What Everyone Should Know About The Secretive Group Trying To Swift Boat Barack Obama

[Galraedia]

Source: ThinkProgress

A secretive right-wing group, Veterans For A Strong America, is attempting to do to President Obama what the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth did to Sen. John Kerry. And they aren’t shy about it. The group’s leader and sole employee, Joel Arends, told Mother Jones, “Yes, it’s the swift boating of the president.”


Arends said his goal is to take “what’s percieved to be [Obama's] greatest strength” — the successful raid on Osama Bin Laden’s Pakistani compound — and make it “his greatest weekend.” The effort started this week with a web video attacking Obama for taking too much credit.

In an interview with ThinkProgress, Arends refused to discuss any information regarding how the group was financed or its leadership. Arends also declined to provide legal forms he claims to have filed with the IRS. A representative from the IRS told ThinkProgress that the agency does not have any forms from Arends’ group on file.

Here’s what we do know about Arends and Veterans For A Strong America:

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/security/2012/05/06/478820/obama-swift-boat-veterans-for-a-strong-america/

[Frustratedlady]

1. It shouldn't be difficult to figure out who is backing this...

KarlKochKKK-types

The trash always leads back to these kind of people/groups. I wonder how many of them are tax-free?

Maybe a lot of these contributions are funds that have been hidden in off-shore accounts and they use these groups to money launder. Far-fetched, but so are they. They sure don't seem to mind throwing the money down the drain.

[Crow73]

2. Can they really be this stupid?

Veterans For A Strong America
P.O. Box 1246
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1246

Americans for Prosperity
PO BOX 1246
SIOUX FALLS, SD 57101-1246

Koch funded idiots strike again...

[lonestarnot]

4. Well lemme see. Ugh yes. Prollee Minute Men relatives. See

fuckerwit Russell Pierce AZ and where his outside money came from and their attempted legislative theft by laundering of that same outside money through the legislature of that outside money. Problem, that type of theft is legal.


FBI questions Hughes in Gilbert mass shootings

"Once inside home, investigators said they found something out of the ordinary. Ready had several 640 millimeter projectile grenades."

http://www.kpho.com/story/18155525/friends-help-raise-money-for-gilbert-shooting-victims

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

6. Hey

[TahitiNut]

11. Also ...

Accountability in Congress Matters Pac
Po Box 1246
Sioux Falls, South Dakota 57101-1246

First Strike Strategies
PO Box 1246
Sioux Falls, SD 57101-1246


Clearly, Arends is a "cottage industry" in himself, a lapdog for KKKoch's Fascists'R'Us.

[proud2BlibKansan]

25. With all that Koch money you'd think they could afford more PO boxes

[CenaW]

16. Yes, they truly believe the citizens of this nation are brainless . . . .

and honestly, considering how long they have been getting away with their campaign to turn the U.S.A.into a 100% fa. .sc. is.t nation. I kind of agree.

The began with ernest after JFK 1960 win. Nixon's dirty tricks election their first win.
Jimmy Carter the first Democratic President targeted to be destroyed.

Unfortunately, Clinton and his zipper problem helped them destroy that presidency even if they could no prevent his re-election or drum him from office.

They do intend to destroy President Obama and every Democratic elected/campaigner they can.
They have the money. . . .
power over the so called news to destroy a President.

[CBHagman]

19. "...power over the so-called news."

Bingo. They get the media (and thereby the public) to repeat their message. The media most obediently signed on to the "Al Gore is a serial liar/exaggerator," though Gore still won the popular vote, but unfortunately not the presidency.

What we need this election is a technique to deflate swiftboaters, unmask them. It's an uphill battle, though not impossible.

[AnotherMcIntosh]

3. It doesn't matter, no matter what they do.

Everyone knows that we are now involved in endless wars.

What would Rmoney do? What would swift-boaters want Rmoney to do? Start another war?

[madashelltoo]

13. AnotherMcIntosh,

Where did you get that copy of their playbook, dammit?

[Cleita]

5. Betcha you can trace both groups back to the same sources.

Richard Mellon Sciafe seems to be one of them along with the Koch Brothers

http://sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Richard_Mellon_Scaife

Although there are layers of think tanks and other organizations funded by the above, they all lead to the same place, that is to target and disgrace any Democrats in power, especially the President or those who want to be President.

[RobertEarl]

7. Useful idiots

Every time they mention that Obama took out the bad guy, Obama looks even better. Bring it on VASA.

Spend billions telling the world Obama did what Bush couldn't. We thank you.

[Gregorian]

8. Here we go again. With added electronic voting.

Something's wrong with our process. The voters.

