Posted on 08/24/2004 3:59:25 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
washingtonpost.com Swift Boat Sniping
WEN WE FIRST wrote about the ads slamming Democratic nominee John F. Kerry's service in Vietnam, we said that Mr. Kerry's emphasis on his Vietnam experience had made questions about his war record fair game. But we said that ads by the group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had crossed the line in smearing the service that earned Mr. Kerry three Purple Hearts, a Bronze Star and a Silver Star. Nothing we've seen in the two weeks since has changed that view.
snip
Mr. Kerry's conflicting statements about where and when he was in Cambodia remain troubling. He has backed away from repeated claims that he spent Christmas Eve 1968 in Cambodia, a memory that, he said in a 1986 Senate speech, is "seared -- seared -- in me." This does not undermine Mr. Kerry's military bravery, but it does raise an issue of candor. It's fair to ask whether this is an episode of foggy memory, routine political embroidery or something more. Indeed, the Kerry campaign ought to arrange for the full release of all relevant records from the time. Mr. Kerry granted historian Douglas Brinkley exclusive use of his wartime journals and other writings; the campaign should seek to be freed from that agreement and to make all the material public. Though the ads are being underwritten by longtime Bush partisans, the Kerry campaign's claim of illegal coordination between the Swift boat group and the Bush campaign is unconvincing.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
It's not a smear to point out the truth but the comPost just can't get away from that word.
"Though the ads are being underwritten by longtime Bush partisans, the Kerry campaign's claim of illegal coordination between the Swift boat group and the Bush campaign is unconvincing."
Has Hitlary been seen near their HQ?
I'm not sure how to do a posting on my own, but I guess mentioning this here is the appropriate place:
I think FR folks need to call or email ABC news to complain. Imagine that, having to complain to a media organization! Ha ha. Anyway, during their 6:30 AM ET radio news break, ABC referred to the Swift Vet ads as "Republican funded." I was so mad! It's not only a lie but it is also shoddy reporting. Why don't these morons just admit they are Kerry flunkies?? They don't even make any pretense of being impartial anymore.
I will check the ABC News website now to find an address for audience feedback.
Well, the vast majority of the donors to Swift Vets are Republican, so, in a literal sense, ABC is telling the truth.
Except the stuff that brushes off Larry Thurlow as some liar, the story is fairly written. The story fails to mention the seven or so people there who back up Thurlow story and that Thurlow's citation was based on Kerry's reports.
I read that editorial earlier...the Kerry camp cannot be sleeping well these days.
Over the weekend I watched segments of the Kerry/O'Neill appearance on the Cavett show. One thing struck me: Kerry, referring to Vietnam atrocities, said they were against the Geneva and other conventions of war..."something I didn't know at the time and learned after coming back".
Didn't Kerry do officer training?? Wouldn't a major portion of that training include the rules...conventions...of war?? How could he "not know" the things he described were prohibited? As an officer wouldn't he have had it drilled into him that he was obligated not only to stop, but to report such behavior?
Another lie?
Which is amazing. The next thing they will tell us is that most Bush donors are also Republicans. This has to be more than just coincidence.
Yeah, I bet they wish the Swift Boat Vets would go away. (So we can get back to the election) Uh huh, The WP can't stand the thought of people getting the truth about skerry. They want THEIR truth to be smeared in our faces.
Is there ANYHTING JF Kerry has been FOR and stuck to? Other than himself, of course.
Really. Is there any issue he has not been on both sides of?
Can't speak for the Navy, (I'll assume they were similar in this regard), but we who went through Army OCS during this period (Vietnam) spent a considerable amount of time on UCMJ and Geneva Convention.
Once again, another bit of ass-covering by a major ass-wipe.
The sun does not come up in the east, the Pope is not Catholic....This is the WaPo?
ABC's implication is that the Bush campaign or the RNC are behind this. That is false, so by Kerry standards ABC should be admonished because they shouldn't say things that aren't true. By Kerry standards I should be demanding that ABC radio be silenced.
I have never once heard of moveon's ads referred to as "Democrat funded."
Oh, yeah WaPo. I can see you dissembling sacks of crappola stroking your wizened chins, pondering the "troubling" nature of Kerry's inconsistencies.
Riiiiiight. We all know you're scrambling around, thinking - "Damn! That pack of excuses won't hunt! What'll we do? Where's the frikkin' DNC fax already??!! If Kerry can't whitewash a lie better than this, he has no business being a Democrat candidate!"
The Magical Cambodian Mystery Tour ... I love it!
Assume I witness someone steal something. I call them a thief. By their logic, this is a "smear." What can you say to such twisted thinking.
From last week's interview of RASSMAN by the Washington Post, regarding the MORNING of March 13th:
As they were heading back to the boat, Kerry and Rassmann decided to blow up a five-ton rice bin to deny food to the Vietcong. In an interview last week, Rassmann recalled that they climbed on top of the huge pile and dug a hole in the rice. On the count of three, they tossed their grenades into the hole and ran.
Evidently, Kerry did not run fast enough. "He got some frags and pieces of rice in his rear end," Rassmann said with a laugh. "It was more embarrassing than painful." At the time, the incident did not seem significant, and Kerry did not mention it to anyone when he got back on the boat. An unsigned "personnel casualty report," however, erroneously implies that Kerry suffered "shrapnel wounds in his left buttocks" later in the day, following the mine explosion incident, when he also received "contusions to his right forearm." [ie, a BRUISE]
From the navy's Spot Report of the AFTERNOON of March 13th; after the river mine explosion under Lt. Pees' PCF 3 boat:
LTJG JOHN F. KERRY, USNR, HSHRAPNEL WOUND LEFT BUTTOCK AND CONTUSION RT. FOREARM (MINOR);
The WaPo has caught Kerry in ANOTHER NAVY FRAUD! ... and THAT one was his ticket home!
Fat chance.
Which is why what you write is bull$hit.
"Literal" would mean that the ad was funded by the Republican party, not by individuals who may donate to the Republican party and may or may not be registered to vote as Republicans.
The English language CAN BE very precise, so be careful how you use it.
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