Terry McAuliffe's High Stakes blunder

Cross talk ^ | Wednesday, February 11, 2004 | Kevin McCullough

[demlosers]

Kevin McCullough
Radio Talk Show Host, Syndicated Columnist, and past recipient of the Tesla and Marconi Awards

I have said it at least 200 times on my talk show heard in New York City, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware, and Rhode Island... John Kerry has picked a loser issue with challenging President Bush's National Guard service. Despite these obvious warnings John Kerry and Democratic Chairman Terry McAuliffe continue to play the stupidest hand of political poker I have witnessed in recent years. But should they continue to insist let's get the records out on the table...(as they already have been laid out in 1994 when President Bush ran for Governor of Texas, and in 2000 when he ran for President).

The White House supplied pay stubs from President Bush's days of service in the National Guard. The points completed indicate that he served his full commitment to the Guard.

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The Associated Press also reports that two high level military experts who have reviewed the document you see before you said the following...

"Lt. Col. Scott Gorske, a 23-year Guardsman with experience in personnel issues, said there is no requirement for National Guard members to drill every month. They are required to train a certain amount of time each year. It appears Bush met that requirement, said Gorske, who reviewed the documents.

A memo written by retired Lt. Col. Albert Lloyd Jr. said a review of Bush's records showed that he had "satisfactory years" for the period of 1972-73 and 1973-74 "which proves that he completed his military obligation in a satisfactory manner."

For Terry McAuliffe to continue to encourage his candidate to press the issue of Bush's service will only cause people to look more closely at John Kerry's as well.

And while Kerry saved lives and earned the purple heart in his less than two months in combat, he also immediately used the priviledge of the purple heart to get transferred state-side and take a quick leave of the Navy all together.

Shortly thereafter he linked himself with Jane Fonda and began to lay accusations on the United States military personnel who were still getting shot and killed. Beyond that in 1971 he went to the United States Senate to say that as a generally accepted military practice and occurring almost daily the honorable service men and women in Vietnam (thousands at the time) were "raping, dismembering, beheading, poisoning food supplies, killing livestock for fun, and razing villages". A claim he was later forced to admit he could not substantiate nor had he witnessed. (Of course his obligation if he knew first hand of any such activities would have been to report it - but it appears this did not happen either) John Kerry's testimony implied that the United States military persons on large scales were committing acts of atrocities. His pet project the Vietnam Veterans Against the War has since been sited by experts as one of the reasons that the war was extended and ultimately unsuccessful.

My friend compare that to the military record of someone like John McCain who - when he could have recieved an exemption to get out didn't, and suffering injuries that to this day keep him from being able to have full use of his arms.

National Guardsmen never know when they could be called to active duty. President Bush while working in areas of affecting public policy continued his training as a Guardsman and was ready to fly into battle had his number been called. He can not be punished for not having his number called.

John Kerry on the other hand stabbed the very men he fought with only weeks earlier in the back by aggressively giving aid and comfort to the enemy and working in conjunction with the likes of Jane Fonda.

(Remember she posed for a picture pretending to shoot down American fighter planes...)

And as it turns out John Kerry stabbed POW's in back as my friend Ben Shapiro explains in hard hitting details today... (read the whole thing)

If Terry McAuliffe wishes this presidential cycle to be about who has done more to protect America then as his eventual nominee is so eager to say "Bring it On".

Who will forget the President of the United States standing amongst the exhausted volunteers at Ground Zero and speaking as best he could through a hand held megaphone, telling them that "their country was proud of them and that soon the people who had knocked those buildings down would hear from all of us soon." He kept his promise. America is safer because the Al Queda is disrupted, their financing was frozen, most of their leaders are either dead or captured. And now as the last few remnants of these jokers insist on creating trouble in Iraq we are cleaning up remains there. Al Queda and other mid-east terrorists are frightened that freedom will be established in their part of the world - because it will give them no more safe haven. President Bush's job is to see to it that they have No Safe Haven - and America can see that he is doing is job!

