Posted on 09/13/2006 10:26:11 AM PDT by areafiftyone
RICHMOND — An obscure new political group headed by an Iraq War veteran will begin airing television ads today that accuse Republican Sen. George Allen of voting to withhold lifesaving body armor for U.S. troops.
The bluntly worded 30-second ad by VoteVets.org is significant because it's the first attack ad of this year's hotly contested Senate race between Allen and Democrat Jim Webb.
It's also the first of many likely to be aired this fall not by campaigns but by so-called 527 organizations similar to 2004's anti-Kerry Swift Boat Veterans for Truth and the pro-Democrat Americans Coming Together.
The ad's tone is aggressive from the start. It opens with Peter Granato, an Army reservist who served in Iraq in 2003, standing in a desert holding an AK-47 assault rifle. He fires the weapon at two mannequins, one outfitted with a Vietnam-era flak jacket, the other wearing modern body armor.
"The difference is life," Granato says, opening the new bulletproof vest to show an unscathed mannequin, "or death," he says, opening the old vest to reveal four bullet holes.
"Senator George Allen voted against giving our troops this," Granato says, holding one of the new vests up to the camera. "Now it's time for us to vote against him."
The ad's shocking claim — that Allen deliberately denied troops lifesaving equipment — outraged Allen's campaign.
"This ad is deceitful and a lie," Allen campaign manager Dick Wadhams said.
Larry J. Sabato, director of the University of Virginia Center for Politics, said the ad seemed to go "way too far."
VoteVets.org chairman Jon Soltz said it is not endorsing Webb, a Vietnam combat veteran who opposed the 2003 Iraq invasion, just opposing Allen. He said Allen is the first candidate the ad will target, but that it will be run against other House or Senate candidates as the organization's finances allow.
Soltz defended the claim, based on a vote Allen cast in 2003 against an amendment Sen. Mary Landrieu, D-La., offered to boost National Guard and Reserves equipment funding by $1 billion.
Landrieu's amendment died on a 52-47 vote with Sen. John W. Warner, R-Va., and every other Republican voting to table Landrieu's bill. One Democrat, Zell Miller of Georgia, voted with the GOP majority.
"This was a life-or-death vote, and he voted death," said Soltz, an Army Reserves captain who served with the 1st Armored Division in Baghdad.
He said in a telephone interview that many in his unit were issued the Vietnam-era jackets, while others were given the vests for the modern system, but not the armor plates to insert in the vest to make it bulletproof.
"In fact, we put Iraqi plates in our vests after we got there because we found a bunch of them abandoned at the Baghdad airport," Soltz said.
Wadhams angrily denied the claim, saying the Defense Department issued none of the dark olive flak jackets used in the '60s and '70s in Iraq's desert environment.
The ad's scandalous charge and its adamant tone could boomerang if voters find it too outrageous, Sabato said.
"Say what you will about George Allen, but I don't think you can credibly say that he voted not to protect American troops," he said.
VoteVets.org is among a growing number of tax-exempt, nonprofit political advocacy organizations formed under Section 527 of the IRS code. They can influence federal elections through voter mobilization and issue advertisements. In 2003-04, they raised more than $400 million for their activities.
The Democratic Senatorial Campaign Committee also will begin airing so-called "independent expenditure" ads benefiting Webb.
This all smells very fishy. Democrat's have been plotting revenge for the Swift Vets truth about Kerry.
Aren't these ads illegal under McCain-Feingold?
I think that's exactly what it was.
The Vietnam era jackets left inventory decades ago.
Also, he makes the claim that the plates make them "bulletproof" - um, no, that's just to prevent penetration by heavy rifle rounds. They are ballistically resistant without it.
On top of which, while there were troops running around in Woodland pattern camo gear, there are no pictures of troops in Iraq wearing OD gear.
It should also be mentioned that the Iraqis did not *have* issue body armor - and if they did, the chances of the plates fitting US issue gear are slim and none, and Slim left last week.
And they know that Chris LaCivita (of Swift Vet "fame") is on the Allen Team. Chris received a Purple Heart in the First Gulf War.
Don't expect this to go unchallenged.
I saw the ad this morning on a D.C. station. It is about the ugliest political ad I've seen since LBJ's "Daisy" ad.
That guy must be an IWVINO
This should give Jim Webb an opportunity to see what he's made of! If he allows this ad to keep running, then he's lower than a snake's belly! We know he's pretty low already for using ads showing Reagan complimenting him after he has turned against Reagan and denounced his policies. I don't believe Reagan would say the nice things now that Webb's shown what he really is. I'm beginning to think Webb is an opportunist of the worst sort.
I hope not. I was wondering when the Leftists would get around to this. It's not only Allen who is being targeted. There will be other Republicans.
Oh crap! Maybe there were some things attached to the bill that Allen and the others didn't like.
Welcome to FreeRepublic.
How's your first week been?
Sorry, but I had one issued to me when I deployed to the gulf in 2003. I was in a rear area unit then, and when I deployed again in 2005 we all got the kevlar, but some were issued the flak jackets at the start of the war.
Thank you for the link and welcome to Free Republic.
First 2 bullets in votevets.org endorsement criteria....clearly, they are anti-Bush, pro-Democrat:
Demand from the administration a victory strategy for Iraq that includes hard success metrics which trigger American troop drawdowns so our forces can safely re-deploy from theater.
Demand from the administration a victory strategy for Iraq that includes hard success metrics which trigger American troop drawdowns so our forces can safely re-deploy from theater.
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