I'm Cynthia McKinney, and I approved this message
Posted on 08/31/2004 2:40:08 AM PDT by wcgo2
A rebuttal is at the bottom of this article.
Op/Ed - Cynthia Tucker
BUSH CAMPAIGN PROFITS FROM VETS' SLIMY ATTACKS ON KERRY
Sat Aug 28, 8:00 PM ET
By Cynthia Tucker
It is an axiom of normal human behavior that one is embarrassed when caught flat-footed in a lie. That axiom, however, does not apply to the Swift boat critics of John Kerry (news - web sites). When caught cold in one lie, they simply move to the next.
The latest news reports shed light on the prevarications of John O'Neill, who succeeded Kerry as commander of Swift boat PCF-94. A ringleader of the Swift boat critics, O'Neill is the author of a book, "Unfit for Command," that tries to discredit Kerry's wartime heroism. Now walking the low road for George W. Bush, O'Neill first got into the dirty-tricks business on behalf of Richard Nixon, who used O'Neill to try to undermine Kerry's rising appeal as an anti-war veteran in 1971.
Currently a darling of the right-wing talk show circuit, O'Neill has insisted in repeated interviews that Kerry could not have been in Cambodia during the war, as Kerry has said. In his book, O'Neill wrote: "Kerry was never in Cambodia during Christmas 1968, or at all during the Vietnam War," adding, he "would have been court-martialed had he gone there."
But days ago, reporters unearthed taped conversations between Nixon and O'Neill, in which O'Neill bragged, "I was in Cambodia, sir. I worked along the border on the water."
Was O'Neill court-martialed? Apparently not. Did he so much as pause after being caught contradicting himself? Not on your life. He just moved from interviews with legitimate news reporters to the friendlier zones of hacks such as Sean Hannity, who would not press him on his mendacity.
Neither O'Neill nor his band of liars is humiliated when one of their accusations blows up in their faces. In a recent attack ad, for example, George Elliott, Kerry's commanding officer in Vietnam, insisted that Kerry "has not been honest about what happened in Vietnam." This is the same Elliott who praised Kerry's courage and leadership profusely during the war, according to military records, and who campaigned for Kerry's re-election to the U.S. Senate.
He and the other veterans against Kerry apparently believe that truth doesn't matter; if they just keep throwing slime at Kerry, sooner or later, some will stick. They don't seem to care that much of the slime clings to them. This group is so obsessed with tearing Kerry down that they not only tell blatant lies, but some of them have also trashed their own records of wartime heroism.
Take Larry Thurlow, who commanded a Swift boat alongside Kerry. Thurlow and others have spent weeks trying to undermine one of Kerry's central claims to heroism -- his rescue of Jim Rassman, for which Kerry won a Bronze Star. Thurlow has insisted that none of the Swift boats in the Bay Hap River were under enemy fire that day, March 13, 1969.
But contemporaneous military action reports tell another story. Several documents back up Kerry's -- and Rassman's -- account. Indeed, the citation for Thurlow's own Bronze Star, received for his actions that day, notes "enemy small arms," "automatic weapons fire" and "enemy bullets flying about him."
Just last week, Oregon resident Robert Lambert, who was a crew member on Thurlow's boat that day, told his local newspaper: "He (Thurlow) and another officer now say we weren't under fire at that time. Well, I sure was under the impression we were."
Several of the veterans opposed to Kerry trace their animosity back to Kerry's anti-war activities, during which he accused U.S. soldiers of committing atrocities. But they haven't framed their major attacks around that. That's because they know -- or at least Karl Rove knows -- that Kerry's fiery rhetoric from 30 years ago won't sink his campaign.
The Bush campaign must portray Kerry as weak and indecisive -- an unfit commander in chief. That's difficult, since Kerry is a bona fide hero whose wartime exploits seem titanic compared with those of the president. Suffice it to say that Bush and Kerry were not exactly in the same boat in Vietnam. So Bush's surrogates lie to tarnish Kerry's medals.
They may have succeeded in sullying Kerry's military record. But the real truth they've revealed is the corroded core of the Bush campaign, which denies any link with the Swift boat veterans but profits by their poisonous bite.
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One only needs to look at the headline of this article to realise that this woman simply upholds one of the hugest double standards in the world.
"bush campaign profits from vets' slimy attack on kerry"...Of course it profits! the swift boat ads are anti-kerry, and since it knocks kerry down, it helps bush! that seems like simple math to me. but why don't we look at this from a simple perspective, shall we?
the swift boat vets have made anti-kerry staments. That is an indisputable fact. Michael Moore has made anti-bush statements. I assume that nobody with a brain can dispute this paragraph.
When the swift boat vets oppose john kerry, it is simply one man's word against another, or, more accurately one man's word against 250. Why does john kerry automatically get credibility when 250 men who were there contradict him?
With respect to michael moore's anti-bush statements, there are 51 factual errors in his movie, which has been hailed as a work of genius by many. These are not the opinion of one against the opinion of another, this is the opinion of one against documents that are not discreditable.
Ms. tucker brings up the question of cambodia. I must notify her and everybody who has read this article that john kerry referred to a specific time "christmas in cambodia in 1968", where as the quotation from mr. o'neil is simply "i was in cambodia, sir, i worked along the border on the water". on the question of whether or not kerry was in cambodia or not, his word is just as good if not worse than the words of swift boat veteran steve gardner, who was on kerry's boat for more time than anyone else. his words can be found here(http://www.swiftvets.com/).
"It is an axiom of normal human behavior that one is embarrassed when caught flat-footed in a lie.... When caught cold in one lie, they simply move to the next."
I think she got the swifties mixed up with the DNC.
Hey Cynthia, that Kerry Kool-Aid you just swallowed is going to cause you some tummy problems in the near future. Enjoy...
LOL!
Well, how convenient. Those hidden newly discovered really old never before heard highly prized collection hidden underground all these years is now FOUND!! Rejoice! The world is saved! :-)
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:
-John Kerry- some selected, informative links...--
Judge for yourself- see the SwiftVet ads here:
Take a look at these three short video clips, especially the last one. You will walk away with a heavy heart.
Here is a link to page full of video and audio links.
"Stolen Honor" is at the top.
The newest SBV ad:
SwiftVets Ad #4: Kerry Trashes Medals -- An Insult to Vets, Say Shipmates
That just makes me hate the liberal media all the more. When confronted with truths you dont like, call them lies and scream it at the top of your lungs, hoping that those who hear the lies will believe.
Another brain-dead, DNC supported, "objective" journalist.
These journalist wenches need to unplug their computers and they need to plug in their "manoabrators."
She's NOT brain dead. She is a fanatic statist. She's one of Pravda South's editorial attack dogs on everything conservative and everything American.
Duct tape her mouth and she would probably be great at household chores.
My suspicion is that she wouldn't even be good at that - bad attitude about actually working as opposed to being a government shill for economic parasites. A since deceased acquaintance who worked at the Urinal/Constipation claimed that she enjoyed a bit of nasal recreational chemical now and then, but I have no proof of that - only secondhand rumor.
Tucker might have an effective point if John O'Neill were on the ballot, but he is not. John Kerry is, and Tucker does nothing of consequence to refute the case against him.
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