[demlosers]

"Lt. Col. Scott Gorske, a 23-year Guardsman with experience in personnel issues, said there is no requirement for National Guard members to drill every month. They are required to train a certain amount of time each year. It appears Bush met that requirement, said Gorske, who reviewed the documents.

The Colonel backs up what I thought. The Rats are just stupid.

[cripplecreek]

I see that CNN trotted hanoi jane out for a viewing today. It was done under the guise of promoting some play shes involved with, and she supports John Kerry BTW.

He's a war hero dontcha know

[demlosers]

Yeah, suuuure John is. The bar to be a hero is higher than Kerry achieved. Kerry may have served honorably, but hero status is only in his dreams.

[Richard-SIA]

"his less than two months in combat,"?

THIS is the "war record" he is now bragging about?

From the number of medals he received I assumed he had served at least one full two year hitch in the combat zones.

So which is correct, several medals in only two month's, or something else?

Accuracy here is important, misleading tripe must be left to the liberals.

[TASMANIANRED]

I swear to heaven, If Jane Fonda comes out and endorsed Kerry, I'm going to have the big O.

[mabelkitty]

Beautiful.
So Kerry actually only served two months, not four months.

[RandallFlagg]

Oh, please post the quotes for a match-up? It makes for some sweet points against the 'rats...

Please??

[Miss Marple]

As far as I understand it, Kerry served two tours.

The first tour, six months, he was on a ship in which he supervised an electrical maintenance crew. No combat.

The second tour was for four months, two of which were combat. He got rotated early because of his three purple hearts (details of which are not available because Kerry won't release the records).

When he got back to the states, he got an early out (just like the president) to run for Congress.

[lawgirl]

Who will forget the President of the United States standing amongst the exhausted volunteers at Ground Zero and speaking as best he could through a hand held megaphone, telling them that "their country was proud of them and that soon the people who had knocked those buildings down would hear from all of us soon."

Not me. I still get goosebumps when I hear it. I have it the Mp3 on my computer and every once in awhile I fire it up. It's so great to hear the firefighters saying "Go get 'em George!! Tell 'em George!" in their Brooklyn accents. Calling the President by his first name goes to show the comraderie and brotherhood they all felt to our President that day. I will be interested to see how the W campaign reminds us of 9/11- I won't be surprised if the ads cause a tear or two.

[river rat]

John F'ing Kerry's strategy is now clearly apparent..

He was hoping that the glare from his Silver Star, would blind Americans to his despicable behavior after he came home.

John F'ing Kerry's record from the time he left Vietnam, will NOT pass muster under scrutiny.....

Let the games begin..... BRING IT ON...

Question: Has ANYONE seen or read the commendation that justified his Silver Star or Bronze Star?

Inquiring minds would like to know.... I wonder if the media whores will be as eager for the truth of this situation as they were of President Bush's Guard Service records???????

Semper Fi

[demlosers]

From the number of medals he received I assumed he had served at least one full two year hitch in the combat zones.

Kerry is like people I called in the service as girl scout badge chasers.

[Williams]

Don't forget that when jane Fonda went to Hanoi they trotted out U.S. prisoners in a show meeting for her. One of the brave prisoners slipped her a note saying they were being beaten. Hanoi Jane promptly turned the note over to the commies and the prisoners were beaten more brutally as a punishment. That is what John Kerry was involved with.

[demlosers]

Question: Has ANYONE seen or read the commendation that justified his Silver Star or Bronze Star?

I would too like to see the justifications.

[calljack]

This strategy works fine from the Clinton/Mcawful viewpoint.
Pick a looser,run Hillary as VP. Get some national exposure as a cantidate, lose and come back in 2008 as the frontrunner against a non-incumbent president. It is the simplest explanation,therefore the one I believe.

[Vinnie]

.... three purple hearts (details of which are not available because Kerry won't release the records).

Purple heart for getting the 'clap'?

[river rat]

John F'ing Kerry and the DNC have opened Pandora's box..

The "quest" for records is now a valid exercise in the destruction of myths...

Perhaps the myth of Kerry's heroic past, should be validated.

He should provide, as President Bush did -- the records.

I would like to see John F'ing Kerry's Silver Star commendation.

