Posted on 12/21/2004 3:55:29 PM PST by Mike Fieschko
WASHINGTON - The end of the 2004 presidential election campaign doesn't spell the end of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the well-funded alliance of former servicemen that remains dedicated to preventing Sen. John Kerry from becoming president.The group, which recently changed its name to Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth, plans to convene next month to celebrate its successes and to consider speaking out further about Kerry's military service, his anti-war activities afterward, and other issues, says William E. Franke, who ran the organization's day-to-day operations.
In his first interview about his role in the anti-Kerry group, Franke, a Navy veteran who served briefly as publisher of the old St. Louis Globe-Democrat in the 1980s, said his group succeeded in its mission to discredit Kerry and may help distribute a controversial film attacking the Massachusetts senator.
Kerry has given no indication that he might seek the Democratic nomination in 2008 and would probably encounter resistance from many in his party if he did.
Nonetheless, Franke made clear that his disdain for Kerry had not abated and that his group was keeping a wary eye on the senator's activities.
Franke offered no new evidence for his claims that Kerry misstated facts about his Vietnam service.
But he said the swift boat group's members remained frustrated, feeling that the news media did not bore in sufficiently on what he regards as unanswered questions about Kerry's service records. He added that he was troubled by a political dust-up in Kerry's home state recently that may have cost the group's public relations firm, Virginia-based Creative Response Concepts, a contract with the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority.
"They have called us rag merchants and liars and scum and every name under the sun. But what he has never done is respond substantively to our accusations," said Franke. He said the group might issue more "statements" about Kerry, but he wasn't specific.
Kerry spokesman David Wade repeated assertions from the campaign that Kerry made all his military records public except for private medical records, and that even those had been viewed by a group of reporters last spring.
"This was a smear campaign led by right-wing Republicans who were willing to lie because they hated John Kerry for having spoken out against the war in Vietnam after he came home," Wade said, responding to questions in an e-mail.
"There's a reason why Franke stayed in a secure, undisclosed location during the campaign: This man had no respect for the truth. ... History already has discredited Bill Franke and his right-wing crusade. His 15 minutes of fame are over," Wade said.
The ability of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and other "527s" to operate in the future as they did this year probably will depend on Congress. The 527s, so named for the tax code provision that governs them, emerged as a force this election as a result of what critics regard as a loophole in the recent campaign finance law.
Among the criticisms are that 527s operate with no donor limits and fewer reporting requirements. One of the legislation's main sponsors, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has vowed further efforts to rein them in.
The Center for Public Integrity, a non-partisan watchdog group in Washington, reported Thursday that the 527 groups raised $434 million this year and "played a major role, perhaps a decisive role" in the election.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth raised $27.2 million, Franke said, most of it in a three-month period starting in July.
In one measure of success, a poll in 12 battleground states taken on election night by a Republican polling firm found that the swift boat veterans' ads were far more recognizable and had more impact than ads of pro-Kerry groups.
"Most people, even Democrats, grudgingly acknowledge that those ads were hugely effective," said Charles Lewis, executive director of the Center for Public Integrity.
Franke referred to his group as "a substantive organization" and said it had a 150,000-strong donor list. He said it would be considering proposals related to veterans issues when members convene Jan. 26 in Orlando, Fla., for two days.
I agree.
I think we need to make more noise about the illegality of him running for office of any kind much more public.
bump!!
kerry, you lying b@stard, not all of them are back, but some of us will never forget, and will be honored to represent them.
You weren't there long enough to build a lot of memories, so I'll help you out....we used to have a saying..."War is hell, but payback is a mother f*****."
Try to work that into your next campaign...think of it as a string around your finger.
Git em!
Under Art III Sec 3 of the Constitution, Kerry is not qualified to be a Senator. We should have him removed.
what is the breakdown on the rest of the 434 million...who received/spent the rest?
Probably the last loosing candidate to run again four years later was Adlai Stevenson. He ran in 1952 against Eisenhower, lost, and ran again in 1956 against Eisenhower and lost again.
For the record, John F'n Kerry is no Adlai Stevenson.
This reminds me... I have been trying to find a "Hanoi John" urinal sticker... also a "Hahoi Jane" urinal sticker, but have thus far only located the Jane version. Also, the web sites I've found it on are ones that I've been hesitant to give my credit card. Anyone have a good spot to purchase them?
If Kerry thinks he'll be successful four years from now, he'd better start watching his back. Hillary will have him Vince Fosterized in a New York minute. She's certainly not going to let the likes of him get in her way. I'd pay admission to watch that match.
John McCain may be in trouble. He teamed up with Kerry on those Vietnam junkets that didn't help get back our POWs.
Excellent. Keep after him, Swifties!
The National Lampoon once featured a computerized dream fight between William Calley and Charles Manson. Hillary vs the gigolo would be in that sort of category.
Swift Boat Vets ping.
Good. Target this socialist so he cannot even attempt to give Hitlery a run for her money in '08.
Swiftees need to concentrate on running that miserable, dishonorable sonofabitch out of the Senate and then out of the United States!
I'll continue to contribute to them if they take on that action plan!
Thanks for the ping!
Actually, I believe the ads themselves were less effective then they were / are given credit for.
It was the response of the Democrats themselves to the SB and POW veterans that did the most damage, IMHO.
Individual behavior counts a lot more than an accusation.
When the Democrats attacked the SBVT, and did so viciously, the American people were able to see the black heart of the Democrats. It was ugly.
Personally, I was / am a lot more riled up by the Democrats, such as Larry O'Donnel and now Mike McCurry than I ever was by the SBVT ads themselves.
These people are ugly (I mean that in terms of their spirit). I think most people were disgusted.
As much as this evokes a very negative emotion in me, I hope the Demoncrats never learn this lesson. Indeed, if you listen to all of the post-election discussion among Democrats, their opinion is that they did not respond strongly enough!!! Good. It will hurt them even more the next time.
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