Posted on 02/17/2005 4:58:53 PM PST by 68-69TonkinGulfYachtClub
Sunday, Nov. 7, 2004
Rove Credits Swiftvets With 'Energizing' Bush Vote
Bush-Cheney re-election architect Karl Rove gave credit on Sunday to the Swift Boat Veterans and POWs for Truth for exposing John Kerry's anti-war past and energizing Republican voters to turn out at the polls.
Asked what role anti-Kerry ads sponsored by the Swiftvets played in Bush's re-election victory, Rove told "Fox News Sunday":
"They were made important by the fact that Senator Kerry, at his convention, really talked ... only about Vietnam."
The top White House adviser explained: "I was amazed by the people that I met around the country who were energized by that issue being discussed. ... I was really amazed by how strongly men and women who had served in Vietnam and in the armed forces felt about that."
Rove recalled that his uncle had done several tours of duty in Vietnam. "I've never been able to think of Colonel Verhi as somebody who would have 'raped and pillaged in a manner reminiscent of Genghis Khan,'" a reference to Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony where he accused Vietnam veterans of committing widespread atrocities.
"I'm convinced that millions went to the Swift Vets that didn't go the the RNC."
Real Republicans wouldn't mind this at all.
Because the objective was met.
Then there are the "other Republicans"
Fill in the blanks.
...and Kerry STILL hasn't signed SF 180. Wonder why?
I love the SBVT guys and the best money I spent in 2004 was my contribution to them. Interesting the MSM never remarks on the fact that Bush won the veterans' vot in the 60-70% range, despite all of Kerry's prancing around on stage as a veteran.
The question, of course, is why did Rove and the GOP *NEED* the Swift Boat Vets to tell the truth about John Kerry. Why couldn't Republicans bring it up themselves? Why was the news media completely uncurious about Kerry's claims and, in addition, completely silent about his obviously traitorous past?
Why was it left to John O'Neill and his fellow Swifties to take the mudslinging and arrows? Why did the Bush Administration lack the courage to attack the Senator themselves instead of using surrogates they could pretend to criticise?
My hat's off to the Swifties, of course, but I still question why the GOP couldn't swat these sort of lies down without the need of a side group to do the dirty work for them.
Rove's comments were very carefully phrased. He wasn't openly thanking the Swiftvets or crediting them with Bush's victory. He was simply offering a political observation to the effect that they did have an influence.
That's all you're ever going to get out of Rove or any other official from the Bush campaign. The Swift Boat Veterans were an independent 527 organization which did not act in concert with the Bush campaign, and the Bush campaign will never suggest anything to the contrary.
Nor would the Swiftvets want the Bush campaign to claim otherwise. The Swiftvets maintained all along that their objective was to keep Kerry out of the White House, not to re-elect Bush.
...that could have given the money to somebody like Arlen Specter.
You're describing me. I gave twice to the Swifties. I didn't give a dime (except volunteer work) to the Republicans. I knew which group was doing the heavy lifting in this campaign.
He is in the news business and it is yesterdays news. Myself, I would pay 5% of my yearly salary to see the 180 signed and all the documents released.
I thought he was in Cambodia one Christmas .
"He is in the news business and it is yesterdays news."
Guess he missed the traitor's trip last month.
Kerry Meets With Syrian President Jan 05
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1316737/posts
If Bush or the Republican Party has pushed the issue, it would have been seen as just the usual mudslinging which is endemic to all races. Only the Swift Boat Veterans -- elderly gentlemen who had served in Vietnam when Kerry was there and who could speak from personal knowledge and who had no apparent motive for lying -- had the credibility to expose Kerry's fabrications.
As to why the news media was completely incurious, I assume that's a rhetorical question. They were in the tank for Kerry, more openly and brazenly than in any Presidential election that I can recall, and they knew that this could be the deathknell of his Presidential hopes. As it indeed was.
"Rove's comments were very carefully phrased. He wasn't openly thanking the Swiftvets or crediting them with Bush's victory. He was simply offering a political observation to the effect that they did have an influence."
This is where he hit a home run!
"Rove recalled that his uncle had done several tours of duty in Vietnam. "I've never been able to think of Colonel Verhi as somebody who would have 'raped and pillaged in a manner reminiscent of Genghis Khan,'" a reference to Kerry's 1971 Senate testimony where he accused Vietnam veterans of committing widespread atrocities."
He dared to call Hanoi Kerry's 1971 a farce and a disgrace.
Not even the media is willing to do that.
I am a long time Republican activists that was proud to send money to the Swift Boats and not to RNC right before that documentary came out that Sinclair didn't show but was everywhere on the Net! Best return on a donation I ever made.
Grate post Tonk!
Bumping it...
I got to meet John O'Neill at a book signing/dinner/party/speech in Houston last year. What a fine man he is. Just delightful! We all enjoyed his speech and meeting him. If you get the chance to meet him and hear him speak in person, it is GREAT~
I don't know if you all know that C-Span 1(or 2)will televise Zell Miller giving the John O'Neill and the Swiftees an award at CPAC. I believe the time is 8:30p.m.EST(5:30p.m.PAC).I'm very much looking forward to watching it.
Some may forget but I will not.
For the rest of my years, I will remember the Swift Boat Vets and the POWs for Truth as the key force in keeping traitor John Kerry from serving as Commander in Chief.
Because they had the feel of being fair and impartial individuals, who knew Kerry personally.
George W Bush doesn't know Kerry personally, in anything but the most superficial way.
Neither does anyone else in politics.
But there were people who saw him in command, in an executive position. That's the best comparison to the Presidency you can get. Certainly much more telling than anything he did as Senator.
What did Kerry do when charged with great responsibility, that he himself said he was proud of? That's what the swift vets told us, and that's why it was uniquely their story to tell.
D
Gotta LOVE that guy!
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