I would like to see the Navy medical records for a description of the three wounds that John F'ing Kerry parlayed into a ticket back to the world.

I would like the Department of the Navy to reveal how many servicemen implemented the "three wounds ticket home" rule - and to give a comparison of the nature of wounds that were involved - versus the wounds that Kerry suffered.

Inquiring minds would like to know.....
John F'ing Kerry has wrapped himself in heroic garb - but perhaps the Emperor's clothes have holes....

If the Kerry Kamp were confident of their "Hero" - they should leap at the chance to release this information - and the media in the interest of "fair and balanced" should go after it...

Don't hold your breath.....
There is a rat in that cheese...

Semper Fi

[gridlock]

Bring it on!

[Howlin]

Although it infuriates me, I am beginning to warm to this story; because every single time THEY talk about it, WE get to talk about Jane Fonda.

Who do you think will come out on top?

[Howlin]

Kerry got moved back to D.C. as somebody's aide. I wonder who.

[TheRightGuy]

He got rotated early because of his three purple hearts ...

.. and some think that he never rotated back!

[afropick]

Talk about a kiss of death. If Fonda gives an endorsement to Kerry on national tv, can you imagine how high the pucker factor is going to be in the DNC hq.

[PISANO]

One of the brave prisoners slipped her a note

Is this a FACT? Do you know WHO this was? I would like to hear what he has to say of "klute" and her band of anti-american scum.

[madison10]

I would guess--Ed Kennedy's. Just a guess, mind you.

[BushisTheMan]

Does getting three purple hearts mean that he was wounded three separate times in two months? If so, was there no recovery time for wounds?

This are serious questions.

[Chuckster]

I am not impressed, for the most part, with medals awarded to officers during the Vietnam war. I was there from late 67 'til early 69 and witnessed numerous abuses. Our battalion adjutant tripped and fell, skinning his hands and kees, while running to his alert position in the dark during a mortar attack on our base camp. The attack involved three mortar rounds landing in the motor pool a quarter of a mile away from where the adjutant was at the time. He received a purple heart and a bronze star with "V" device.

Officers who actually served in the field routinely received silver stars for no apparent reason. Medals were considered "Promotion points" and many officers went to amazing lengths (Short of actually endangering themselves) to get them.

Not to say there weren't any real heroes; there most assuredly were. A Spc4 with a silver star I knew truly earned it. But a Major,of my acquaintance, got one without even scuffing his boots, just for flying out to a field position with the payroll and mail and eating "C" rats for lunch.

Nope: Lt.(?) Kerry's medals do not impress me one bit. Too many of those award certificates are nothing more than third rate fiction written to a formula that justifies a particular award based on rank.

[duckbutt]

Makes me wonder, Richard and all: Who actually served longer? The President or the Pretender?

[river rat]

"He got rotated early because of his three purple hearts (details of which are not available because Kerry won't release the records).

John F'ing Kerry REQUESTED he be sent home on the basis of his three "wounds"....
That was NOT a mandatory or service directed action.

I can name several young Marines, that I would wager bled more and suffered more from one single wound - than the three "wounds" that sent Kerry running home...

Our gunny's description of a Purple Heart wound - was one that could not be treated completely by the attending Corpsman....and the Marine being unable continue in his assignment.

By our gunny's rules -- (and right or wrong, one didn't argue with OUR gunny) --John F'ing Kerry would have been a few medals short on his plane trip to the world....

Bullet holes through the body are pretty hard to "fabricate", but minor abrasions or cuts caused by flying shrapnel or debris from nearby explosions are pretty easy to "acquire".....or "incur"...

Yes, I am a cynic -- especially where self proclaimed heroes are involved...

Semper Fi

[tinamina]

John Kerry did one tour of 6 months on a ship offshore Viet Nam, then another 6 month tour, which was ended 2 months early after he earned his three purpe hearts and silver star (which, since he was commander of his swift boat, he recommended himself for). He requested early release from Viet Nam an a desk job with an Admiral in NY or Washington Dc, and request was granted. So, he earned all his medals in 4 months period. When he got back to the States, he requested to be released from the Navy so he could run for Congress, he lost and joined the Viet Name Vets against the War, with Fonda.