[starroute]

9. Koch Brothers -- but also batshit-crazy warhawks like Jerry Boykin

That's this Jerry Boykin:

http://www.commondreams.org/headlines03/1016-01.htm

October 16, 2003

Lt. Gen. William G. "Jerry" Boykin, the new deputy undersecretary of Defense for intelligence, is a much-decorated and twice-wounded veteran of covert military operations. From the bloody 1993 clash with Muslim warlords in Somalia chronicled in "Black Hawk Down" and the hunt for Colombian drug czar Pablo Escobar to the ill-fated attempt to rescue American hostages in Iran in 1980, Boykin was in the thick of things.

Yet the former commander and 13-year veteran of the Army's top-secret Delta Force is also an outspoken evangelical Christian who appeared in dress uniform and polished jump boots before a religious group in Oregon in June to declare that radical Islamists hated the United States "because we're a Christian nation, because our foundation and our roots are Judeo-Christian ... and the enemy is a guy named Satan."

Discussing the battle against a Muslim warlord in Somalia, Boykin told another audience, "I knew my God was bigger than his. I knew that my God was a real God and his was an idol."

"We in the army of God, in the house of God, kingdom of God have been raised for such a time as this," Boykin said last year.

[starroute]

10. The group he was with preveiously, Vets for Freedom, was tied to the Bush administration

http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0626-31.htm

June 26, 2006

Citizen journalists on SourceWatch have been investigating and exposing the many Republican connections and the partisan pro-war political agenda behind Vets for Freedom, a new organization with mysterious funding and a flashy website designed by Campaign Solutions, part of the Donatelli Group. Vets for Freedom's hollow claim of "non-partisanship" took another blow Sunday, June 25, when the Buffalo News published a front page story by Jerry Zremski, their Washington correspondent, linking Vets for Freedom to the Bush White House.

Describing Vets for Freedom as a "pro-war group with deep Republican ties," the Buffalo News revealed that Taylor Gross, who until last year worked as a spokesman for President Bush under White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan, is conducting PR work for Veterans for Freedom. Gross attempted to convince the Buffalo News and other papers that two decorated military veterans with the group, Wade Zirkle and David Bellavia, could report cheaply for the newspapers from Iraq while embedded with the US military.

While pitching Zirkle and Bellavia to the Buffalo News and other papers as "balanced and credible" reporters, Taylor Gross neglected to identify himself as a Republican operative who had done PR work in the White House press office until just last year. Gross left his White House job to form the Republican public relations firm the Herald Group with his political cohorts Matt Well and Doug McGinn.

[starroute]

12. And Vets for Freedom got its web hosting from SMARTech

For anybody who remembers their ancient history, that name will set off alarm bells. For anyone who doesn't, SMARTech was connected with the unofficial email accounts that the Bush administration -- and particularly the people close to Karl Rove -- used to conduct its dirtier business and also with claims that the 2004 presidential election was stolen in Ohio through computer manipulation of the electronic voting.

So, yes, a three-way alliance of the Koch brothers, Karl Rove, and the anti-Iran warhawks sounds just about right.

There's an old DU thread from 2007 (http://election.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x467855) that covers much of the SMARTech controversy and at which I originally posted the item below.

http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Vets_for_Freedom:_Website#Web_Hosting

On August 22, 2004, SMARTech Corp (smartechcorp.net) announced that it would be "hosting" the Republican National Convention in New York City, providing "convention speeches, video-on-demand 'streams' and live shots of events through powerful Web servers, most of which are at Smartech’s headquarters in downtown Chattanooga." The announcement stated that the "company also hosts the Bush-Cheney campaign Web site, at www.georgewbush.com, and the national committee’s site, www.GOP.com."

The official domain name/web site for Bush-Cheney '04 Inc. is GeorgeWBush.com. The domain, registered May 5, 1997, through Network Solutions, LLC, is due to expire May 6, 2008, if not renewed. The domain servers listed for GeorgeWBush.com/GOP.com—and VETSFORFREEDOM.ORG—are SMARTECHCORP.NET and TRESPASSERS-W.NET.

Note that GeorgeWBush.com now redirects to GOP.com. As of April 12, 2006, according to current Network Solutions registration information, the web site title is "GOP.com | Republican National Committee :: Home".

As jaming commented, "To me this just further proves www.vetsforfreedom.org is a prop for the Republican Party."

[starroute]

15. Swiftboat Veterans, Progress for America, and Vets for Freedom

One last thing I find in my notes is a question as to whether Vets for Freedom was a direct successor to Swiftboat Veterans and Progress for America. Both of those billionaire-funded groups played a major role in the 2004 election. Both were part of the same SMARTech/Mike Connell/DCI Group/Donatelli Group nexus -- as was Vets for Freedom. And both were fined by the FEC in 2006-07 for campaign finance violations, which might have explained the need for a new group without the same baggage.

