Posted on 08/20/2004 4:39:35 AM PDT by governsleastgovernsbest
Edited on 08/20/2004 4:45:50 AM PDT by Admin Moderator. [history]
So long as the Kerry campaign chose to largely ignore the charges of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT), the morning shows dutifully imposed their own blackout on the story.
But when Kerry broke his silence on the campaign trail yesterday, dusting off his hackneyed "bring it on" boast, it was clear that the honchos at the morning shows got the word from the DNC: start covering the story - using our talking points, of course.
And so each of the morning shows, for the first time to my recollection, had extended pieces on SBVT. Flipping madly among the channels, it is difficult to distinguish which network said what, but the basic approach was - predictably - consistent throughout.
Rather than focus on the substance of the charges, the emphasis was to suggest that this was effectively a Bush campaign plot.
One of the shows began its coverage by describing the SBVT TV commercials as "Republican-funded." Another breathlessly reported that John O'Neill, in forming his organization, had sought legal advice from a lawyer with Republican connections.
The one thing that was lacking in the network coverage: any serious attempt to refute the *substance* of the SBVT's charges. The closest to an attempted refutation were on-air statements from two members of Kerry's "band of brothers" that some VC (OK, I was flipping wildly by this time and am not sure if it was perhaps the teenager that Kerry ultimately killed) had lifted a grenade launcher, and if Kerry had not acted, "we would all have been history."
But that is a total strawman. O'Neill has explicitly and often said that no one is criticizing Kerry's decision to kill the VC.
What I did NOT see was anyone denying the SBVT claim that one of Kerry's Purple Hearts derived from a self-inflicted wound that needed nothing more than a band-aid. Nor was there refutation of the allegations that there was no firing from the shore that night. Nor that there was no firing at the time Kerry retrieved Rassman from the water. Rassman was shown on one of the shows saying something about the incident, but being in the water he was not in much of a position to know about firing and I do not recall him claiming there was any.
Good Morning America brought "analyst" George Stephanopolous in and Robin Roberts sagely inquired whether Kerry's demand that W call for ads to stop had not put the President "in a corner." Steph gravely agreed that indeed W was somewhat cornered. He concluded by stating that the Bush campaign would not ask the SBVT to stop because . . . "the ads appear to be working."
As lopsided as was the coverage, we should actually take heart. It is obvious that the networks are starting to cover the story for the same reason that the Kerry campaign is starting to respond - the ads, in revealing Kerry's fabrications and embellishments of his war record - are taking a toll. Indeed one of the shows displayed polling data indicating that, and one of the anchors nervously quoted "Democratic party leaders" as criticizing the Kerry campaign for not having forcefully responded earlier.
So for all the liberal media bias, every minute of coverage they devote to the issue is one minute not spent glorifying some new Kerry spending proposal, bashing W over the 'jobless' recovery, condemning the troop redeployment as 'pure politics,' etc.
We are winning this issue.
Today Show ping.
Sheesh. Old media is so lame.
"Isn't it, uh, sorta understood that the Swifties probably wouldn't be funded by, you know ... Democrats?"
Exactly. Funny, but I haven't heard the morning shows breathlessly report that Move.on's ads are funded by Democrats.
LOL! Even the WP gets it.
Washington Post: 'No Evidence of Direct Connections' (President Bush/Swiftboat Vets)
CNSNEWS.com ^ | 8/20/04 | Susan Jones
Posted on 08/20/2004 3:58:27 AM PDT by kattracks
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1195348/posts
It will be interesting to see if all the networks use the same talking points...
Good work!
And by the way, Kerry wants sportsmen to know that he is also a . . . Deer Hunter.
Sounds like non-denial denials all around this morning.
It's my belief that when Jf'K got home from Vietnam and began spewing venom while our guys were over there he turned many into Republicans.
When I saw my then young Navy LT husband ordered to wear his civilian clothes to Pentagon and remove his uniform because of all the harrassment from protesters (lead by Guess-Who), it made US BOTH Republicans!
I wonder if Al Gore is sorry he invented the internet. :)
We'll know they're series/serious when they invite some Swifties on...don't hold your breath...
> So for all the liberal media bias, every minute of coverage they devote to the issue is one minute not spent glorifying some new Kerry spending proposal, bashing W over the 'jobless' recovery, condemning the troop redeployment as 'pure politics,' etc.
I hope you're right. They say there's no such thing as bad press; I don't think I agree. We've got the column inches now, but is this an innoculation against the truth of the charges? The battle for truth rages, domestically as well as in Najaf.
Unless the extra-strength Sumatra coffee was getting to me, I think I did see a brief clip of O'Neill on one of the shows. Not a live interview - where he couldn't be edited - but at least some coverage.
I'd put it this way: Kerry is reduced to playing defense. And some of the charges are clearly sticking with some of the electorate. I really don't see any downside, unless it could conclusively be proved that the Bush campaign was secretly behind this - and that's not going to happen.
The VRWC strikes again. Or maybe it's just that the Truth wants out? Nah. That's too scary for the lib crowd. Back to scrambling the message.
If and when Kerry really starts to sink in the polls, how long will it be before the MSM starts whining about "the 2004 equivalent of the Willie Horton ad"?
(1)Kerry has taken the SBVT ads very, very personally. He really believes his own heroism stories.
(2)Kerry is very unused to being unable to control things.
(3)It was a big mistake to do so because there is really no way to control the attention this story will now receive.
