Posted on 10/22/2004 11:49:34 PM PDT by Former Military Chick
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Kerry Campaign Response to Sinclair Smear 10/22/2004 10:20:00 PM
To: National Desk, Political Reporter Contact: Chad Clanton or Phil Singer, 202-464-2800, both of Kerry-Edwards 2004 WASHINGTON, Oct. 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Following is a response from Kerry-Edwards 2004 to Sinclair Broadcasting: "Sinclair executives have given more than $100,000 to George W. Bush and the Republican Party. Tonight they supported him with millions of dollars of air time devoted to an anti-Kerry smear aimed at influencing the election. Sinclair gave lip service to the first amendment but fired an honest journalist working for Sinclair who spoke out against their smear. Sinclair's shameful actions can't obscure the plain truth -- John Kerry was a war hero who was decorated for bravery. People will see this for what it was: one of George W. Bush's big corporate cronies trying to distract voters from his record of failure," said Kerry campaign spokesman, Chad Clanton. THE FACTS: Sinclair's Smear Fact Check SHOW TITLE: "A POW Story" DATE: 10/22/04 First a Little Background on Sinclair-Longtime Friends of the Bush Family Right Wing Broadcaster & Strong Bush Supporter Airs Anti-Kerry Pseudo-Documentary "Several High-Ranking Officials of Sinclair" Gave the Maximum to Bush. "(S)everal high-ranking officials of Sinclair Broadcast Group gave the maximum donation to the George Bush re-election campaign" (CNN, American Morning, 4/20/04) Sinclair Executives Are "Major Donors to Bush and the GOP. "Sinclair Broadcast Group's employees give almost exclusively to Republicans, and its executives are major donors to Bush and the GOP, according to Federal Election Commission records. (Richmond Times Dispatch, Williams, 5/3/04) Sinclair's Editorialist Mark Hyman Donated To the Maryland Republican Party. Mark Hyman donated $2,061 to the Republican State Central Committee of Maryland in 2000. (FEC, tray.com) Sinclair Fired Washington Bureau Chief for Protesting Their Anti-Kerry Smear. "Sinclair, which fired its Washington bureau chief, Jon Lieberman, on Monday for telling the Baltimore Sun that plans to show Sherwood's 42-minute film amounted to 'biased political propaganda.'" (Philadelphia Inquirer, 10/20/04) Sinclair Ownership Are Big Bush Supporters. Sinclair general counsel Barry Faber confirmed the company told its ABC affiliates not to air Friday's "Nightline." "We find it to be contrary to public interest," he said. "ABC News will continue to report on all facets of the war in Iraq and the war on terrorism in a manner consistent with the standards which ABC News has set for decades," it said. Sinclair's statement said ABC is politicizing the war. "Mr. Koppel and 'Nightline' are hiding behind this so- called tribute in an effort to highlight only one aspect of the war effort and in doing so to influence public opinion against the military action in Iraq," the statement said. According to campaign finance records, four of Sinclair's top executives each have given the maximum campaign contribution of $2,000 to the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign. The executives have not given any donations to the campaign of Sen. John Kerry, the presumptive Democratic nominee, the records showed. (CNN.com, 4/30/04) CBS News: Sinclair CEO Gave the "Largest Personal Check Allowed By Law" to Bush. "In the past eight years, Sinclair has given the lion's share of its political contributions to Republican candidates. This year, the company's CEO wrote out the largest personal check allowed by law to President Bush's re- election campaign." (CBS Evening News, 10/10/04) Sinclair's Friendly Filmmaker Is Actually Disgraced Journalist & was Arrested for Illegally Recording Conversation Sinclair Gave Time to Discredited Journalist Turned Anti-Kerry Filmmaker-Who Charged for Illegally Taping Private Conversations. "(I)nvestigative reporter Carlton Sherwood was charged before a Maryland District Court commissioner in Silver Spring with illegally taping a conversation. He was released on his personal recognizance. A preliminary hearing on the charge, which is a felony in Maryland that carries a maximum penalty of five years in prison or a $10,000 fine." (Washington Post, 11/7/83) Sherwood Friend & Fellow Vet Claims Politics Behind His Movie. A Jefferson County veteran who served in Carlton Sherwood's platoon in Vietnam, and who kept in contact with him in the 1990s, said he thinks the producer of 'Stolen Honor' is 'using it to further his (political) agenda' against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry. 