Freepers hate true American heros, swiftly attack McCain

[NewYorkerfromMass]

True patriots these clueless scum are:

Dear Senator McCain. Bite Me....

I just heard Rush read the official response to John McCain from Adm. Hoffman, representing the Swiftboat Veterans for Truth. Hoffman said the swiftboat veterans earned, with their blood and their service, the right to speak the truth about their own unit. He said they knew Kerry well, and McCain did not.....

McCain the Hero of the Hanoi Hilton as the story's have it....

If I remember correctly McCain was the only POW to gain weight while being held by the communists.....

mccain is protecting his OWN record. If you can attack Bush's record, then attack Kerry's record, THEN you can attack McCain's own personal record and conduct during his service. Look at how the media attacks anyone who attacks Max Clealand and how he actually became a tripple amputee....

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1185623/posts

[Spider Jerusalem]

1. Nice.

Snide comments about a man who was bloody tortured while a prisoner of war and lost something like 30-40% use of both arms due to injuries...yet they revere the AWOL National Guardsman...

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

3. It's all about their "team", and the team is not the U.S. or the U.S.

Military. If it is against their "team" (the Republican Party) they will attack it regardless of the merits.

[Lyagushka]

11. Worse....

They seem to think that John O'Neil is some admirable patriot.

If McCain gained weight (which I doubt) the O'Neil's bank balance has surely swelled with the generous donations from the Nixon administration which I am sure has helped him add a few pounds cashing in on his own 'decorated' service in Vietnam.

Even O'Neil's PR adviser has described him as "sounding like a deranged extremist". And that's from a supporter !

The most sickening thing is that Bush I even considered him for a federal judgeship. Seems that standards haven't fallen quite that low yet, though there is still time. After all, he was some 50 yards from Kerry yet feels able to give a detailed account of Kerry's actions he could not have possibly seen.

Can you imagine him having to decide on the admissibility of a witness's evidence if they claimed to be able to describe in great detail an event that they 'witnessed' under extreme duress and from a distance of 50 yards ?

They say that a person represents himself is a fool to his client. With O'Neil as his attorney he could have done far worse.

[Bandit]

18. I am not sure what you are talking about

O'Neil was not even in Country at the same time as Kerry let alone within fifty feet of him at any time.

[SoCalDem]

2. They never STOPPED attacking him

For OVER A YEAR, they had a clickable link to a site that proposed IMPEACHING him..

Freepies never liked him and never will ..

[havocmom]

4. Real patriots & heroes raise the bar and make freepers feel inadequate.

That's why they :loveya: W; he makes them feel better about themselves.

If an idiot like bush* can 'lead the free world' then they are all Nobel Prize Laureates in comparison. And bush* never asks them to do any thinking. In fact, he encourages them to be intellectually lazy. So much easier to be told how to feel and not worry about critical thinking.

[Old and In the Way]

15. You read them well havocmom.

Spot On!

The little minds confuse politics and sports. You can love your home team irregardless of whether they are losers or play dirty. But politics is no game. Politics effect the lives of people, positively or negatively, in a very real way. Sports is only entertainment. They'll never understand the difference.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

16. Low self esteems are highly vulnerable

Classic (blank) envy.

[RobertSeattle]

5. John O'neil will probably statt Viet Nam POWS for Truth

And start some nasty smears on McCain just because he can.

[bossfish]

6. Was McCain a "hero"?

Decorated with a bronze and silver star like Kerry.

Or was McCain a guy who got captured and held for a long time?

I am NOT discounting his service in any way, but all I ever hear about McCain in Vietnam is his capture.

Was he an accomplished soldier/marine/sailor?

[oneighty]

8. Senator Dole's first purple heart was

caused by an hand grenade he tossed, bounced off a tree, exploded cut his leg. He was bandaged and returned to duty the next day.

Just so.

180

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. When found to be the Admiral's son he was offered early release

McCain denied the NV this sure propoganda victory and paid dearly with his years of beatings in captivity.

[bossfish]

10. Good enough for me...

As a civilian from a long line of civilians, I couldn't imagine the horror of what he went through.

[oneighty]

12. Not only that

McCain was flying over Vietnam, Bush* was not. That too is an answer to your question.

180

[trekbiker]

14. McCain is a hero in my book..

ever read the account of how he was captured. His jet was shot down over Hanoi. He broke both his arms and a leg ejecting, landed in a lake in the middle of the city, nearly drowned, was dragged ashore and beaten. He was tortured in prison to the point of trying to commit suicide twice.

Before his capture he was nearly killed on the aircraft carrier Forrestal when a Zuni rocket accidentally fired off from an F4 and hit his parked A4 while he was still sitting in the cockpit.. I saw the footage of him climbing out on the nose and jumping to safety just before all hell broke loose and everything went to shit.

this guy as more balls in his little finger than the entire court appointed Bush team..

