Posted on 08/31/2004 1:16:28 PM PDT by Oldeconomybuyer
The SWB vets have pulled a net around the Kerry campaign and they can't get out.
First lie: calling them Swift Boat Vets for Bush. Guess anything else they have to say isn't worth the trouble.
"It's a classic non-denial denial. They question our parentage, but they don't respond to the questions."
---Ben Bradlee, "All the President's Men," quoted from memory
I'm missing something here. In that vast tract of verbiage, is there some answer to the SwiftBoat ad?
LIARS!
MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP!!MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP!!MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP!!MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP!!MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP!!MOMMY, MAKE IT STOP!!
The Kerry campaign is delusional and incompetent to use nothing but media reports as an "Ad Fact Check".
... or the truth isn't on their side so they are trying to put up enough smoke to disorient folks.
If the ads are backfiring on Bush you'd think the Kerry people would want the ads to continue.
LOL, I love it, wait until the Catholics against Kerry ad comes out, who is he going to yell at, the POPE, lol.
Did this hit piece ever address the fact that Kerry threw away the medals he has been defending as valid proof of his heroism?
Shalom.
Is there a condensed version?
I sent the following email to Dana Milbank on his WP article:
Mr. Milbank,
I read your story today in White House Notebook concerning ADM Schachte's firsthand revelations concerning the circumstances surrounding the December 2, 1968 incident that eventually led to Kerry's first Purple Heart. You try to impugn ADM Schachte's integrity by mentioning that he happens to be a Bush supporter and contributor and represents a client who won a federal contract. Do you use the same standard to judge the integrity of Kerry's tiny Band of Brothers? Jim Rassman and his ex-wife gave a $1000 each to John Kerry's campaign in March.
I would rather focus on the substance of what ADM Schachte said than your insinuations and personal attacks. I suggest that you read Lisa Myers MSNBC interview with RADM Schachte, MSNBC - Adm. William Schachte: 'No enemy fire'. Senator Kerry was on a training mission with then LTJG Schachte. Kerry was an inexperienced officer having arrived in-country two weeks earlier. Schachte originated the tactic of using a Boston Whaler or skimmer and went on all of the nine total missions. According to Schachte, there were always two officers and one enlisted man on each mission. There are others who corroborate Schachte's story including Grant Hibbard and other officers who are familiar with Schachte's operational activities.
You state that "Kerry has said Schachte was not on the boat that night...." This is a revelation to me. Has anyone asked Senator Kerry if Mr. Schachte was on the boat that night? Is it a matter of record? Has anyone confronted Senator Kerry with this question since ADM Schachte's statement? It is a question that needs to be asked if you are truly interested in the truth. Senator Kerry has been in avoiding the media ever since Unfit for Command came out.
It should be noted that there is no after action report for the December 2 incident, which is required if there is contact with enemy. There is also no casualty report (as distinct from the treatment report signed by HM1 JC Carreon), a prerequisite for a Purple Heart. We have the other two casualty reports for Kerry's other Purple Hearts. Where is the one for December 2? Without any official record of hostile contact and a casualty report, there is no justification for a Purple Heart.
Kerry's first Purple Heart was approved on February 28, almost three months after the incident. His second Purple Heart was approved on March 5 for his injury on February 20. His third Purple Heart was approved on April 17 for the injuries received on March 13. Kerry was transferred to Coastal Division Eleven from Coastal Division Fourteen on December 8. Someone should ask Kerry who submitted his first Purple Heart request and when was it submitted. Dr. Letson and LCDR Hibbard say they never approved Kerry's request.
Kerry received his third Purple Heart on March 13 (even though it was approved on April 17). He initiated a request to leave on March 17 citing an obscure regulation and left Vietnam on March 26 after serving in Vietnam a little more that four months. According to ADM Hoffmann, Kerry was the only Swift Boat person of 3600 who curtailed his tour without being seriously injured. Kerry was never hospitalized for any of his wounds.
Senator Kerry could clear most of these questions up if he would authorize release of his complete military records, similar to what President Bush has done. To date, Kerry has not produced a casualty report for his first Purple Heart nor an after action report on the incident showing there was hostile fire, a prerequisite for the Purple Heart. He has also not held a press conference to address this issue and others raised by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, including his oft stated claim that he was in Cambodia on Christmas Eve.
As a former naval officer who served a year in Vietnam and another 8 months offshore, I believe the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. If you had any military background, you would realize that something is terribly wrong when almost all of Kerry's officer peers (save for three) and his superiors up to and including ADM Hoffmann are against him and have risked their reputations to bring forth the truth. ADM Schachte should be commended for coming forth. I am sure he knew that it would elicit personal attacks because the only defense his opponents have is to attack the messenger instead of the message.
I guess they can't address the actual ads, so it's the same old atack cr*p!
I'm going to make a small donation to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth each time that joke of a campaign releases trash like this.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.