Meet the astroturfer planning to swift boat Obama

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@truthteam2012 "Meet the astroturfer planning to swift boat Obama": http://t.co/fvVnaNwn 5.4.2012, 11:22 a.m.


By Adam Weinstein at Mother Jones on Fri. May 4, 2012

Veterans for a Strong America describes itself "a grassroots action organization committed to ensuring that America remains a strong nation by advancing liberty, safeguarding freedom and opposing tyranny." Founded in 2010, the ostensibly nonpartisan group kept a low profile until earlier this week, when it posted a splashy online ad that uses statements from President Barack Obama to suggest that the commander-in-chief boasted about his role in killing Osama bin Laden, dishonoring America's military in the process . . .

Joel Arends, VFSA's founder, chairman, and sole staffer, tells me he's proud of his organization's viral video, even if it's characterized as swift boating. "Yes, it's the swift boating of the president, in the sense of using what's perceived to be his greatest strength and making it his greatest weakness."

. . . Arends got his start in politics as a South Dakota Bush-Cheney field director in 2000. He's currently the Republican party head in Lincoln County, South Dakota. Though he doesn't list it on his public resume, around 2006 Arends went to work for Craig Dewey, the state director of Americans for Prosperity, an advocacy outfit that's Astroturfed everything from the tea party and the Wisconsin union fight to public-school segregation. (AFP's nonprofit 501(c)3 wing is chaired by David Koch, who founded the Americans for Prosperity Foundation with his brother Charles.)

After leaving AFP, Arends and Dewey went into business starting "grassroots" issue groups whose names tended to overstate their reach. There was Combat Veterans for Congress, a Sarah Palin-endorsed PAC that pushed "fiscally conservative" vets to run for office; the Coalition for Cures Not Cloning, set up to combat stem-cell research; and Children Need Parents, a group that succeeded in altering the South Dakota's mom-friendly divorce and custody laws. They also oversaw efforts to roll back EPA regulations, punish businesses that dealt with Iran, and ban sharia law in South Dakota. "Our strength is grassroots organizing," Arends explains. "I love bringing people together."

In 2007, Arends became the executive director of Veterans for Freedom (VFF), whose members fought Obama's Supreme Court nominations, coordinated campaigns for right-wing candidates like Florida Rep. Allen West, and freaked out about the prospect of Islamic law being implemented in America. Arends' job included recruiting vets and flying them, expenses-paid, to Washington, DC, to attend events like the "Vets Take the Hill" rally with Republican members of Congress and Sen. Joe Lieberman in April 2008.


read more: http://m.motherjones.com/politics/2012/05/swift-boat-obama-bin-laden-video

[JNelson6563]

1. First though this might be Metta style call-out...

[FSogol]

2. Same here.

[uponit7771]

4. What is a metta style call out? TIA for any input

[peace frog]

3. Obama's camp needs to dig up whatever dirt they can on this guy

and hit 'em back hard. No quarter, EVER.

[DinahMoeHum]

21. Paging Larry Flynt. . .Paging Larry Flynt

Get the ol' Hustler guy in on it as well. . .

[mmonk]

5. Posted on Facebook.

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. These assholes would have swiftboated Eisenhower

Eisenhower wouldn't even be considered a Republican today. Eisenhower used images of D-Day in his campaigns for President, taking credit for conquering Hitler. Republican swift boat ads probably would have pointed out that Ike sat at a desk throughout the war and neer pulled a trigger.

But what can they do to Obama? In the case of Kerry, they said he lied about the two incidents where he won silver stars. They even did a minor swiftboating during that 2004 campaign (such as comments by Rush Limbaugh and others on the radio) saying that Wesley Clark's silver star was unmerited. In this case regarding bin Laden the facts can't be disputed. All they can say is that they don't like the fact that Obama used the raid in a campaign ad. I don't think the American people will care.

[klook]

8. Yes, they need to be reminded

that they supported a president who bragged about his accomplishments when he HAD DONE NOTHING!

[LiberalLovinLug]

7. "Grassroots" has lost all meaning

Like "low fat" or "organic" the word is just slapped onto whatever agenda an organization wants to promote.
It has no meaning anymore.

[Iliyah]

9. These assholes

would have swiftboated "JESUS CHRIST"!

[maxrandb]

10. Ahem

Assholes like this did swiftboat Jesus Christ!

[Worried senior]

11. Hoping they are better

prepared to fight back on this than Kerry was.

[bigtree]

12. well,

. . . their campaign did highlight this nifty article on their website for us to mull over. Jim Messina and crew don't look to miss a beat.

[politicasista]

17. Good for them

Unfortunately people will still use the swiftboating experience to slam Kerry to praise Obama. Glad they are on the ball though.

[LASlibinSC]

13. Know thy enemy

[Rambis]

14. yep

[judesedit]

15. How many times did you hear the GOP using 9/11??? Thousands.

Okay

[madmax]

18. He's a political op

Heard a bit on Politics Nation. Obama camp better get out in front of this unlike Kerry. This is total b.s. The ad is completely taken out of context. Glad 30 Rock with Brian Williams came out before this gets too out of hand.

[Smilo]

19. Come on Mr. President...........start fighting this excuse

for a human being NOW - don't be nice - you can't be nice - you have to fight fire with fire and go on the offensive - don't make the mistake of taking the high ground - with people like Arends there is no high ground and they will just go on attacking and attacking.

[47of74]

24. He needs to realize that these people crawled out of the sewers...

...so maybe the gutter is where we need to be now.

[Initech]

20. Sorry that Swift Boat bullshit might have worked in 2004 but not with Romney as your candidate.

Romney is way too devisive even among conservatives for that crap to work again.

[peace frog]

27. It matters not one whit that Romney is the RW candidate this go-round

Being swiftboated is a fact of political campaign life for Dems. It should be thoroughly anticipated, the response planned for in advance and made ready to put into action. Dig up dirt on the swiftboaters and put it out there loud and proud. Hit 'em back hard and often.

[LarryNM]

22. Just more swiftboat Liars Whoring for their Corporatist Pimps n/t

[GusFring]

23. first Ive seen of this vid. I laughed. Probably wont be as funny when the media starts asking if

Obama is spiking the football and it eventually becomes a talking point. But right now it looks weak.

Karl Rove is a real asshole though. I really cant find anything to like about him.

[The Wizard]

25. If the media

picks this up and runs with it like it did with the Swift boat ads, making them appear as news they should be declared enemies of the United States. Hang this albatross around Romney's neck until it rots off. Republicans deserve to be ridiculed and swamped in the election.

[cin63]

26. Romoney is a

draft dodger, our president not.

[malaise]

28. The biggest nightmare for ReTHUGs is that

Obama took out Bin Laden. No amount of swift boating will change that.
These fuckers will destroy every institution in the name of power. This time they will fail.