They are funded by BushCo, and they are lying for BushCo.

Bush Tolerates Smear Campaign

A group of veterans have launched a media blitz featuring a host of
wholly unsubstantiated and largely discredited charges against Sen.
John Kerry (D-MA) which call into question his record of honorable
military service in Vietnam. In particular, the group – called Swift
Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) – is airing an ad featuring 13 men who
never served with Kerry calling him a liar and alleging that he did
not deserve the Silver Star, the Bronze Star, and two of his three
Purple Hearts. The allegations contradict all of Kerry's crewmates who
are still living, medical records and an independent investigation by
historian Douglas Brinkley. Sen. John McCain – who was similarly
smeared by false charges during his 2000 campaign that he fathered an
out-of-wedlock black child – called the group's advertisement
"dishonest and dishonorable." But asked specifically whether Bush
would join McCain in condemning the ad, White House Press Secretary
Scott McClellan demurred.

TELL BUSH TO HONOR HIS OWN WISHES FROM 1992: What a difference a
decade makes. According to the 7/14/92 Washington Post, George W. Bush
wrote a letter in 1992 on behalf of his father's presidential campaign
to 85,697 campaign contributors condemning an operation attempting to
smear Bill Clinton and encouraging them not to contribute to the
effort. E-mail George W. Bush and tell him to follow his own example
by condemning the smear tactics of the SBVT and urging his
contributors not to finance their activities.

KEY MEMBER OF SBVT ADMITS HE WAS LYING: A key member of SBVT, Kerry's
former commanding officer George Elliot, admitted to the Washington
Post that his affidavit suggesting Kerry did not deserve the silver
star was "a terrible mistake." Elliot appears in the SBVT
advertisement and says, "John Kerry has not been honest about what
happened in Vietnam." SBVT provided Elliot's repudiated affidavit as
the support of that statement. Elliot, who originally recommended
Kerry for the Silver Star, said that even at the time he signed the
affidavit he "knew it was wrong." (After Michael Kranish of the Boston
Globe published the story, he was falsely accused by Internet gossip
monger Matt Drudge of authoring the introduction to John Kerry's
campaign book.) Subsequently, Elliot has signed a new affidavit, again
alleging that Kerry didn't deserve a Silver Star. But, according to
the non-partisan Annenberg Political Fact Check, "Elliott's latest
affidavit is misleading, containing an incorrect characterization of
the official basis for Kerry's Silver Star." Elliot does make clear
that he does not have any "personal knowledge" of the event at issue
and has "chosen to believe other men."

FINANCIAL BACKER OF SBVT CLOSELY TIED TO BUSH: The primary financial
backer of SBVT is homebuilder Robert Perry. Of the $158,000 the group
had reported through the end of June, Perry contributed $100,000.
Perry "has long-standing ties to many close associates of President
Bush and has contributed to Bush's last four campaigns."
Specifically, Perry has worked closely with Bush's chief political
advisor Karl Rove. He donated more than $20,000 to Bush's
gubernatorial campaigns and, over the last four years, "has given more
money to campaigns and political organizations...than any other
Texan."