Posted on 12/07/2007 8:39:54 AM PST by Interesting Times
FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Last week former President Bill Clinton, John Kerry and various members of the media once again used "Swift boating" as a shorthand reference for misrepresenting a candidate's record. In "To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry," authors Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler counter that assertion in a heavily researched 400 page work that provides the first historical assessment of the 2004 presidential campaign.
"To Set the Record Straight" is the definitive account of the ad hoc political movement that dominated the 2004 presidential campaign. Based on hundreds of in-depth interviews with key participants and two years of meticulous research, the book tells the inside story of how a group of Vietnam vets and their supporters delivered the explosive truth about John Kerry's military service and pro-Hanoi activism to the American public, despite relentless efforts by old media gatekeepers to silence and discredit them.
Swett said, "John Kerry lost all the key debates in 2004 to the anti-Kerry veterans. Since then, he has tried to paper over his failure with sloganeering and empty promises of new evidence." He added, "The 2004 campaign was a watershed in American political history, marking the first time that online forums and blogs were able to have a real impact on the national conversation. These new media outlets made it impossible for the liberal press to hide or dismiss what the veterans had to say."
The foreword for the book was written by John E. O'Neill, the lead spokesman for the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth in 2004. One chapter that underscores the impact of the new media on the campaign has been made available online at "ToSetTheRecordStraight.com". "Rather's Ruin and the Rise of the Pajamahadeen" tells how ordinary citizens with computers exposed the phony documents "60 Minutes" used to attack George Bush's National Guard service, effectively ending Dan Rather's career at CBS News.
"To Set the Record Straight" also contains:
o Conclusive evidence that the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth acted independently, and were not a creation of the Bush campaign as their opponents repeatedly claimed.
o Detailed analysis of the efforts by the old media to blunt the impact of the anti-Kerry veterans by distorting and misrepresenting their charges
o Previously unpublished information on the "war crimes" propaganda effort that Kerry led during the Vietnam War, including material showing how the antiwar movement worked with the North Vietnamese and the Viet Cong.
o New eyewitness perspectives on Kerry's "No Man Left Behind" engagement from a Forward Air Control pilot and the mission's Special Forces commander.
o The powerful story of a former member of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War who testified that Kerry personally pressured him to tell lies about military atrocities and war crimes at the group's 1971 "Winter Soldier" conference.
Mr. Kerry needs to be swiftboated once again as he runs for re-election next year.
He needs to be retired to the care of Mrs. Heinz-Kerry, and he can drown his sorrows in those wonderful gin soaked raisins Teresa raves about.
Mr. Kerry is a liar, a traitor, an illegitimate war hero, a poser, a hater of America, a weasel, a scoundrel, a slacker, a ne’er-do-well, an impostor, a Communist, a friend to dictatorial regimes, and one who turned his back on POWs and their families.
Baynative, your post was dead-on.
And thank you for your service—unlike Mr. Kerry’s, it was honorable.
I agree with everything you said. Maybe someone should send copies of “To Set The Record Straight” to whoever runs against Kerry this year, or at least a link to Bruce Kesler’s review.
In rational world, Kerry and a host of other traitors would have been convicted of treason. Unfortunately, we live in a bizarre world in which treason is rewarded by election as a senator (and almost president), movie stardom, and fame and fortune. It is a sad and maddening state of affairs.
Re;139
Well said!
I’d like to see the reports concernin John Effin’ Kerry’s meeting with the Viet commies in Paris after his Vietnam War home movie adventures, while he was still a reserve Navy officer. Kerry met with the enemy, without permission, without orders, as a military officer. What was said? What was decided? What did Kerry do as a result of those meetings?
That’s the complete definition. The short definitions is this: “telling the truth about lying politicians”.
Thanks for getting the job done. We all owe you a debt of gratitude for your fine work.
LOL! Got it! ;*)
Returned to the USA to become an anti-war activist using lies and fraud to testify against our military members.
Allied himself with "powerful" members of the government like Ramsey Clark and the one shown in post 86.
Became a lifetime member of the US SINate, living off the money confiscated from taxpaying American citizens.
Used his seat to propagate his communist beliefs.
Used his position to snag another heiress. The "people" did not provide the life style he prefers.
Give me time...I'll think of more.
...INDEED!
Bump
So true.
Examples: Global warming, second hand smoke, No WMD, A pristine ANWAR, People called "Palestinians" exist.
bump
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