Article published Saturday, August 28, 2004

The Swifties are here to stay


AN AXIOM of politics is: "Don't feed a bad story." By going postal
about the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, John Kerry has laid out a
veritable banquet.
Senator Kerry has accused the Swifties of smearing him by criticizing
his Vietnam service. But he has gone further, declaring the Swifties
to be Republican shills, put up to attacking Mr. Kerry by the evil
President Bush. If Mr. Kerry were to acknowledge the real reason why
the Swifties hate him - because he falsely accused them and other
Vietnam veterans of committing war crimes - it would not enhance his
appeal to swing voters.

Mr. Kerry's "evidence" for this charge is that most of the seed money
for Swift Boat Veterans for Truth came from a $200,000 contribution
from Houston builder Bob Perry, a frequent contributor to GOP
candidates.

The New York Times has tried to help Mr. Kerry out by publishing a
complex genealogy which indicates that Swiftie John O'Neill, principal
author of Unfit for Command and now a prominent Houston lawyer, knows
Republicans who know other Republicans who know Mr. Bush. (That Times
article didn't mention that Mr. O'Neill says he's an independent who
voted for Al Gore in 2000.)

If the "Republican attack machine" were behind the Swifties, it did a
lousy job. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had barely $250,000 on
hand when they launched their first ad in three mid-sized markets in
Ohio, Wisconsin, and West Virginia. By contrast, the three largest
independent committees have raised and spent nearly $60 million on ads
attacking Mr. Bush.

Benjamin Ginsberg, national counsel for the Bush-Cheney campaign,
resigned after it was disclosed that he was also providing legal
advice to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Mr. Ginsberg said the
Bush campaign was unaware of his connection to the Swifties.

The law says there can be no coordination between campaigns and "527"
groups, but attorneys are specifically permitted to provide legal
advice to both campaigns and independent groups.

Robert Bauer, the national counsel of the Kerry-Edwards campaign, also
represents America Coming Together, one of the largest of the
anti-Bush 527s. He hasn't resigned from either post.

One of the anti-Bush 527s is run by Jim Jordan, Mr. Kerry's former
campaign manager. Kerry staffer Zach Exley came to his campaign from
MoveOn.org, the 527 that has run the most vicious anti-Bush ads.

Mr. Kerry can be confident that while the "mainstream" media will
trumpet his charges, there will be no exploration of possible
collusion between his campaign and these supposedly independent
groups.

On May 9, for instance, the Democratic National Committee issued a
press release that said: "The Democratic Party is partnering with
MoveOn.org, People for the American Way, Campaign for America's
Future, and dozens of other groups representing millions of Americans
to organize a massive public mobilization."

The biggest unreported story of this campaign is the extent to which
the major media are in the tank for Mr. Kerry. But media bias - which
has reached comic proportions in the Swift Boat vet controversy - may
be doing Mr. Kerry more harm than good.

If journalists were more interested in covering the news than in
covering up for Mr. Kerry, they would have explored the Swifties'
charges back in May, when the group first raised them. Had due
diligence been done then, it might have been possible for Mr. Kerry to
put the controversy behind him. Now it has exploded on him at a
critical time, knocking him off message.

When Mr. Kerry's attack on the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth forced
the story onto the front pages, the media tried to provide damage
control. But what might have been contained as a small fire in May had
become a raging inferno by August.

Despite the media attempt at a blackout, the charges made by the
Swifties were causing a hemorrhage of support for Mr. Kerry among
veterans, thanks to the efforts of dozens of web loggers. Still, his
escalation of the issue is puzzling. Thanks to Mr. Kerry, many, many
more people have heard of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, and are
curious about what they have to say. The publisher of Unfit for
Command can't print books fast enough to meet demand.

While still small potatoes as far as 527 committees go, the Swifties
are now - thanks to Mr. Kerry - relatively flush. The group reports
having received more than $1.7 million in Internet contributions since
Mr. Kerry attacked them. They won't be going away any time soon.





Pathetic Earthlings! No one can save you now!

The Swifties are a bunch of lying assholes just like your bottom
buddy Bu****.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Horvath" wrote in message
...
Article published Saturday, August 28, 2004

The Swifties are here to stay

The Swifties are a bunch of lying assholes just like your bottom
buddy Bu****.


George Bush has now publically defended Kerry's war record and that's all that
matters.
Kerry served and saw action. He was wounded. Later he opposed the war he fought
in, which was his right as a free American. End of story.
Bush got drunk in those years and showed no national responsibility as Kerry
did.

