Was Hackett Swift-boated? [Plain Dealer claims war crimes rumor circulated in Democratic circles]

Cleveland Plain Dealer ^ | February 17, 2006 | Elizabeth Auster

[Diago]

A Weblog by The Plain Dealer Politics Staff Friday, February 17, 2006 Was Hackett Swift-boated? Shortly after Paul Hackett announced the end of his Senate Democratic primary fight against Rep. Sherrod Brown, The Plain Dealer asked the Iraq war veteran if one factor in his decision was a rumor that circulated in Democratic circles during the campaign that photos existed showing he committed war crimes in Iraq. Hackett acknowledged hearing rumors that he had committed war crimes dating back to the day he first announced his candidacy in October. He called the rumors an "absolute falsehood and lie" and said that in the fall, he had contacted New York Sen. Charles Schumer about them. Schumer, who heads the Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee, "assured me he would put a stop to it,'' he said. Hackett said he also got a call from Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid about the rumors, and met with Reid in Washington to put the matter to rest, he said. Hackett said the rumors disgusted him and smacked of a particular brand of "dirty pool" that is "a common method to attack veterans.'' But they had bothered him most during the fall, he said, and were only a small fraction of his decision to quit politics, which he said boiled down mostly to his assessment that he couldn't raise the money he needed to win. "If you'd asked me back in October, it weighed on me far more at that point. And then Schumer intervened at my request to put a stop to it,'' he said. Hackett declined to speculate publicly on the source of the rumors but said he knows the source. "As much as I'd like to grab that son of a bitch and wring his neck, it hurts bad enough I'd just as soon let it go.'' Hackett asked The Plain Dealer not to print the rumors, arguing it would only serve to spread a lie and besmirch his reputation. The Plain Dealer decided not to write about the matter at that point. Since then, MotherJones.com has released a story quoting Hackett discussing the subject. -- Elizabeth Auster
Copyright 2006 cleveland.com. All Rights Reserved.

[Doogle]

...feeding on their own

[alloysteel]

Ideological purity has been preserved on the far Left....

[Semper Paratus]

Nobody can smear as well as a democrat.

[MortMan]

He was only "swift-boated" if the charges are TRUE!

[gov_bean_ counter]

My thoughts as well.

[fizziwig]

"He was only "swift-boated" if the charges are TRUE!"
__________________________________

Yup....to "SWIFT BOAT" is to tell the truth.

To "Kerry" is to lie through your teeth for self promotion.

[D-Chivas]

But John Kerry admitted to "war crimes" during Vietnam. I have audio of it.

Until somebody can produce photos of Hackett mistreating bodies in Iraq, it's nothing but speculation and rumor.

But Hackett is still a raving, far-left moonbat.

[Bogey78O]

Never heard those rumors once. Dems smearing Dems.

[chadwimc]

Algore???

[W04Man]

roger roger

[ansel12]

John Kerry's phony war record was corrected by his fellow Swift Boat veterans, that has nothing to do with what happened to Hackett. The left is shaping public perception of the 2004 election by using the term Swift-Boated to describe dishonest political smear campaigns.

[Fenris6]

Big woo. Kerry is a confesed war criminal, and it didn't hurt his chances with the Dems.

[ozzymandus]

I hope this story has legs, because I am loving it.

[BenLurkin]

Bump for the truth!

[TommyDale]

Why would a Republican charge "war crimes" when the Republicans are the only people supporting the war? This is an obvious Democratic smear.

[SJSAMPLE]

I may be mistaken here, but I read one biography, true or not, that said Hackett arrived in Iraq AFTER the capture of Saddam (by The US Army) and served as a JAG officer presiding over Saddam's detention/pre-trial.

Can anybody confirm this?
Doesn't sound like a lot of war-crimes opportunities for JAG-Off(icer)s.

[Diago]

Be sure to read the Mother Jones article on this:

http://motherjones.com/news/update/2006/02/hackett_drops_out.html

[misterrob]

Swift boats soon appeared on the horizon. A whisper campaign started: Hackett committed war crimes in Iraq—and there were photos. “The first rumor that I heard was probably a month and a half ago,” Dave Lane, chair of the Clermont County Democratic Party, told me the day after Hackett pulled out of the race. “I heard it more than once that someone was distributing photos of Paul in Iraq with Iraqi war casualties with captions or suggestions that Paul had committed some sort of atrocities. Who did it? I have no idea. It sounds like a Republican M.O. to me, but I have no proof of that. But if it was someone on my side of the fence, I have a real problem with that. I have a hard time believing that a Democrat would do that to another Democrat.”

---

Pardon me while I roll on the floor laughing...

[DakotaRed]

Was he "Swiftboated?"

swiftboat - vt. To reveal the essence of a defective person. To shine truth on a lie or lies. swiftboat-ed, swiftboat-ing

Decide for yourselves whether or not he was really "swiftboated."