"Swift Lies" Blasting Full Speed Ahead. Massive Retalitory Strike Needed!

[WiseMen]

We delude ourselves if we think the Swift Vets Attack is not working.

The "Kerry Lied" Swift Ads are on the Air in their target states and are being
replayed on nationwide news channels. They are probably working beyong the
wildest expectations of their sponsors. They only need to influence 1 or 2 percent
of the population in a couple States to achieve more that all of the Bush negative
Ads have accomplished to date.

The book version of the "Kerry Lied" hit Ad, "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry," has already reached number one on the bestseller list on Amazon.com, based on advance orders.

Channels like the Drudge Report and folks like Hannity are giving the story massive publicity in the Repub community. There are now 2 sides
of the John Kerry war record. On the one hand, he maybe a war hero,
on the other, he maybe a lying, self-promoting, war criminal.

These HIT Operations almost almost work, because the point is to cast some
doubt over the issue among swing voters. Just by getting all the main media
to play the Ad and discuss it achieves the objective of turning blatant lies into
"a point of view" in the "fog of war" to which these other Swift-Mates are entitled to. I puts in doubt Kerry's honor, honesty and fittness to be Commander-In-Chief.

The only way to counter-act is a counter-AD which not only distroys the charges and the
credibility of these liars but places responsibility for this campaign of lies squarely with the Bush campaign
-- disgust some of his base and weaken their commitment. That is why
the Bush campaign is so focused on the "WE KNOW NOTHING," tactic.
We cannot accept this bull-crap from the White House press office.

[tandot]

1. I actually think it will backfire

One of the Swift Vets already retracted

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2004/08/06/veteran_retracts_criticism_of_kerry/

Veteran retracts criticism of Kerry
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff | August 6, 2004

WASHINGTON -- A week after Senator John F. Kerry heralded his wartime experience by surrounding himself at the Democratic convention with his Vietnam ''Band of Brothers," a separate group of veterans has launched a television ad campaign and a book that questions the basis for some of Kerry's combat medals.
<snip>
But yesterday, a key figure in the anti-Kerry campaign, Kerry's former commanding officer, backed off one of the key contentions. Lieutenant Commander George Elliott said in an interview that he had made a ''terrible mistake" in signing an affidavit that suggests Kerry did not deserve the Silver Star -- one of the main allegations in the book. The affidavit was given to The Boston Globe by the anti-Kerry group to justify assertions in their ad and book.
<snip>
------

John McCain has already had interviews with the media denouncing this ad as dishonest and despicable and urged Bush to condemn it, too. This group is lying. None of them served with Kerry on HIS boat. They all have grudges going back 30 years, because Kerry spoke out against the Vietnam war. And they are financed by a major GOP contributor from Texas. Democrats are probably trying to find the links between that contributor and the Bush campaign. This is a smear campaign against a decorated War Hero coming from a weasel who used his and his dad's connections to avoid going to Vietnam. I bet the DNC is working on it and find a great way to use it to their advantage.

John F. Kerry was willing to die for his country. Was George W. Bush???

[bobbieinok]

15. but who's gonna hear this on FAUX,, Rush, Hannity, Savage, etc?????

[tandot]

24. O'Reilly actually denounced this ad on FOX yesterday

to the great dismay of all the freepers. Now they think he is a liberal, just like us... :evilgrin:

The story will get out. Too many people, especially veterans, will be offended by this kind of smear. And people who exclusively listen to Rush, Hannity, and Savage will not vote for Kerry anyway.

[ibegurpard]

25. He did NOT outright denounce it.

His statements were FULL of qualifiers like "well, they have to right to make their claims and have them debated in the public forum," etc.

[tandot]

29. I don't watch Fox or O'Reilly but hearing the freepers

freaking out over it made me assume that O'Reilly did.

Here is just of those threads:

The Fraud Factor: O'Reilly Slams Swift Boat Vets Kerry Ad

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1186331/posts

And one of the posters claimed that O'Reilly attacked the ad:

To: MikeinIraq
It wasn’t a simple matter of disagreement. Bill O’Reilly didn’t give a fair and balanced presentation last night regarding the ad. He attacked it over and over and over with guest Dick Morris (didn’t bother inviting the group to defend itself) who trashed it as well. The ad featured Veterans that served in Coastal Division 11 and I didn’t like how O’Reilly sidelined their entire ad. He talked about the record showing Kerry received medals, but he didn’t have a clue about the information the group presented about those medals and how Kerry “earned” them. Go join O’Reilly in the chorus of indignation – I’ll stand by the Swift Boat Vets and the truth. Like Joseph Farah said - expect Kerry to squeal like a pig, and I say that you can see that the media is going to do Kerry’s work for him badgering and trashing the ad.



