Posted on 08/22/2004 12:28:40 PM PDT by kristinn
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A member of a group that has run ads attacking John Kerry's Vietnam War record pulled out of an anti-Kerry rally over the weekend after learning that it was promoted at the local headquarters for President Bush's campaign.
Joe Ponder, wounded during the war in 1968 and now a member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said he backed out of the Saturday speaking engagement after learning that fliers promoting the event had been distributed Friday at Alachua County Republican headquarters, which houses the local Bush-Cheney campaign.
"I had the assurance that the party and the Bush-Cheney campaign had nothing to do with this," Ponder told The Gainesville Sun for a story published Sunday.
The campaign to re-elect Bush has insisted that it has no connection to the swift boat veteran's group. It is a "527" organization, advocacy groups named for a section of the tax code. They can raise endless amounts of "soft money" and spend it for or against whatever target they choose, but are barred from coordinating with candidates.
It has sponsored television ads featuring several Vietnam veterans who accuse Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president, of lying about events for which he won medals.
The Kerry campaign filed a complaint Friday with the Federal Election Commission, alleging the Swift Boat Veterans are coordinating their ads with the Bush campaign. The Bush campaign has denied the claim but refused to condemn the group's TV ads.
"This campaign would object to any sort of literature or promotion (from an outside group) placed within any Republican office," Bush-Cheney spokesman Taylor Griffin said Saturday. "The bottom line is, this campaign has no relationship with this group."
Kerry supporters say members of the organization did not serve in the same boat as the candidate and the Massachusetts senator has repeatedly said he stands by his record. The group is financed by a Texas businessman with longtime ties to prominent Republicans in the state, including President Bush.
Dineen Wolfersheim, secretary of the Alachua County Republican Executive Committee, said she helped organize Saturday's event as a private citizen and blamed an unidentified "overzealous Republican" for placing the flier in the party's headquarters. She said once local Republican party officials learned of the promotion's placement, they removed it.
Activists for both candidates showed up at the event, with more than 70 Kerry supporters competing with a smaller, pro-Bush contingent.
Last I saw, this charge was only alleged, not proven. Has it since been proven? If not, then it looks like another Leftist media hit piece has succeeded in obliterating the truth...
See, this is where Republicans come out too honest for their own good.
Leahy and others don't mind being photographed with MoveOn.org groups. We've posted links today. Teresa spoke to them and was photographed with them. No shame. No sorrow.
Of course, another take could be Joe Ponder is very loyal and was misquoted, and opted to not be at the rally because it might be used as fodder for the Dems.
I will go with the second idea!
I wonder if they also removed that unidentified "overzealous Republican" from their payroll. ;)
Good thinking..IMHO
It's obvious that Joe did some Pondering on this.
From what I've read on other threads, he didn't work for republicans. He was just some guy who thought it would be "funny."
How do we even know that the Dem volunteer who "found" the flyer at a Bush-Cheney campaign office, didn't pick it up himself at another place and planted them there himself.
Why is it that every time Dems make accusations, nobody goes after them to verify the claim, and act as if they were speaking the gospel truth?
The standard for following the rules is higher for our side.
BUMP FOR THE SUPPORT OF SWIFT VETS HERE... http://www.swiftvets.com/
An important point that the lamestream press pretends to
ignore is that not all of the SBVFT are Republicans or
pro-Bush. They are anti-Kerry. Many are Dems.
Their message is "Kerry is unfit to be Commander in Chief".
Their message is not "Vote For Bush", and although some
are Bush supporters, it's dangerous to assume that about
any random member.
From their point of view, just don't vote for Kerry.
Do vote, but who else we vote for is not their concern.
You are correct. O'Neill is on the Nixon tapes telling the president he voted for Hubert Humphrey in '68.
I still don't see the problem. Why should a patriotic event with groups we support philosphically, NOT be advertised at the R HQs? That's ridiculous! We have the right to freely associate with whomever we chose! Again, we by nature start apoplogising. Stand UP people!
"The Democratic Party is partnering with MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, Campaign for America's Future, and dozens of other groups representing millions of Americans to organize a massive public mobilization. On Wednesday, May 14, join us by calling and emailing your representatives in Congress to let them know that the majority of Americans oppose more irresponsible tax cuts that go overwhelmingly to the wealthiest sliver of Americans."
http://www. democrats.org/wvc/weekinreview/200305120002.html
"DNC Chief Operating Officer Josh Wachs (left), Senator Leahy, and Zack Exley from Moveon.org pose with the more than 310,000 signatures."
http://www.democrats. org/blog/display/00010183.html
"The DNC is also conducting a major petition drive in partnership with MoveOn.org. More than 310,000 Americans have signed the petition to protect our courts — with more than 172,000 of those signatures coming in the past 36 hours. The petition calls on Bush and the Republicans to stop nominating judges that are out of step with mainstream Americans and praising the Democrats for standing up for their rights."
http://www.democrats.org/ news/200311140002.html
"The East Bay for Kerry/MoveOn House party on December 7th combined the forces of two grass-roots organizations based in San Francisco East Bay Area." Attended by Teresa Heinz-Kerry
http://blog.johnkerry .com/blog/archives/000871.html
"Jan 31, 2004 ::
Catch the Moveon ad during the Super Bowl
Here's a message from Moveon.org:
This Sunday, during the Super Bowl half time show, join us in changing channels on CBS. At 8:10pm and 8:35pm EST, switch over to CNN to watch "Child's Pay" on a channel which doesn't censor its ads. We'd like to keep a tally of the number of people who participate — you can sign up here." Links to http://www.moveonvoterfund.org/boycott/
Posted by DNC Research @ 09:00 PM"
http://www.democrats. org/blog/comment/00010377.html
Thanks you for compiling those links in one place!
Am I missing something here? I think Ponder did the right thing. It is VERY important for the Swiftvets that no connection be shown to the Bush-Cheney campaign.
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