Posted on 08/22/2004 12:28:40 PM PDT by kristinn
GAINESVILLE, Fla. - A member of a group that has run ads attacking John Kerry's Vietnam War record pulled out of an anti-Kerry rally over the weekend after learning that it was promoted at the local headquarters for President Bush's campaign.
Joe Ponder, wounded during the war in 1968 and now a member of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, said he backed out of the Saturday speaking engagement after learning that fliers promoting the event had been distributed Friday at Alachua County Republican headquarters, which houses the local Bush-Cheney campaign.
"I had the assurance that the party and the Bush-Cheney campaign had nothing to do with this," Ponder told The Gainesville Sun for a story published Sunday.
The campaign to re-elect Bush has insisted that it has no connection to the swift boat veteran's group. It is a "527" organization, advocacy groups named for a section of the tax code. They can raise endless amounts of "soft money" and spend it for or against whatever target they choose, but are barred from coordinating with candidates.
It has sponsored television ads featuring several Vietnam veterans who accuse Kerry, the Democratic nominee for president, of lying about events for which he won medals.
The Kerry campaign filed a complaint Friday with the Federal Election Commission, alleging the Swift Boat Veterans are coordinating their ads with the Bush campaign. The Bush campaign has denied the claim but refused to condemn the group's TV ads.
"This campaign would object to any sort of literature or promotion (from an outside group) placed within any Republican office," Bush-Cheney spokesman Taylor Griffin said Saturday. "The bottom line is, this campaign has no relationship with this group."
Kerry supporters say members of the organization did not serve in the same boat as the candidate and the Massachusetts senator has repeatedly said he stands by his record. The group is financed by a Texas businessman with longtime ties to prominent Republicans in the state, including President Bush.
Dineen Wolfersheim, secretary of the Alachua County Republican Executive Committee, said she helped organize Saturday's event as a private citizen and blamed an unidentified "overzealous Republican" for placing the flier in the party's headquarters. She said once local Republican party officials learned of the promotion's placement, they removed it.
Activists for both candidates showed up at the event, with more than 70 Kerry supporters competing with a smaller, pro-Bush contingent.
The left no doubt has more dirty tricks up their sleeve. It could be a rocky ride from here to Nov.
I agree with you, John O'Neill is AWESOME! He has held a very special place in my heart since he had trhe 'nads to confron tKerry in April 1971. That place has grown in volume from his BRAVE and STEADFASTNESS in writing "UNFIT for Command" and acting as a spokesperson for the Swifties!
I know about the laws. I also know that there is
no evidence they were violated. If we bug out of events,
don't allow literature in certain locations, etc.,
based on mere appearance or the possibility we will
be accused of breaking the law, we are acting in
a cowardly manner. The Democrats can turn anything
into a confrontation. It is unwise and lacking in
courage to back down in situations that are, at
worst, ambiguous.
This is exactly the kind of thing that, repeated
thousands of times by thousands of Republicans,
causes the Democrats to run roughshod over us.
We have to break out of our timid mindset.
First rule of winning in politics: When your opponent is in the process of being destroyed, DON'T INTERRUPT!
"Compare this to Kerry and Michael Moore ..."
Okay - what is the comparison? You must know since you brought it up, does Moore get funding, free advertising...from the Kerry campaign, what is the 'skinny'?
McCain/Feingold is "For Republicans Only"!!!!!!!!!!!
how do i know the dem who picked up the flier didn't plant it there, the dem in question is my father. a man i've known for 45 years, and never once have i seen him tell a lie. i may not always agree with his stance on everything, but i assure you that he is NOT a liar, and did NOT plant anything at the GOP HQs. Bill Shilling is simply a retiree that volunteers with various groups he thinks are worthy, nothing more, nothing less. you can stop all your paranoid conspiracy bullshit concerning him. even local GOP party officials in gainesville ADMIT that the fliers were placed there by an "overzealous" staff member. so let it go.
Bill Shilling, M.D.
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