25 posted on 08/06/2004 8:56:19 AM PDT by Conservative Coulter Fan (BURN IN HELL, MICHAEL MOORE!)
< Post Reply | Private Reply | To 9 | View Replies >



O'Reilly must have said something to piss his most devoted fans off... :shrug:

[ibegurpard]

30. You take FREEPERS' word for it??

Shame on you. Have you ever see how quick some of the people HERE are to denounce someone that has generally been on our side because of even a HINT of something not glowingly positive about the Democrats or the Democratic nominee? That's exactly how the freepers are reacting to O'Really's lame, lame attempt to appear "fair and balanced."

[tandot]

33. Well, my point was that even some right-wing hacks are questioning

the ad and those vets, and that freepers are pissed about that.

It might all be just show to "appear fair and balanced" ... who knows :shrug:

[Sensitivity]

36. How can it backfire. Dems are already pushing Kerry's strength.

The Repubs are figuring there is not much budget to do more that
is planned already.

[Inland]

2. No, I think that ad is a disaster for pubbies

Frankly, the ad just repeated the stuff that the pubbie true believers told themselves anyway. The difference is that it came out in the open where others could see it--and the rightie press had to comment on it--and we got a chance to refute it--and we got McCain blasting it--and we got the WH on the horns of the dilemma of either denouncing it like good Americans or pandering to their hating base--and it never hurts to have a chance to remind America that Kerry served and was decorated.

True, Hannity gets to pretend like there are two sides to his idiot audience, but that's what it means to be Hannity and his audience. They already believed it.

We got the middle realizing just what kinds of scumbags the Bush supporters include, and just what kinds of tactics EVERY republican feels comfortable with.

The pubs had decided a long time ago that they weren't going to say anything about Kerry's war service and hope that the subject and comparison would go away. You don't think that the RNC had some choice words for the dopes who put that ad on the air? I do.

[Raya]

3. Dems need to call on all honorable Repubs to Quit the Party in Protest!

We need some real indignation from the highest levels of the Party
and the military.

This same tactic worked against McCain. This crap is not just
damaging to Kerry but to our national credibility after Kerry
is elected.

[incrediblehulk]

4. I need a link, please

The Kerry people put out an 18 page rebuttal to the crap from the Republican Swift Boaters but I can't find it on their website. does anyone have a link to the rebuttal?

[Raya]

5. Exactly. It is hard to scramble to react to this type of shit.

Need leaders to just come out and condemn it in the strongest
terms, not a pro and con debate.

[Sensitivity]

6. Only a disaster if there is a real counter-attack. People don't "KNOW"

the truth automatically.

[ibegurpard]

7. Absolutely

If that was the case, Rush Limbaugh would have no audience.

[WiseMen]

31. Rove is not an Idiot. He was betting he can get the all over the media

before there is too much backlash. Tarnish Kerry then denounce
Ads. It is out of the playbook. They are gambling that the Dems
won't react too strongly.

[hippiegranny]

37. i like the way you think, inland!

good analysis.

[genius]

8. The truth. Show the goat book reading and say, "Bush was AWOL when

he was needed. Now his side seeks to distort the reocrd of someone who risked his life in the service of his country. Are we going to stand for that attack on our soldiers?"

[WiseMen]

40. Too bad a 7 min Ad just with Bush's paniced face is too expensiv e.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

9. Kerry is a good man, the truth will win. Ultimately it will backfire

once the dust settles.

[Sensitivity]

10. I Think I heard that about a guy call "Jimmy Carter."

I don't think that Casey cared that Carter was a "good man" when
he was doing back-door deals in Iran to screw his chances of
re-election. To this day the Republicans still disavow all
knowledge.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

11. Simple public perception of who is who

Bush's honorable service is suspect at best compared to Kerry's.

[ibegurpard]

12. Do we live in the same country?

The one where the major cable news organizations allow GOP shills to whore their bullshit unanswered at our convention? Where, despite all of the lies and corruption stinking up this administration, the polls are still dangerously close? Ignoring this kind of slime and assuming the public, who have the GOP talking points drilled into their heads from all corners, will know it's bullshit is dangerously naive.

[doctorbombeigh]

13. Look to McCain - he's the key to this.

He has never forgiven GWB for what he did in 2000 - never. Now this. He TOLD the White House what he expected of them regarding this disgusting smear. Their weak response, essentially no response, isn't going to cut any ice with McCain, who cannot be controlled.