'I know his political views,' said Paul Wilson, who is the Jefferson County coordinator for Veterans for Kerry. 'He has some very strident political views. If I knew somebody who was going to watch' Sherwood's video, Wilson said, 'I would say first realize ... it's made by someone who's definitely not nonpartisan or unbiased.'" (Charleston Gazette, 10/22/04) Fact Check on Sinclair's Dirty Work for Bush for Bush False Claim - Sinclair Offered Kerry Equal Time Sinclair's False Claim: "We offered the Kerry campaign equal time." (Sinclair's "A POW Story", 10/22/04) FACT: Sinclair Only Offered John Kerry a Chance to Take Part in a Panel Discussion. "Mark Hyman, a vice president of corporate relations for Sinclair who also is a conservative commentator for the company, said Monday the show would contain some or all of the 42-minute film as well as a panel discussion of some sort." (AP, 10/11/04) False Claim - Kerry Lied About Atrocities in Vietnam Sinclair's False Claim: Kerry Spoke for All Vietnam Vets & Lied About Atrocities in Vietnam Kerry Spoke About Testimony He Had Heard From Vietnam Veterans and Told the Unfortunate Truth-That Atrocities Occurred in Vietnam. "I would like to talk, representing all those veterans, and say that several months ago in Detroit, we had an investigation at which over 150 honorably discharged and many very highly decorated veterans testified to war crimes committed in Southeast Asia, not isolated incidents but crimes committed on a day-to-day basis with the full awareness of officers at all levels of command. It is impossible to describe to you exactly what did happen in Detroit, the emotions in the room, the feelings of the men who were reliving their experiences in Vietnam, but they did. They relived the absolute horror of what this country, in a sense, made them do." - John Kerry (Senate Foreign Relations Committee Testimony, 4/22/71) -- Toledo Blade Won 2004 Pulitzer Prize for Series Exposing American Atrocities in Vietnam. "Three (Toledo) Blade reporters won the Pulitzer Prize - journalism's highest honor - for uncovering the atrocities of an elite U.S. Army fighting unit in the Vietnam War that killed unarmed civilians and children during a seven-month rampage." (Toledo Blade, 4/6/04) -- Newsweek: "Record Shows Atrocities Did Occur." "The historical record shows that atrocities did occur in Vietnam, as in the My Lai massacre or the so-called Tiger Force activities that were recently uncovered." (Newsday, 2/22/04) -- Vietnam Historian Says There's No Question Atrocities Occurred. "Stanley Karnow, author of 'Vietnam: A History,' said there is no question that atrocities occurred on both sides in the Vietnam War. (Boston Globe, 5/13/04) -- Gen. Tommy Franks: Certain That Atrocities in Vietnam Did Take Place. "I think we had a lot of problems in Vietnam. One was the lack of leadership of young people like in - - in John Kerry's position. He was a young officer over there, and I'm not sure that -- that activities like that didn't take place. In fact, quite the contrary. I'm sure that they did. ...I wouldn't say that the things that Senator Kerry said are undeniable about activities in Vietnam. I think that things didn't go right in Vietnam." (Hannity and Colmes, 8/3/04) False Claim - Kerry Indicted Fellow Veterans Sinclair's False Claim: Sinclair's Broadcast Claimed John Kerry Blamed Fellow Veterans for Atrocities in Vietnam (Sinclair's "A POW Story", 10/22/04) FACT: Kerry's Testimony Was an Indictment of America's Political Leadership-Not Fellow Veterans. "We are also here to ask, and we are here to ask vehemently, where are the leaders of our country? Where is the leadership? We are here to ask where are McNamara, Rostow, Bundy, Gilpatric and so many others. Where are they now that we, the men whom they sent off to war, have returned? These are commanders who have deserted their troops, and there is no more serious crime in the law of war. The Army says they never leave their wounded. The Marines say they never leave even their dead. These men have left all the casualties and retreated behind a pious shield of public rectitude. They have left the real stuff of their reputation bleaching behind them in the sun in this country." - John Kerry (Senate Foreign Relations Cmte Testimony, 4/22/71) Paid for by Kerry-Edwards 2004, Inc. -0- /© 2004 U.S. Newswire 202-347-2770/
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Watched part of it this evening. The part I saw sounded like a Kerry commercial.