[Howlin]

I'd sure love to know!

[Howlin]

I'd love to see that "in living color!"

[Be Free]

Don't underestimate McAwful. He's not trying to attack Bush as much as he's trying to insulate Kerry. If Bush gets knocked down a peg or two as a result, all the better. Kerry has much more baggage than Bush from the Vietnam era, despite his hero status while in 'Nam. His anti-American activities after his service are just starting to come out. What McAwful is REALLY trying to do is get the Bush camp to blink first and say that what happened 30 years ago isn't relevant to today's election. The 'Rats will then agree to keep a lid on it if the Repubs do, and they'll scream bloody murder if any dares mention Kerry's treasonous exploits in the anti-war movement.

[Vets_Husband_and_Wife]

And how many were injured and didn't get out immediately? He could have finished his tour stateside. Or perhaps he felt he did SERVE by STABBING his fellow troops in the BACK!

What exactly WERE Kerry's injuries? I've only read they were "minor".. does anyone know what they "were"?

Thanks.

[ErnBatavia]

I'm going to have the big O.

Have you noticed in "The Picture" that Kerry looks like he's in the midst of a download at the moment of it being snapped? Being that close to Jane must have gotten him all warm and wanky...

[rocklobster11]

After reading the info posted at Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, I have uncovered the truth:

John Kerry is the Manchurian Candidate

[ErnBatavia]

Given the amount of time it takes to train a fighter pilot, I wonder which of the two has more actual days in uniform...

[Richard-SIA]

"details of which are not available because Kerry won't release the records)."

Hmm. Bush released HIS N.G. service records, so what is Kerry hiding?

Is full disclosure something he needs to fear?

A little manipulation of the facts in order to qualify for those on again - off again medals?

Interesting that he was able to nominate HIMSELF for the silver star, he should be the dictionary definition of self serving.

[COBOL2Java]

But, but...hold on! Michael Moore said he had proof!

Oh wait a minute...Michael Moore is a big fat delusional idiot. Never mind...

[shamusotoole]

Check here for award info from yesterday's threads. I believe you will find them enlightening.

http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1073763/posts?page=61#61

[RottiBiz]

Source: http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnkerry.com/

Kerry graduated from Yale University in 1966.

Like John F. Kennedy (who served on a World War II patrol boat, PT 109), Kerry sought to do the same. He enlisted in the Navy and became an officer.

After training, Kerry volunteered for Vietnam. He served a relatively uneventful six months, far removed from combat, from December 1967 to June 1968, in the electrical department aboard the USS Gridley, a guided-missile frigate that supported aircraft carriers in the Gulf of Tonkin.

His ship returned to its Long Beach, Calif., port on June 6, 1968. Five months later, Kerry went back to Vietnam, securing an assignment as "swift boat" skipper. Kerry commanded his first swift boat, No. 44, from December 1968 through January 1969. He received no medals while serving on this craft.

While in command of Swift Boat 44, Kerry and crew operated without prudence in a Free Fire Zone, carelessly firing at targets of opportunity racking up a number of enemy kills and some civilians. His body count included-- a woman, her baby, a 12 year-old boy, an elderly man and several South Vietnamese soldiers.

"It is one of those terrible things, and I'll never forget, ever, the sight of that child," Kerry later said about the dead baby. "But there was nothing that anybody could have done about it. It was the only instance of that happening."

Kerry said he was appalled that the Navy's ''free fire zone'' policy in Vietnam put civilians at such high risk.

Kerry experienced his first intense combat action on Dec. 2, 1968. He was slightly wounded on his arm, earning his first Purple Heart.

In late January 1969, Kerry joined a five-man crew on swift boat No. 94 completing 18 missions over 48 days, almost all of them in the Mekong Delta.

Kerry earned his second Purple Heart after sustaining a minor shrapnel wound in his left thigh on Feb. 20, 1969.