[Rebellious Republican]

19. He was a true hero before Hanoi, and did not have to be there!

this is an account of one of the worst Aircraft Carrier disasters in US Naval history. He survived and chose to stay, which eventually put him the position to "intercept a surface to air missile with his airplane". He then was captured after surviving that! its an amazing story of survival......

The Forrestal Disaster

Lt. Commander McCain was assigned to the aircraft carrier USS Forrestal off the coast of Vietnam. On July 29, 1967, McCain, an A-4 Skyhawk pilot, was preparing to take off on a bombing mission over North Vietnam, when a horrifying disaster struck. A missile accidentally fired from a nearby plane, striking the fuel tanks on McCain's plane.

In the ensuing explosions and fire, McCain escaped from his plane by crawling onto its nose and diving into the fire on the ship's deck. He turned to help a fellow pilot whose flight suit had burst into flames. But before McCain could reach him, more bombs exploded, blowing him back 10 feet,

It took 24 hours to contain the inferno on the Forrestal. By the time it was all over, 134 men lost their lives, hundreds more were injured, and more than 20 planes were destroyed. It was the worst non-combat-related accident in American Naval history.

After the Forrestal disaster, McCain could have returned home. But he would have none of that. Instead he volunteered for more combat duty aboard the carrier USS Oriskany, It was a fateful decision that would stop the clock on John McCain's life and separate him from his family, and from America, for five and a half years.
http://www.friendsofmccain.com/about/

Here is the full account of the incident from an independent source if you do not believe the McCain website.

From: Naval Aviation News, October 1967
compiled and edited by Senior Chief Journalist John D. Burlage

Lt. Cmdr. Robert "Bo" Browning one of the pilots due for launch with many others, he was seated in the cockpit of his fueled and armed Skyhawk; the plane was spotted way aft, to port. Lt. Cmdr. John S. McCain III said later he heard a "whooshy" sound then a "low-order explosion" in front of him. Suddenly, two A-4s ahead of his plane were engulfed in flaming jet fuel — JP-5 — spewed from them. A bomb dropped to the deck and rolled about six feet and came to rest in a pool of burning fuel.


The awful conflagration, which was to leave 132 Forrestal crewmen dead, 62 more injured and two missing and presumed dead, had begun.


As the searing flames, fed by the spreading JP-5, spread aft and began to eat at the aircraft spotted around the deck, Lt. Cmdr. Browning escaped from his plane. He ducked under the tails of two Skyhawks spotted alongside his and ran up the flight deck toward the island area. Twice, explosions knocked him off balance. But he made it.


The fire soon enveloped all the aircraft in its wake. It spread to the fantail, to decks below. Bombs and ammunition were touched off in the midst of early fire-fighting efforts. Black, acrid smoke boiled into the sky. Other ships on Yankee Station sped to the aid of the stricken carrier.

http://www.chinfo.navy.mil/navpalib/ships/carriers/histories/cv59-forrestal/forrestal-fire.html

[NewYorkerfromMass]

20. Good God I never knew McCain was there

I knew of that incident but only cursorily so. Thank You. McCain is a true hero.

[Rebellious Republican]

21. That incident is still being used by the Navy to teach DC .

It was legendary, thats how the Forrestal got its nick names, USS orest Fire, USS El Zippo, the list is endless and sad. I saw it being retired down here in Florida. Not much fan on the medias part, but a lot of sailors owe their lives for the lessons learned on that fateful day. DC for the non sailor types stands for Damage Control, there are no fire departments at sea, you are taught DC from day one no matter what your job is in the Navy.

:toast:

[NewYorkerfromMass]

38. Thanks again and a kick for true heros. eom

[Leilani]

26. Thank you for your wonderful post!

You have provided info which many people are not aware of.

I supported John McCain in 2000, & I am STILL proud of that support.

I disagreed with him on MOST issues, but I yearn for honesty & integrity in politics.

I DESPISE the Republican phoney chickenhawks for what they did to McCain, to Cleland, & now Kerry.

[Rebellious Republican]

29. I was still a republican in 2000 and voted for McCain in the Primary

When they started to trash him, that just confirmed my growing distaste of the Neocon Chickenhawk Fascists that were seizing control of the party. I have been a registered Dem for two years and posting here at DU for same amount of time. I have never regretted making the change, and have never looked back. By the way, I voted for Gore in 2000, Neil Bush ruined my life in the late 80's with his S and L scams, I never forgot that!

[Leilani]

36. Sounds like you & I have traveled a similar road....

Although I have always been an Indie, I tilted Republican...that is until the Fundies & Chickenhawks started taking over.

When Fallwell, Robertson, Delay, Lott, & Armey became the leaders of the Republicans, I knew they left me.

But the icing on the cake was South Carolina, & how a party could choose Bush over McCain.