obviously the campaign didn't watch it.
This is the guy that was OUTRAGED that anyone would dare question Max Cleland's patriotism by not voting for him.
wow, they sure didnt watch what we watched if this is their answer.....it must have been prepared before and just sent out without waiting....they should be kissing Sinclairs behinie for that piece of crap we all suffered thru...
I am not sure I buy into the idea even bad media bring more coverage to a good thing.
I fear the talking heads will say this is a Kerry win. Frankly after what I watched I can understand that.
But, what is missing is the orginal documentary. It is ecxcellent. We need to post where ever there are open minds. Also post it on the military website. They still have some time to send in their absentee ballot (if Nader doesn't complicate more things) they can watch and make a intelligent decision.
I know many military folks are for Bush, I just want the truth out there. Right now all they have is the Post Exchange (military wal mart). Moore's lieing yuck fest is sold there.
This sort of thing used to make me mad. I just finished Unfit for Command. This kind of junk doesn't really affect me after reading that.
I have a friend, who is unfortunately a liberal, that called me tonite after the Sinclair broadcast. He said the broadcast was good and certainly made him think some more about his position about the election.
False Claim - Kerry Indicted Fellow Veterans
Someone walk me through this. Kerry's defense is that:
A) There ABSOLUTELY WERE atrocities in Viet Nam.
B) He never indicted his fellow veterans when he talked about all the atrocities that they ABSOLUTELY WERE COMMITTING.
One can gather from this press release they didn't bother watching it. It just shows the incompetance within the Kerry camp.
OReilly thought he bought favor with various libs, but when Bill fell recently, Bill Maher was making fun of him on his show.
Republicans pull the punches...they are so frikken cowardly. The Dems only have to look at them cross-eyed and they tuck tail. We have a few Coulters and such but for the most part we need to grow some balls and just follow through on what we know is right. Quit being intimidated or we don't deserve anything. And I am sick of it...
DUers...are you taking notes?...the lesson to be learned is to be a bully...always keep the Republicans on the defensive, because it works!
#3
My sentiments exactly... lol
Wow.
It amazes me how way out in left field (pardon the pun) these people really are.
And that Chad Clanton........
GROWL.
He puts on that smile and I just want to smack it right off!
Hey, Former Military Chick, bash your remote one time for me!
LOL, do you know how bad this is going to make Kerry look?
Not a problem we have several usually it does not survive if VA Tech loses.
But oh when you are mad, what a wonderful feelings!
I think many republicans don't have the courage of their convictions, and want to be loved by people who will never love them.
The Dems need knocked in the teeth and kneed in the groin...we need to make them frikken hurt and scream in pain...we need to quit being tentative about it. We are rightand they are evil...lets quit the pussy footing...
I saw Lawrencew Odonnel on MSNBC and he screamed at JOhn O'Neill and called him an out and out liar. The f*ck-face needed to be brought to the ground and beat the sh*t out of for talking to O'Neil like that...
...and Lawrence O'Donnel is their SENIOR political analyst on MSNBC??? Give me a frikken break...
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