RB

No national responsibility? Have you forgotten that he enlisted, went
to officer's school, flight school, and became a fighter pilot?

He never "fought" anyone or saw any action. Kerry did and Bush is defending
that. Are you calling Bush a liar?

RB

On Sun, 29 Aug 2004 08:58:05 -0400, Horvath
wrote:

On 29 Aug 2004 11:21:39 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote this
crap:

George Bush has now publically defended Kerry's war record and that's all that
matters.
Kerry served and saw action. He was wounded. Later he opposed the war he fought
in, which was his right as a free American. End of story.
Bush got drunk in those years and showed no national responsibility as Kerry
did.


No national responsibility? Have you forgotten that he enlisted, went
to officer's school, flight school, and became a fighter pilot?

You don't even have that right. Ben Barnes, the Speaker of the Texas
House, after receiving a request from a longtime Bush family friend,
obtained a sport for GWB in the Texas Air National Guard, moving him
to the head of the line, after he scored a 25%, the lowest possible
passing grade for officer aptitude.

As to going to officer's school. Again, bzzzzt. Wrong again. He
received his officer's commission through a special appointment after
6 weeks of basic training. He never had a day of officer's training.
I guess that 25 on his aptitude test dazzled the three officer panel
who recommended that GWB be made an officer with no specific training.

For anyone else, the requirements would have been "eight full
semesters of college ROTC courses or eighteen months of military
service or completion of Air Force officer training school. Texas
National Guard historian said that he "never heard of that" except for
flight surgeons." So, Doctors are often commissioned as officers
without Officer Training, but never pilots. Not even in the Texas Air
National Guard...except one.

He then did attend flight school and was a pilot, until he failed to
take a physical, and lost his flight status with two years remaining
in his National Guard obligation. Coincidentally, or not, this was
during the time that these physicals began drug testing.

For those remaining two years, during which GWB was suspended as a
pilot, he was, on paper, transferred to Administrative duty, although
he never showed up anywhere. Not Alabama or back in Houston.
Finally, after already moving to Boston to attend Harvard, he
requested and received an early discharge.

So basically GWB was given a spot a the Guard, given an Officer's
Commission and provided with flight training at taxpayer expense and
all he was asked to do was show up on a few weekends. He didn't even
do that.

As to going to officer's school. Again, bzzzzt. Wrong again. He
received his officer's commission through a special appointment after
6 weeks of basic training. He never had a day of officer's training.
I guess that 25 on his aptitude test dazzled the three officer panel


Holy crap! This is 100% true!

RB

So basically GWB was given a spot a the Guard, given an Officer's
Commission and provided with flight training at taxpayer expense and
all he was asked to do was show up on a few weekends. He didn't even
do that.


I assure you that Horvath could care less about this.

RB

Not true. He saw action at the bar.

--
"j" ganz @@
www.sailnow.com

"Bobsprit" wrote in message
...
No national responsibility? Have you forgotten that he enlisted, went
to officer's school, flight school, and became a fighter pilot?

He never "fought" anyone or saw any action. Kerry did and Bush is
defending
that. Are you calling Bush a liar?

RB

On 29 Aug 2004 14:42:35 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote:

As to going to officer's school. Again, bzzzzt. Wrong again. He
received his officer's commission through a special appointment after
6 weeks of basic training. He never had a day of officer's training.
I guess that 25 on his aptitude test dazzled the three officer panel


Holy crap! This is 100% true!

RB

Of course it is true. No secret there. All anyone really needs to do
is ask themselves the hypothetical question, if Bush's military
records and Kerry's military records were each magically switched, can
you imagine the howl the right wing would be putting up about Kerry,
the National Guard deserter and GWB, the greatest naval hero since
John Paul Jones?

Obviously the answer is that many people are not interested in the
truth of their own hypocrisy. They not only accept an obvious
campaign of lies and smears, they stand in line to buy tickets to see
it. They will accept anything that reinforces their own views, even
though those views have been shaped by their unwillingness to
truthfully examine the issues. All issues, not just this little trip
down memory lane to the 1960s. The music was great, but the times
were not.

On 29 Aug 2004 14:42:35 GMT, (Bobsprit) wrote this
crap:

As to going to officer's school. Again, bzzzzt. Wrong again. He
received his officer's commission through a special appointment after
6 weeks of basic training. He never had a day of officer's training.
I guess that 25 on his aptitude test dazzled the three officer panel


Holy crap! This is 100% true!

It's bull****.





Pathetic Earthlings! No one can save you now!