Today they are owned by corporations & have absolutely no regard for real people.

[Leilani]

22. He was an A-6 pilot

who flew countless missions over Hanoi....

After the fire on the Forrestal? where he almost died, they needed more pilots to return to Vietnam, & he volunteered.

He was shot down & captured...repeatedly tortured...his father was CINPAC...head of ALL naval ops, so they offerred McCain early release to use as a propaganda tool. He refused repeatedly, & was tortured for REFUSING TO LEAVE EARLY.

He almost died several times while in captivity.

Today he cannot raise his arms above his waist because of that torture.

Pretty GOD DAMN HEROIC to me!

[bossfish]

39. Thanks, everyone..

Man, I didn't know his story for real.

I remember a conversation with an old acquaintance in the run-up for the 2000 election, a young father who somehow felt that because he worked as a salesman in a growth industry and had kids, he had to be a Republican. (my conjecture, I'll admit...this guy was an herb smoking, Grateful Dead/Kevin Smith fan, grandson of immigrants, kind hearted man. But he got sort of brainwashed)

We were talking about the GOP primaries. I asked him who he liked. He already knew I was a Gore man, and knew he wasn't going to change my mind. I asked about McCain. He was a veteran, a veteran senator, was getting good press, etc. And Bush, he's a fucking empty suit.

"I dunno, I heard he's (McCain) got some mental problems, hot tempered. Not sure I can trust the guy with his finger on the button. Maybe it is his prisoner experience, and I can understand that." was the gist of the reply.

I seem to remember the ugly smear campaign that McCain received back then. He seemed like a straight guy with whom I don't agree with on most public policy issues (like my brother-in-law, a former California State elected politician (R)). But somehow, the crap machine coughed up the waste of protoplasm currently sullying the West Wing.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

40. Being well informed is a good thing.

Unfortunately it is a rarity in this country- hence these insane elections.

[The_Casual_Observer]

7. Chimp gave them a tax cut & bought their souls

chimp owns them. In their soulless eyes, chimp can do no wrong. The war in Iraq is proof of this.

[trof]

13. They have absolutely no shame.

Don't know the meaning of the word.
Not in their dictionary.
True psychopathic behavior.
Sick and ugly.

[rumguy]

17. Lots of them are questioning McCain's service - it shows how corrupted

their putrid hearts really are...

I'm serious - these freepers are the scum of the earth. They are as low as Nazis and terrorists. They are disgusting pieces of human garbage.

[Guaranteed]

24. ABSOLUTELY UNBELIEVABLE.

McCain is as close to a true hero as you can get. He was those POWs' leader. His keeping their morale up was the only thing that even kept them alive.

[Guaranteed]

23. If you think McCain wasn't the HEART AND SOUL of those POWs you're

a LYING FUCKING PIECE OF SHIT.

[Darranar]

25. McCain, the true American hero?

If warmongering, conservatism, and opposition to choice can be considered "heroics"....

[Leilani]

27. Give it a rest!

Can t you disagree with someone on the issues, yet respect their moral integrity & bravery?

[Darranar]

28. Yes, I can...

In McCain's case however, I don't.

"Moral integrity and honesty" are only respected by me if they actually exist.

[kwolf68]

32. Well

At least he is speaking up for Kerry on this.

If McCain was the worst of the other side our nation would be so perfect.

[Darranar]

33. Yes, he has a few admirable stances, this is one of them. n/t

[Rebellious Republican]

30. You have have a right to your opinion about

warmongering, conservatism, and opposition to choice. But it still does not detract from his actions while serving honorably. For what he believed to be protectecting your rights to express free thought in a nation that enjoys liberties that many do not.
If you agree with his positions or not is one thing, and by all means please voice them. However, if you think this of McCain's military service, what are your thoughts about Max Cleland and John Kerry's military service, warmongers or hero's?

:shrug:

[Darranar]

31. I was not talking about McCain's war service...

I was actually looking a little closer to the present - say, his record in the Senate.

That is more important to me than his actions as a veteran.

McCain is not a horrible Senator, better than a whole host of Republicans, but far from a great one, and his disgusting stances on a whole series of issues disqualify him from being an American hero in my view.

[Rebellious Republican]

34. That I can accept, it was your title "McCain, the true American hero?"

It does lead one to believe that you where bashing his service.

:toast:

[Darranar]

35. Fair enough, perhaps my phrasing was a little misleading. n/t

[LarryBaker]

37. We already know they are idiots, why post their shit here too?

[Octafish]

41. Just like the NAZIs they are.

Hitler killed anyone who stood out before him. As he consolidated power, he took out friend and foe alike. And Hitler's followers did it for him. So today we have the Freepers doing the Smirkelgrüber's dirty work. How often they itch to kill, whether through slander or bullet. More than ignorami, they really are cowards.