So if Veterans for a Strong America is a direct successor to Vets for Freedom, it would also be a successor to those two earlier groups -- which would again locate it deep within the bowels of the dirty tricks wing of the Republican Party. And it would mean that the comparison to the original Swiftboaters is no mere idle similarity.


http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/archives/002141.php

FEC Fines Swift Boat Vets $300K
By Paul Kiel - December 13, 2006, 11:52AM

Is the era of the millionaire-backed attack group coming to an end?

The Federal Election Commission hit the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth with a $299,500 fine today for playing too fast with election rules. The Swift Boat Vets were a "527" organization, which has no limits on contributions, but were acting like federal political committees, the FEC charged. 527s are allowed to work for or against certain candidates, but if they have no other "major purpose," according to FEC spokesman Bob Biersack, then they should register as a committee.


http://jurist.law.pitt.edu/paperchase/2007/03/fec-fines-527-group-750000-for-campaign.php

March 01, 2007

FEC fines 527 group $750,000 for campaign finance law violations
Joshua Pantesco at 7:19 AM ET

The Federal Election Commission (FEC) announced a settlement [press release] Wednesday in the case against the Progress for America Voter Fund (PFA-VF) [advocacy website] for violating campaign finance laws during the 2004 election cycle. The conciliation agreement indicates that PFA-VF will pay a $750,000 fine, the third largest fine in FEC history, and that PFA-VF agreed to register as a political organization.

The FEC had alleged that PFA-VF violated several campaign finance laws in 2004 by "failing to register as a political committee with the Commission, by failing to report contributions and expenditures, by knowingly accepting contributions in amounts exceeding $5,000 from individuals, and by knowingly accepting corporate and/or union contributions..."

[starroute]

20. I also wonder if there could be a Ben Ginsberg connection

Last edited Sun May 6, 2012, 11:22 PM - Edit history (1)

Ginsberg is a long-time high-powered GOP lawyer who regularly pops us in connection with elections and recounts. He also has Koch connections going back to the 1990s. And he was the lawyer for both the Swiftboaters and Progress for America, which was an early tipoff that those two groups were not as independent as they claimed to be.

I took a couple of minutes while I was doing those earlier posts trying to find out what he was up to currently, but nothing immediately surfaced, so I moved on. But now his name pops up in another current thread here -- and it turns out he's working for Romney.

*Very* interesting.

http://www.pressherald.com/news/Delegate-fight-Snowe-LePage-today-at-convention.html

Organizers at the Augusta Civic Center on Sunday have released the unofficial voting results for the 15 at-large delegates that will go to the national GOP convention in Tampa, Fla, and all 15 are Ron Paul supporters.

Paul also picked up three additional delegates from the 1st Congressional District.

Those victories are likely to be challenged by the Mitt Romney campaign, which has dispatched its top lawyer, Benjamin Ginsberg, to Maine. Ginsberg was President George W. Bush's lawyer during the 2000 election recount.

[Kolesar]

23. Ok, I am going to bookmark this thread eom

[Dont call me Shirley]

21. Oh so he was the guy working for the bushcartel to screw up those missions intentionally

[SunSeeker]

14. What's scary is this Swiftboat propaganda is even being pushed here at DU.

Check out this thread and my exchange with the DUer who claims Obama should have been "less overt" about "calling attention to accomplishments" and then sends me a link to a Swiftboat article claiming "SEALs are against Obama":

http://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=632009

[McCamy Taylor]

17. Most attacks like this will be aimed at the left, trying to peel off parts of the base.

And yes, RNC moles will be on progressive sites, fanning the fires. That's because they are wallowing in Super Pac money and have nothing better to spend it on. I saw an attack ad on an online fansubbed anime site. The Super Pacs are now targeting teenagers who watch anime, the sign of an excess of riches---or maybe PR folks who are getting paid by the ad.

I really like Obama's version of "Morning in America"---the "New Day Dawning" and I think the negativity of all the Swift Boat Vet/Super Pac ads are going to make Romney look like a nasty, nasty, nasty man in comparison. Like he does in this Ron Paul ad




BTW, still waiting for my bumper sticker of the above.

[ProfessionalLeftist]

18. Someone should present all info in this thread to ThinkProgress

I will email the link to Rachel Maddow. This is something she should do a segment on - or two.

[KurtNYC]

24. Exactly, this is "separate the candidate from their base" stuff

If someone did something similar to Romney it would sat stuff like:
- Romney is trying to run away from his record as the liberal governor of Tax-echusettes.
- Romney-care is the model for Obama-care
- Romney can-can speak French
- Romney admits he would not have brought bin Laden to justice
- Romney is still secretly pro-choice

IMHO it is too late to swift boat Obama and it wouldn't have worked in 2008 because he does rapid response (unlike Kerry 2004).

[patrice]

22. Tell me "groups" like that don't run crap on FaceBook that puts the President's name first in

their little "thank you" graphics.

As in, "Thank you President Obama & Navy Seal Team 6" all done up in the stars and stripes and posted all over FB.