. (S. 1429, Roll Call Vote #247: Passed 57-43: R 53-2; D 4-41, July 30, 1999) |
105th Congress, 1997-98 Senate Votes |
Against Banning Partial-Birth Abortion: Kerry voted against a ban on "partial-birth" abortions. (H.R. 1122, Roll Call Vote #277: Rejected 64-36: R 51-4; D 13-32, September 18, 1998) |
Against Banning Cloning: Kerry voted against allowing vote to ban human cloning. (S. 1601, Roll Call Vote #10: Cloture Motion Rejected 42-54: R 42-12; D 0-42, February 11, 1998) |
Against Educational Savings Accounts: Kerry voted against allowing a vote to create educational savings accounts. (H.R. 2646, Roll Call Vote #288: Cloture Motion Rejected 56-41: R 54-1; D 2-40, October 30, 1997) |
Against Fiscally Responsible Budget: Kerry voted against approving a GOP budget to cut spending and taxes. (H. Con. Res. 84, Roll Call Vote #92: Adopted 78-22: R 41-14; D 37-8, May 23, 1997) |
Against Balanced-Budget Amendment: Kerry voted against approving a balanced-budget constitutional amendment. (S.J. Res. 1, Roll Call Vote #24: Rejected 66-34: R 55-0; D 11-34, March 4, 1997) |
104th Congress, 1995-96 Senate Votes |
Against Balancing The Budget: Kerry voted against a bipartisan plan to balance the budget in seven years. (S. Con. Res. 57, Roll Call Vote #150: Rejected 46-53: R 22-30; D 24-23, May 23, 1996) |
Against Tort Reform: Kerry voted against allowing a vote to approve a cap on punitive damages in product liability cases. (H.R. 956, Roll Call Vote #152: Rejected 47-52: R 45-9; D 2-43, May 4, 1995) |
103rd Congress, 1993-94 Senate Votes |
Against Spending Reductions: Kerry voted to kill an amendment to reduce budget spending by $94 billion. (H.R. 3759, Roll Call Vote #35: Motion To Table Adopted 65-31: R 23-19; D 42-12, February 9, 1994) |
For The Largest Tax Increase In American History: Kerry voted to pass Clinton's budget that raised taxes and cut spending. (H.R. 2264, Roll Call Vote #247: Adopted 51-50: R 0-44; D 50-6, With Vice President Gore Voting "Yea," August 6, 1993) |
102nd Congress, 1991-92 Senate Votes |
Against Stopping Missile Defense Spending Cuts: Kerry voted against a motion to kill an amendment that proposed deeper cuts in SDI spending. (S. 3114, Roll Call Vote #182: Motion To Table Rejected 43-49: R 34-5; D 9-44, August 7, 1992) |
Against School Choice: Kerry voted against approving a school-choice pilot program. (S. 2, Roll Call Vote #5: Rejected 36-57: R 33-6; D 3-51, January 23, 1992) |
Against Thomas Nomination: Kerry voted against confirming Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court. (Roll Call Vote #220: Confirmed 52-48: R 41-2; D 11-46, October 15, 1991) |
For Defense Spending Reductions: Kerry voted to transfer $3.1 billion to domestic programs from Defense department accounts. (H.R. 2707, Roll Call Vote #182: Motion Rejected 28-69 R 3-39; D 25-30, September 10, 1991) |
Against Persian Gulf War: Kerry voted against authorizing the use of force in the Persian Gulf. (S.J. Res. 2, Roll Call Vote #2: Passed 52-47: R 42-2; D 10-45, January 12, 1991) |
101st Congress, 1989-90 Senate Votes |
Against Flag Burning Amendment: Kerry voted against a constitutional amendment on flag desecration. (S.J. Res. 332, Roll Call Vote #128: Rejected 58-42: R 38-7; D 20-35, June 26, 1990) |
Against Parental Notification For Minors' Abortions: Kerry voted to kill an amendment requiring parental notice for minors' abortions. (H.R. 5257, Roll Call Vote #266: Motion To Table Rejected 48-48: R 8-34; D 40-14, October 12, 1990) |
Against Considering A Capitol Gains Tax Cut: Kerry voted against allowing a vote on a capital gains tax cut. (H.R. 3628, Roll Call Vote #295: Motion To Table Rejected 51-47 (Needed 2/3 Majority): R 45-0; D 6-47, November 14, 1989) |
100th Congress, 1987-88 Senate Votes |
Against Death Penalty For Drug-Related Murders: Kerry voted against approving the death penalty for drug-related murders. (S. 2455, Roll Call Vote #175: Passed 65-29: R 37-6; D 28-23, June 10, 1988) |
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O'Neill has always stated Kerry fled the scene.
Funny how the Post never mentioned that.
Some of the mystery surrounding exactly what happened on the Bay Hap River in March 1969 could be resolved by the full release of all relevant records and personal diaries. Much information is available from the Web sites of the Kerry campaign and Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and the Navy archives. But both the Kerry and anti-Kerry camps continue to deny or ignore requests for other relevant documents, including Kerry's personal reminiscences (shared only with biographer Brinkley), the boat log of PCF-94 compiled by Medeiros (shared only with Brinkley) and the Chenoweth diary.
Although Kerry campaign officials insist that they have published Kerry's full military records on their Web site (with the exception of medical records shown briefly to reporters earlier this year), they have not permitted independent access to his original Navy records. A Freedom of Information Act request by The Post for Kerry's records produced six pages of information. A spokesman for the Navy Personnel Command, Mike McClellan, said he was not authorized to release the full file, which consists of at least a hundred pages.
I think they did cover that..!
You're right. If they were completely objective, Kerry would be a goner.
go to his website and search for Jim rassman. It says that Rassman was on another boat. Same thing in Brinkley's book. WaPo should be sured for journalist malpractice for not including that glaring discrepancy.
One related question? In my time in the Vietnam conflict, did either my stepson (Captain, 82nd Airborne) or I ever see any member of the armed forces carry a movie camera -- for any purpose?
Answer: NO! But, LTjg. Kerry did! Why, and for what purpose?
We all know the answer. Major character defect in evidence here, folks. What a disgrace to the uniform of the Senior Service.
The after action report (written by Kerry) says:
"AT VQ995770 MINE DETONATED UNDER PCF 3 LIFTING BOAT ABOUT 2-3 FT OUT OF WATER. VERY HEAVY BLACK SMOT. OBSERVED AT THE SAME TIME BOATS RCVD HEAVY A/W AND S/A FROM BOTH BANKS. FIRCECONTINUED FOZNABOUT 5000 METERS. TWO OTHER EXPLOSIONS OVC RVED"
Unless Mr. Heinz Kerry signs an SF-180 what is going to happen is he is going to release a lot of irrelevant crap and the media is going to say " See, he released all his records."
I didn't either, but many did have 35 mm slide cameras. Most pictures of their friends, girl friends and scenery. Perhaps the Navy had different people than we, but I frequently visited Danang, etc and never saw a 16 mm there as well. The idea of someone reconstructing a combat experience for a home movie seems arrogant and bizarre.
That takes care of the second mine explsion claim. I saw Michael Dobbs on Lou Dobb's show the other day and he was trying to be fair and balanced. Said the Post had made mutiple requests for Kerry's military records from the Kerry campaign without success.
".....FIRCECONTINUED FOZNABOUT 5000 METERS......"
what does this mean? a 3 mile long ambush?
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