Posted on 11/23/2004 5:48:42 PM PST by freespirited
The controversial veterans group that trashed the war record of Democratic Sen. John Kerry during the presidential campaign and helped hand President Bush a second term will remain a potent force, according to an associate of the group.
Chris LaCivita, who was a paid political consultant to Swift Boat Veterans for Truth during the campaign but said he is no longer on the payroll, asserted that the organization, with 280 members nationwide, is pondering its next step.
patrick g. ryan An associate of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth says the group, known for attacking Sen. John Kerry’s war record, will remain a powerful force.
One possibility is that the Swiftvets will become a full-time public-relations outfit for veterans, LaCivita said.
The Kerry-Edwards campaign filed a complaint against the Swiftvets with the Federal Election Commission, but LaCivita said many conservatives are disgusted with what they see as a left-wing caricature of U.S. soldiers in Vietnam as “crazed hippies that went around mowing people down.”
The Swiftvets would seek to counter negative impressions of veterans. Referring to U.S. soldiers in battle, LaCivita, a former Marine who fought in the first Gulf War, said: “They endure a lot more, and they do a lot of good things people back home never hear about.”
Retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann, who oversaw the Swift boat operation in Vietnam and founded the anti-Kerry group, said members would probably be interested in fighting a future Kerry bid for the White House, which some Democrats say is possible.
“We have definitely an interest in continuing our work on the discharge and activities in regard to the POWs,” said Hoffmann, who retired from the Navy in 1978. He added, “At this point, we really haven’t made any firm decisions. We feel that our primary mission has been accomplished.”
John E. O’Neill, a co-founder of the group, sees the Swiftvets moving from political activity to veteran services. O’Neill, who served as a lieutenant in Vietnam, said he is heading back to his law practice full time.
Hoffmann said his group was not tied to any political party and will stay independent. Democrats allege that the 527 group, a category of political groups that is named after a clause in the tax code, worked illegally in concert with the Bush campaign.
David Wade, national press secretary in the Kerry campaign, characterized the Swiftvets as “a discredited and despicable Republican smear group caught doing George Bush’s dirty work.”
They were “scorned by real heroes like Max Cleland and John McCain,” Wade added.
Former Sen. Cleland (D-Ga.) lost three limbs in Vietnam, and Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) spent years there as a prisoner of war.
Simon Rosenberg, president of the New Democrat Network and a contender for chairman of the Democratic National Committee, disparaged the group for “scandalous lies” and “underhanded campaign tactics” and said the media was “unbelievably irresponsible” for not being, in his view, a better watchdog.
Mike Russell, a Swift Boat Veterans spokesman who works at Creative Response Concepts, a media-relations firm in Alexandria, Va., says none of the group’s contentions about Kerry has been refuted.
Donations to the group had come from every state and sales of the book Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak Out Against John Kerry by O’Neill and Jerome Corsi, which helped propel the group to national attention and sold more than 800,000 copies, Russell added.
Larry Sabato, a University of Virginia political scientist, said Swift Boat Veterans for Truth had “neutralized” the image of Kerry as war hero. “In viewing Kerry through that lens, the public saw a very different Kerry than they had just seen at the Democratic National Convention. It was not Lieutenant John Kerry reporting for duty. It was a scruffy, antiwar activist in fatigues dumping on his colleagues,” Sabato said, referring to images, repeatedly shown on television during the campaign, of Kerry testifying before Congress.
Sabato said he plans to question LaCivita about suspected ties between the veterans group and the Bush campaign when LaCivita takes part in the seventh annual American Democracy Conference, Dec. 3 at the Hotel Washington. The conference is co-sponsored by The Hotline and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
establish a headquarters in massachusetts, prevent his next senate re-election.
I am alone is sensing an anti-SBVT bias in this piece?
I disagree. I'm tired of industrial activism. They did their job. They did it well. I think its time for them to take a rest. Their views will have little relevance for most of the future challenges we face and contributing to the defeat of Kerry won't win them much grace on those fronts.
{Yeah, I know, we need to get rid of Uncle Teddy first, but...}
I get chillbumps when I think about what these men accomplished in 2004. And they thought their hero days were over.
Sabato said he plans to question LaCivita about suspected ties between the veterans group and the Bush campaign when LaCivita takes part in the seventh annual American Democracy Conference, Dec. 3 at the Hotel Washington. The conference is co-sponsored by The Hotline and the University of Virginia’s Center for Politics.
Try your best Larry!
I agree. I don't think being a veteran should make you immune from criticism, but a lot of vets have every right to believe that they still have some old scores to settle. And there should be no statute of limitations on the truth.
You are not alone.
Thanks Swiftees,
az
These guys deserve our thanks for doing a great job. That said, having saved the Republic, they should return home. We don't need yet another permanently ensconced lobbying group.
These vets have endured enough unjustified criticism for several lifetimes.
They served their country again but the debt to them can never be repaid.
Many went to their deaths never knowing that 'help was on the way'.
O'Neill and the Swiftees should sue Lawrence O'Donnell and MSNBC.
I hope the Swiftees will keep the pressure on the Traitor.
The Traitor should be run out of office. PERIOD!
Semper Fi,
Kelly
I think I have to agree. I'm very proud of the Swift Boat Veterans and thank them so much for not only for serving their country during Vietnam, but for serving it equally as well this past year without compensation.
However, I'm afraid that if they try to remain relevant, they will either look ambitious or like a group of malcontents. I would hate to see either of those play out.
Personally, I would like to see the group stay together, but not try to take to active of a role in politics, unless Kerry rears his ugly head again.
However, I can't say that I wouldn't love to see John O'Neill run for office. Anything available down in Texas for him? Attorney General perhaps? Or, better yet, if Senator Hutchison runs for Governor, perhaps he could be appointed to the Senate? Wouldn't you love to see floor debates between him and Kerry? lol
Yes, and we could certainly use them again if Kerry decides to run in 2008.
See Larry run....run, Larry, run....catch that bandwagon....
People wonder why Bush does not show his appreciation to the swifties...They must not realize that this group was not formed by Republicans to help Bush but to prevent this fraud,Kerry, from being CIC and President.
They must remain separate..They are a 527..Some people WANT to tie them to the campaign to discredit them..
God bless the swifties and all vets who helped keep Kerry from becoming President!
The POW fiasco would be the best project for them to tackle. I still believe that JFK left a lot of our boys in Vietnam to die when he shut down the investigation.
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