Friday, August 06, 2004 - Apache Junction, Arizona, USA
IT BEGINS
Set to air in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin today is a Repubo ad featuring members of a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Isn’t it amazing how the word “truth” is slapped around now-a-days?
These veterans appearing in the anti-Kerry ad accuse the Democratic presidential nominee of lying about his decorated Vietnam War record and of betraying his fellow veterans by later opposing the conflict.
“When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry,” Larry Thurlow says in the ad. He claims to have witnessed the events that led to Kerry winning his Bronze Star and the last of his three Purple Hearts. In case you’re wondering, no, Thurlow didn’t serve on Kerry’s swift boat. You know, the one where his actual crew members claim the man was a true hero and saved their lives.
After previewing the ad Arizona’s senior Republican Senator, John McCain, immediately voiced his opposition to it and called on the White House to condemn it. McCain said, “I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat Kerry commanded. Many of the crew have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam.” Later he added, “It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me.” McCain knows what he’s talking about, but you might not be familiar with the story.
I think we can all agree that this attack on John Kerry’s honor simply reeks with a horrible odor. Indeed, I’ve always said that an arse by any other name smells the same. In this case, the arse belongs to one Karl Rove, Senior Political Advisor to President Bush. You know how detectives look for the “smoking gun”? In the case of political dirty tricks, you look for the “smelly butt.”
In February of 2000, John McCain’s Straight Talk Express was coming off a strong victory in the New Hampshire primary and moving toward South Carolina with a full head of steam. Almost immediately, South Carolina Repubos began receiving calls like this:
Caller: Hi. I’m calling from an independent polling company and I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time to conduct a survey.
Voter: Uh…sure.
Caller: Great! If you knew that Senator John McCain was a cheat and a liar and a fraud, and that he fathered an illegitimate black child, would you be more likely to vote for him or less likely to vote for him?
Voter: Hmmm. Probably less.
Suffice it to say that these calls were not made from an independent polling company. Rove knew how to steal an election without leaving any fingerprints. Other rumors about McCain surfaced that were circulated at the time included that he was pro-abortion (no), that his wife had outstanding arrest warrants for giving alcohol to minors (no) that he was gay (no), and that he had voted for the largest tax increase ever (no). They even paid a group of vets to claim that McCain received special treatment during his imprisonment in Vietnam.
The Repubos swore on a stack of Bibles that they had nothing to do with these attacks, but it doesn’t take a mental giant to figure out the only person who could have benefited from these vicious lies was George W. Bush. When Bush was asked when he would hit McCain’s soft spots, his reply was, “I’m going to. I’m not going to do it on TV.” This was captured on C-SPAN on February 12th when Bushie didn’t realize the camera was running.
Sound familiar? Keep watching. The Vietnam Vets were only the opening salvo of a dirty tricks campaign that Dick Nixon would have been proud to have been part of.
©2004 Marcia Ellen "Happy" Beevre
Set to air in Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin today is a Repubo ad featuring members of a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Isn’t it amazing how the word “truth” is slapped around now-a-days?
These veterans appearing in the anti-Kerry ad accuse the Democratic presidential nominee of lying about his decorated Vietnam War record and of betraying his fellow veterans by later opposing the conflict.
“When the chips were down, you could not count on John Kerry,” Larry Thurlow says in the ad. He claims to have witnessed the events that led to Kerry winning his Bronze Star and the last of his three Purple Hearts. In case you’re wondering, no, Thurlow didn’t serve on Kerry’s swift boat. You know, the one where his actual crew members claim the man was a true hero and saved their lives.
After previewing the ad Arizona’s senior Republican Senator, John McCain, immediately voiced his opposition to it and called on the White House to condemn it. McCain said, “I deplore this kind of politics. I think the ad is dishonest and dishonorable. As it is, none of these individuals served on the boat Kerry commanded. Many of the crew have testified to his courage under fire. I think John Kerry served honorably in Vietnam.” Later he added, “It was the same kind of deal that was pulled on me.” McCain knows what he’s talking about, but you might not be familiar with the story.
I think we can all agree that this attack on John Kerry’s honor simply reeks with a horrible odor. Indeed, I’ve always said that an arse by any other name smells the same. In this case, the arse belongs to one Karl Rove, Senior Political Advisor to President Bush. You know how detectives look for the “smoking gun”? In the case of political dirty tricks, you look for the “smelly butt.”
In February of 2000, John McCain’s Straight Talk Express was coming off a strong victory in the New Hampshire primary and moving toward South Carolina with a full head of steam. Almost immediately, South Carolina Repubos began receiving calls like this:
Caller: Hi. I’m calling from an independent polling company and I was wondering if I could have a minute of your time to conduct a survey.
Voter: Uh…sure.
Caller: Great! If you knew that Senator John McCain was a cheat and a liar and a fraud, and that he fathered an illegitimate black child, would you be more likely to vote for him or less likely to vote for him?
Voter: Hmmm. Probably less.
Suffice it to say that these calls were not made from an independent polling company. Rove knew how to steal an election without leaving any fingerprints. Other rumors about McCain surfaced that were circulated at the time included that he was pro-abortion (no), that his wife had outstanding arrest warrants for giving alcohol to minors (no) that he was gay (no), and that he had voted for the largest tax increase ever (no). They even paid a group of vets to claim that McCain received special treatment during his imprisonment in Vietnam.
The Repubos swore on a stack of Bibles that they had nothing to do with these attacks, but it doesn’t take a mental giant to figure out the only person who could have benefited from these vicious lies was George W. Bush. When Bush was asked when he would hit McCain’s soft spots, his reply was, “I’m going to. I’m not going to do it on TV.” This was captured on C-SPAN on February 12th when Bushie didn’t realize the camera was running.
Sound familiar? Keep watching. The Vietnam Vets were only the opening salvo of a dirty tricks campaign that Dick Nixon would have been proud to have been part of.
©2004 Marcia Ellen "Happy" Beevre
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