Let's see what he does now that Bush has, once again, hit him where he really lives.

[ibegurpard]

14. I'm sorry but waiting to be rescued by Republicans

who may or may not deign to do us a favor now and then is a horrible, horrible campaign strategy. I sincerely hope thinking like yours is not pervasive in the campaigns.

[michigandem2]

16. i agree...

this is backfiring big time and thanks to McCain for speaking out...it really is more helpful to us than hurtful...bush and all that whole side has lost a lot of credibility...it lasted maybe a day...and on hannity last night soem woman was cohosting with him and she was loudly responding "YOU DID NOT SERVE WITH JOHN KERRY DID YOU?" its out there...its hard to keep this lie going..it just isnt true...and one retracted after 24 hours??? not a good sign

[sandnsea]

17. 2 medals, 3 Purple Hearts...

all based on lies? It's absurd on its face. Americans may be stupid, but come on, not that stupid. They're actually saying there was no fire on the day Kerry pulled Rassmann out of the water. And the guy who is saying that got a Bronze Star on the exact same day. :crazy: This one is just not going to work at all.

[Sensitivity]

18. They just need to argue 1 lie to throw doubt on Kerry's service

[ibegurpard]

19. That's exactly the point.

The purpose of ads and ideas like this is NOT to get anyone to actually believe the claims at face value but to cast doubt on the target. That is why they cannot go unanswered.

[sandnsea]

23. But they aren't

They're arguing all of them. They already tried arguing the first purple heart in the spring, it didn't work. So now they're arguing that none of his service deserved any medals. Didn't you see that one guy and Rassmann on CNN yesterday? Told Rassmann there were no bullets flying when he was in the water. That's how pathetic this is. This one just isn't going to work. The more they talk, the stupider they'll look. It'll offend soooo many people, soooo many vets. Calling a retired LAPD officer, Special Ops, registered Republican a liar?? Not good.

[Democat]

20. I agree with you, but what are the odds our side will counter-attack?

Our leaders, including Kerry himself, don't seem willing to be as aggressive as they need to be.

Kerry will probably send out a few press releases and that's it.

Look how he allowed Bush to paint him as a "flip flopper" already.

If Democrat launched an attack like the one that Bush has launched, the Republicans would respond with a non-stop attack that would take all media attention away from the Democratic attack.

Democrats are too weak. When Republicans attack, we should make them pay for it. We rarely do.

[ibegurpard]

21. It doesn't even need to come directly from the campaign

but it needs to come from somewhere, with the unified, tacit blessing of the party as a whole.

[Democat]

22. Our party doesn't seem capable of unified responding or attacking

The Republicans walk in lockstep and are able to make highly planned attacks where they all repeat the same thing over and over until people believe it.

When have you ever seen that from Democrats?

We don't seem to have the tactical skills of the right, or the fearlessness.

The next generation of Democrats will have to be much smarter and tougher in battle than our current elected officials.

[Sensitivity]

38. That is the sad part. I wish Dean was heading the DNC. He has the

instincts needed to go on the attack.

[funkybutt]

26. Where are the hard facts to debunk this?

i'd like a link.

I think the debunking should start on the photo. I don't htink those people were actually in a photo WITH kerry. Then it appears to zoom in on the photo of Kerry's unit, and all these people who claim to have served with Kerry.

[WiseMen]

28. Sadly, many are in the photo: fellow officers (who now oppose him)

[funkybutt]

32. well there weren't that many people in that photo

so if they were in the photo, it seems to me that they were being honest when they said they served "with Kerry"...


how could this be? guess they're just still pissed about him speaking the truth about the war

[in_cog_ni_to]

34. I thought the men in the swiftboat pic with Kerry were NOT the ones who

served on HIS boat? They were ALL on another boat. :shrug:

[Sensitivity]

39. I think folks are asking about picture in Vet Ad (group of officers not

Kerry's swift-boat crewmen).

[Cuban_Liberal]

27. Please put away the Klaxon horn

This is about the umpteenth 'Urgent! Ah-OOOO-ga!' post this week. I am NOT going to run around like a headless chicken every time some right-wing nut job decides to torque their nut one more turn. For God's sake, can we all quit running around like frightened children every time some nut job says something aboput Kerry?????

:wtf:

[WiseMen]

35. We are going to win in Nov, like we won IOWA, with hard grassroots work.

But we are not going to let Bush have his way with us without
fighting back!

We are not going to ignore the effectiveness of the smear tactics!

We are not going to ignore the power of incumbency!

We are not going to be GORED!