So I came home, popped some mental popcorn, and surfed on over to FR to watch the fun.
I wish the hell somebody would point out that he and his Ilk in the VVAW called the war an internal Civil War where the USA had no business to intervene and therefore it was immoral and now he says I DEFENDED THE COUNTRY
What a lying flip flopper
I suspect that those media whores in the MSM will turn on skerry once they smell blood in the water. It will be interesting to see the Sunday blabfests. It would not suprise me the following Sunday they will be talking about his replacement....
I am proud to have been a very small part of the American process that has predicated that event by exposing the lying traitor to the American people at www.realheroesvoices.com
Make that "three things struck me..."
Shouldn't that read
Apackoflibs now? :)
It would be more interesting if they didn't!
I just sent them $25 via their website. That's a lot of money for me, but well worth it.
I had already donated, but was moved - by my own thread! - to contribute again this morning. Let's go, FReeperland!
Reposting the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth donation page
https://www.swiftvets.com/swift/ccdonation.php?op=donate&site=SwiftVets
He was on Fox 'n' Friends, if that's what you're thinking.
John O'Neill (Our Hero) To Be On Fox & Friends during 8 AM (ET) Hour <-- FR Thread
I'm fairly sure I also saw him on one of the MSM shows. Not a live interview, but a clip.
I really, really like the way O'Neill is utterly unintimidated by the liberal media. He does not sugar coat or back down in any way on his charges that Kerry lied and embellished. Watching him interviewed on Fox last night, I learned that he graduated from the Naval Academy, and #1 in his class from the U. of Texas law school.
Don't you love the smell of Dem panic in the morning?
Smells almost as good as JP4 in a war zone.
Yeah, right.....! Oh, this is rich, watching this tar baby stick to the pundits. The truth tellers are so calm on air, and the Kerryites are so frenzied.
Thanks again for "flipping wildly" for us while the Olympics occupy the perky one.
I was thinking more of mo-gas and doodoo burning. Ah, what a smell!
I think "A Pack of Lies" works better, no?
Me, too....I had and did again. BUMP BUMP for Freeperland contributions to a winning cause!!!
O'Neill is VERY sober and believable. As long as he is given air time, he will acquit himself well.
I'm concerned that this focus on Kerry's service is actually playing into his hands. As long as the truth is somewhat murky (and truth always is when revisited 30 years later), Kerry might at least play this to a draw.
In the meantime, the focus remains on Kerry's service, not on his anti-Vietnam, anti-patriotic actions after the war (although a bit of this is coming into play) and his ultra liberal senate record.
The upside is watching liberals and the MSM squawk about the 527 groups and see them tied in knots condemning the Swiftees, yet giving moveon.org and Soros a pass. It's a great thing to such hypocrisy on display.
Or more to the point, they suggest there is more to be suspected by a GOP Texan(Perry) funding a 507 group than is to be feared from a Socialist Greek(Soros) funding one. Oh, and btw there is no mention, ever, of the millions given to Kerry 507's vs the 200 thousand given by that mean-spirited Texas Republican.
Pathetic
One would think they have an agenda, huh?
On the same line of reasoning, I noticed on a Washington comPost story yesterday where some jackass by the name of Dobbs was trying to trash the Swift Boaters by showing the documents that one of their medals also said there was "hostile" fire when Lurch plucked the guy from the river . . . that he managed to write in three "digs" like "funded by a large Republican booster" and other such nonsense.
The mainstreamers are blind as hell . . . the citizenry are starting to see through their BS. A devout Democrat lives next door to me. DEVOUT! One of those whose family has ALWAYS VOTED DEMOCRAT and ALWAYS WILL VOTE DEMOCRAT. I was helping him set up a computer he bought for his granddaughter when a news story came on the tube about the Swifties. I was pounding on his keyboard working out the installation crapola but I noticed him out of the corner of my eye watching and listening to the TV. It sounded like Dan Blather but it might not have been. Anyway, I saw him reach up and slap the OFF button. I asked him what the problem was. I'm not making this up . . . his quote was . . . "Ain't no way 250 veterans would lie. G*ddammit! They gave their names, ranks, every-damn-thing else so the vultures could check them out. They've opened all their records. Kerry won't do that. Ain't no way that many veterans would step forward and lie!"
Believe me . . . that's pretty harsh stuff for this guy. We made a pact a few months ago when our political discussions started getting a mite heated. We don't talk politics. But I couldn't help it. I asked him . . . "Does that mean you're not voting for Lurch?"
His reply? "Nope. But I ain't voting for a lying sumbitch either."
He served eight years in the Navy. From 1943 to 1951.
Lurch is going down.
LOL. I noticed that glaringly obvious point also. Like, moveon.org is supported by (gasp!) democrats!
This tact of "yeah but, look who's behind it" is ineffective with real people when they don't refute the actual charges.
O'Neill was on FOX and Friends. Not exactly "mainstream" media, just media that is driving "mainstream" media mad.
O'Neill said on Fox and Friends, when asked if there was republican money backing, that the Swiftvets would take money from George Soros if he offered it.
It is more than that. The American people don't want or need this controversy over a 30 year old war when we have immediate lives at stake. The best case scenario for Kerry in this is that the American people throw their collective arms up and say "Who cares about Vietnam". When that happens, Kerry's reason for being is destroyed.
They're in full-time Kerry Ass Cover Mode. KACM. It fits.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.