Posted on 08/07/2004 3:38:36 PM PDT by Cincinatus' Wife
What did he think was going to happen?
Democrats, and at least one Republican, are up in arms over an ad put out by a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. The ad, which has circulated mostly on the Internet and received some airplay on radio, features veterans who claim to have served with Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry during the Vietnam war. The veterans in the ad claim that Kerry has lied about his war record and inflated his actions to receive medals.
Not surprisingly, Kerry’s camp is upset about the ad and some have threatened legal action. Either they are incredibly naive or they believe voters are.
Kerry, as I have heard reported more than once, came back from Vietnam convinced that his military service was nothing to be proud of. He labeled the men and women who served there, including himself, as war criminals. He reportedly threw his medals (or someone’s medals) over the fence at the White House in protest of the war. From what I can gather, he was anything but proud of his wartime service. That is until he decided he wanted to be president.
All of a sudden he has gathered those medals from the White House lawn, dusted off his old 8 mm movies and called up any veteran that will stand by him. Thirty years after he called himself a war criminal, he has changed the label to war hero. It may come as a surprise to Democrats that some Vietnam veterans are a little offended by that.
I know some Vietnam vets, and they don’t themselves as war criminals. They don’t necessarily see themselves as war heroes either. They see themselves simply as men who did what they were called to do. They generally don’t brag about their service, but they are proud of it. Most of them feel a certain brotherhood with their fellow veterans. They feel a certain sense of honor.
It’s no surprise to me that some of them view Kerry’s actions as those of an opportunistic politician aiming to capitalize on the current political climate. Much as he appeared to do so long ago. It’s also no surprise to me that some of them decided to speak out. Honorable men do that from time to time. Politics is a dirty business; Kerry has been a politician long enough to know that. He should have known that his diametrically opposed positions on his service in Vietnam wouldn’t sit well with the men he branded as war criminals.
If he has the information to refute the ad, he should produce it. If he doesn’t, and the ad is true, he should try to control the damage as best he can. What he shouldn’t do is exactly what his supporters and their lawyers have been threatening to do: Stifle the free speech of honorable men.
Michael Clements is a columnist for the Texas City Sun. He can be reached via e-mail at rprtr37@yahoo.com.
Kasich is a whoremongerer and a dick in person...real arrogant.
The media including our beloved FOX are nothing better than gutter whores.
The exceptions are Sean, Rush, Liddy and a few others.
FOX News has jumped the shark.
My parents lived in Seabrook when I was born but we didn't live there for very long. My husband & I had a house on Tiki Island for years. I feel very close to the area even tho it was never my permenant residence.
Yes, you certainly were in that area! I lived in Friendswood and then in the Clear Lake area.
Fox has caved to pressure from the liberals. Plain and simple. It came on slowly yet discernibly. Are freepers aware of this? We need a post in breaking with an alert to start a campaign with emails, phone calls, etc.
I also understand that Kerry has published a list of corporate donors to his campaign, proudly, I might add. Have you seen it? That would be another place to focus.
The press aren't claiming to be unbiased. They just pursue their agenda from the Dem playbook and trust that the sheeple will believe everything they say. Fox is a turncoat now, having learned their lines from the new script over the past several months. They say it loud and they say it long and we have become a small voice in the political television wilderness.
Bravo! Direct hit!
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