Posted on 08/23/2004 9:47:32 AM PDT by jbwbubba
Monday, Aug. 23, 2004 12:39 a.m. EDT Hentoff: Kerry in War Record Cover-up
Longtime civil libertarian and columnist for the left-wing Village Voice, Nat Hentoff charged Sunday that the Kerry campaign is engaged in a transparent cover-up of the Massachusetts Democrat's war record and an attempt to muzzle freedom of speech.
In an interview with WABC Radio's Steve Malzberg, Hentoff noted that the Pentagon has responded to a Washington Post Freedom of Information Act request for Kerry's full military file by turning over just six pages of their 100-plus page Kerry dossier, with a spokesman explaining that Kerry himself wouldn't authorized the release of the full file. Kerry has also refused to turn over diaries that the candidate kept during his Vietnam service, with the campaign insisting that an exclusive agreement with Kerry biographer Douglas Brinkley for his 2003 book "Tour of Duty" prevents any further disclosure.
But Hentoff said he wasn't buying that excuse, telling Malzberg, "I have done biographies of John Cardinal O'Connor and A.J. Muste and I've never heard of that kind of agreement."
"The question is, what is Kerry trying to hide?" said the Village Voice writer. "He claims he's interested in the truth. If he's interested in the truth, then release the records."
Hentoff said he's astounded at the media's response to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, whose eyewitness accounts have catapulted the issue of Kerry's war record to the top of the campaign agenda.
"I can't recall ever seeing such distortion of the motivations and the witnessing of these more than 200 Vietnam veterans," he complained.
Of Kerry's efforts to muzzle the Swiftvets by threatening lawsuits against TV stations who carry their ads, Hentoff said, "This tells you something about how a President Kerry is going to handle dissent."
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Yep, there are a lot of folks around that are convinced in their minds that Hillary has called her lib media contacts and given them "Weapons Free" clearance to engage and open fire on Kerry? Have you also noticed that since this has graduated from a blogosphere debate and worked its way into the MSM --- the coverage is gradually turning far less favorable for Kerry?
Almost like an unseen hand turning up the heat under a pot of water on the stove? Is it Kerry soup yet?
Way to go, Nat!
Say it again - and again - and again...
If you would like to help the Swift Boat Vets ( as I have, and I urge all to do-- even a few dollars will help ) kindly click on this logo:
If, perchance, the top "click the pic" link is not visible, click here:
With all due respect, with Kerry being a sailor, I'm not sure he'd have been issued any grenades, or even trained with them in boot camp.
Now Max Cleland -- there's a guy that knows about grenades!
Nat Hentoff is a liberal who also happens to have integrity. He's been around the block a few times, and knows when he's being scammed, by phonies of any calling. Some of the younger "intelligentsia" of the fourth estate who aspire to being journalists someday might try to learn from him.
RELEASE ALL THE RECORDS, Sen. KERRY!!!!
RELEASE ALL THE RECORDS, Sen. KERRY!!!!
You would think a fellow famed for his nuance capacity would know better. I guess we have misoverestimated him.
Another Kerry/Dim lie? Kerry did NOT keep/write "war diaries" during his Vietnam service, if what I read correct.
IIRC, Brinkley stated that the "diaries" were written some time later, between when Kerry returned, and when he let Brinkley use them for his book.
Wouldn't that make them a "memoir" rather than a "document"? Wouldn't that invalidate them as a factual source?
I just spent several minutes trying to find it, but couldn't locate the correct article. So much BS; so little time.
Anyone else remember reading this?
In a way I'm not surprised, Hentoff is one of the few remaining honest men on the left. He's pro-life, for reasons someone with leftist secular commitments ought to honor if they had any intellectual honesty at all--a fact which maddens many on the left.
The sKerry campaign is the most secretive organization this country has ever seen!
Only if he truly supports the WHOLE Bill of Rights, including the 2nd Amendment as an INDIVIDUAL right.
The hard Left has already excommunicated Hentoff for criticizing Bill Clinton, so I'm not sure this will have much impact. Still, it's good to hear.
Speaking of liberal organizations, where is the ACLU on this one? Have they even issued a statement about this?
Every day I read something new on this board that just takes my breathe a way.
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