February 28, 1969:

When Kerry's Patrol Craft Fast 94 received a B-40 rocket shot from shore, he hot dogged his craft beaching it in the center of the enemy position. To his surprise, an enemy soldier sprang up from a hole not ten feet from Patrol Craft 94 and fled.

The boat's machine gunner hit and wounded the fleeing Viet Cong as he darted behind a hootch. The twin .50s gunner fired at the Viet Cong. He said he "laid 50 rounds" into the hootch before Kerry leaped from the boat and dashed in to administer a "coup de grace" to the wounded Viet Cong. Kerry returned with the B-40 rocket and launcher.

Kerry was given a Silver Star for his actions.

[Astronaut]

I agree completely. The Clinton machine destroyed Dean, and they'll do the same to Lurch. Hillary will come out a 'winner' and the presumptive front runner/nominee in 2008.

[xhrist]

"Pick a looser,run Hillary as VP. Get some national exposure as a cantidate, lose and come back in 2008 as the frontrunner against a non-incumbent president."

I was just thinking about this the other nite...
What case can be made about Hitlery in '08 if she a) ran a full term as Senator while holding a number of high level committee postions and b) runnning on a Presidental ticket. I mean she already ran the White House once, right? She can take credit for all the "good" of the Klintoon years while not having the corrupt baggage of Him....by then, ALL their baggage will be old news. Heck, she polls now as a viable canidate

Also, if W is continually successful at the War on Terror, by '08 the country (and World) will be ready for a woman US president (or pseudo-female at least) who will feel OUR pains again...

GULP, I scare myself to much sometimes...

[Richard-SIA]

"The boat's machine gunner hit and wounded the fleeing Viet Cong as he darted behind a hootch. The twin .50s gunner fired at the Viet Cong. He said he "laid 50 rounds" into the hootch before Kerry leaped from the boat and dashed in to administer a "coup de grace" to the wounded Viet Cong. Kerry returned with the B-40 rocket and launcher.

Kerry was given a Silver Star for his actions."

Translation = Commander Kerry siezes credit, War trophies, and medal properly belonging to his subordinate.

Just about exactly what I expected.
A Cub Scout could have 'earned' that Silver Star after the gunner dumped a belt full of .50 into the enemy!

[Saundra Duffy]

Let us not forget that Bill Clinton was elected to the presidency TWICE even though he's a proven DRAFT DODGER and anti American scum!! What I'm trying to say is: Don't ever underestimate the meanness and ignorance of some Americans. They may give President Bush the boot, which would be the sickest move imaginable, considering all the President has done for our beloved country. I'm concerned.

[jackbill]

Does getting three purple hearts mean that he was wounded three separate times in two months? If so, was there no recovery time for wounds?

The three "wounds" were basically scratches. It has been reported that he lost only two days of service because of them.

During WWII they talked about the "million dollar wound", i.e. one that would get you back to the U.S.. Kerry's were apparently 99 cent wounds. But he's gotten millions of dollars of media attention for them.

[q_an_a]

another post shows that the "officer varification" that ws used for the awrd was supplied and supported by one person Jonh Kerry. There was no other proof by an officer that he did what he said.

[Jeff Gannon]

This is a documented FACT!

[xhrist]

just think of the novelty to history:

BUSH,CLINTON,CLINTON,BUSH,BUSH,CLINTON?

I imagine (which I do far to much), if this was to happen, she'd only get one term due to a) her inate evileness becomimg exposed while in office or b) the country's demise coming about on her watch, from either a civil war with appropriate UN intervention or the road's end is reached for our fragile "democracy" (i know its a republic democracy, but that would all change under her watch too).....

[medscribe]

And exactly what is Terry McAwful's record on Vietnam? I think it would be interesting to find out if he's a draft dodging pig like his buddy the Impeached One.

[TC Rider]

3 Purple Hearts - Two scratchs, treated in the field, one shrapnel wound which sidelined him for two days.

Silver Star? Ran ashore and head shot a Viet Cong, putting him down like a dog, after Kerry's 50cal gunner delivered 50 rounds. Is there a medal for a war crime?

3 Purple Hearts quailify for an early trip home, which Kerry pushed for. How convenient.