Kerry Files Complaint With FEC Against Swift Boat Ads
CNSNews.com
Claiming
that TV ads from Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) are untrue and
illegally coordinated with the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign, the
Kerry campaign filed a complaint with the Federal Election Commission
late Friday.
The
complaint states that, “based on recent press reports and SBVT's own
statements, there is overwhelming evidence that SBVT is coordinating
its expenditures on advertising and other activities designed to
influence the presidential election with the Bush-Cheney campaign.”
“This
Republican front group for Bush is out of credibility after being
caught in lie after lie day after day,” Kerry campaign Press Secretary
David Wade told CNN.
(more) Well, all I can say to that is, well done, Senator.
Swift boat skipper: Kerry critics wrong
Chicago Tribune
Tribune editor breaks long silence on Kerry record; fought in disputed battle
The commander of a Navy swift boat who served alongside Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry during the Vietnam War stepped forward Saturday to dispute attacks challenging Kerry's integrity and war record.
William
Rood, an editor on the Chicago Tribune's metropolitan desk, said he
broke 35 years of silence about the Feb. 28, 1969, mission that
resulted in Kerry's receiving a Silver Star because recent portrayals
of Kerry's actions published in the best-selling book “Unfit for
Command” are wrong and smear the reputations of veterans who served
with Kerry.
Rood,
who commanded one of three swift boats during that 1969 mission, said
Kerry came under rocket and automatic weapons fire from Viet Cong
forces and that Kerry devised an aggressive attack strategy that was
praised by their superiors. He called allegations that Kerry's
accomplishments were “overblown” untrue.
“The
critics have taken pains to say they're not trying to cast doubts on
the merit of what others did, but their version of events has splashed
doubt on all of us. It's gotten harder and harder for those of us who
were there to listen to accounts we know to be untrue, especially when
they come from people who were not there,” Rood said in a 1,700-word
first-person account published in Sunday's Tribune.
(more)
Thanks to Ellen Ballas of Rapid Response – Iowa for this article.
Not So Swift Boat Veterans
By William Rivers Pitt, Truthout.org
Ever hear the old story of the lady and the snake?
A
lady finds a snake injured in the road. She takes it home, cares for
it, helps it heal, and the two become friends. One day, the lady is in
her garden with the snake, and the snake suddenly bites her in the
throat. The lady lays dying and gasps, “Why did you bite me? I was your
friend?” The snake replies, “Lady, you knew I was a snake when you
picked me up.”
This
is a parable the Bush/Cheney campaign is getting to know with
suddenness and venom. They apparently picked up a snake named the Swift
Boat Veterans for Truth, and that snake just took a mighty big chomp
out of them.
It
started at the end of July with the Democratic National Convention. The
central theme was Kerry's Vietnam service record, and the convention
brought out so many Generals and Admirals to vouch for Kerry, you
thought the Fleet Center was hosting a brass festival. Couple that with
Kerry's “Band of Brothers,” the men who served with him and are now
campaigning with him, and at the end of the thing you had the
Democratic candidate packaged as a genuine American hero. After 9/11,
after Afghanistan, after Iraq and all the casualties, having a blooded
veteran standing forth was an image many Americans could get behind.
(more)
Thanks to the tireless Ellen Ballas for this article, too!
Sign The Petition
JohnKerry.com
The
front group for the Bush campaign called “Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth” is continuing to spread their lies about John Kerry's military
record. Their statements have been contradicted by official Navy
records, the New York Times, the Washington Post, the Chicago Tribune
and every man who served under John Kerry — yet George Bush refuses to
condemn their tactics. Through his silence, George Bush is approving
their action. And Bush campaign officials in Florida are even promoting
events for this front group.
Enough
is enough. No matter what these Bush campaign shills now say, John
Kerry's commanders remarked in 1969 that, “In a combat environment
often requiring independent, decisive action, LTJG Kerry was
unsurpassed.”
Tell George Bush to stop the smear and get back to the issues.
Click here to sign the petition.
Thanks to Darrell Lewis for sending in this petition..
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