http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/swiftboatvets/ en-us Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:26:42 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2343568/posts To Set The Record Straight, first pubished in 2008, is much more than a history of the 2004 presidential race, and the effects the Swiftboat veterans had on that campaign. TSTRS uses the Swiftboat veterans' story to focus upon the role the mainstream media has played in shaping American public opinion over the past forty years, from the Vietnam War until the recent past. When Senator Kerry decided to make his military record a central part of his campaign, the Swiftboat veterans who knew him the best were angered and sickened. They had had enough, and they decided literally “to... Matthew Bracken http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2343568/posts#comment Sat, 19 Sep 2009 13:26:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2262401/posts I've been invited on Lars Larson's nationally-syndicated show today to talk about my recent article in the American Thinker, Media still lying about the Swift Boat Veterans and the book I co-authored with Tim Ziegler, To Set The Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry. The Lars Larson Show http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2262401/posts#comment Mon, 1 Jun 2009 20:57:05 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261325/posts nfomercial Attacking Obama's Health Care Plan Backed by 'Swift Boat' Financer A group called Conservatives for Patients' Rights has launched an ad campaign attacking the president's health care reform plans drawing strong opposition from the SEIU and Obama supporters. FOXNews.com Saturday, May 30, 2009 President Obama, vowing to succeed in health care reform where President Clinton failed, claimed progress in early May after a meeting with industry officials, who seemed open to his call to reduce spending by $2 trillion over 10 years. But a major new national attack-ad campaign has the potential to put a dent in Obama's plans,... FOX http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2261325/posts#comment Sat, 30 May 2009 19:25:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257922/posts Five years ago, a group of Vietnam veterans came forward at the National Press Club in Washington to dispute the "war hero" stories that formed the basis of candidate John Kerry's presidential campaign, and to challenge the claims of rampant US war crimes Kerry had used to launch his political career 33 years earlier -- false accusations, they said, that helped to poison the reputations of a generation of American troops. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth included Kerry's entire former chain of command from Vietnam and dozens of eyewitnesses to his actions there. Kerry, the veterans said, was not... The American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257922/posts#comment Mon, 25 May 2009 19:23:40 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257690/posts Five years ago, a group of Vietnam veterans came forward at the National Press Club in Washington to dispute the "war hero" stories that formed the basis of candidate John Kerry's presidential campaign, and to challenge the claims of rampant US war crimes Kerry had used to launch his political career 33 years earlier -- false accusations, they said, that helped to poison the reputations of a generation of American troops. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth included Kerry's entire former chain of command from Vietnam and dozens of eyewitnesses to his actions there. Kerry, the veterans said, was not... The American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2257690/posts#comment Mon, 25 May 2009 09:07:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062848/posts Paul Waldman of Media Matters said Swift Boat Veterans are liars. C-span http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2062848/posts#comment Sat, 16 Aug 2008 13:24:14 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057462/posts Just as they sought to destroy John Kerry in 2004, the founders of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth group are aiming their guns at this season's presumptive Democratic presidential candidate. But unlike four years ago, when the Swifties spent millions to discredit Kerry, their hit on Barack Obama so far hasn't cost them a dime. The opening assault came over the weekend in the form of a mass email to would-be sympathizers. "As liberal as Kerry was, America faces an even more liberal threat today: Barack Obama," wrote John O'Neill, a founder of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth... The Washington Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2057462/posts#comment Wed, 6 Aug 2008 16:24:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043109/posts The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have formally disbanded and ceased all operations as of May 31, 2008. I repeat. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth no longer exist. Somebody need to send that message to the New York Daily News because they are creating the false impression that 527 group is still out there as you can see in their completely misleading headline, "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth gear up for 2008 White House race." The strangest thing is that the Daily News article contradicts its own headline (emphasis mine): The swift boats are coming.They'll go by different names this year, but... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043109/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jul 2008 22:15:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040621/posts The New York Times published an article Monday about the anger some Vietnam veterans feel over the vessel they used to serve on, Swift Boat, now being synonymous with "the nastiest of campaign smears." In dredging up this issue, Times' writer Kate Zernike not only misrepresented many of the facts surrounding the claims made by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, but also completely ignored the mainstream media's role in turning the name of this patrol craft into a political pejorative. In fact, something the Times conveniently chose not to share with its readers was how one of its own... NewsBusters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2040621/posts#comment Fri, 4 Jul 2008 05:59:31 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035234/posts It's common to see mentions in the press these days about some "swiftboating" of Barack Obama that is allegedly in the works, or might someday allegedly be in the works, or might someday be thought to be allegedly in the works. While I'm sure there will be some hit jobs on Obama — this is a presidential campaign, after all — this talk seems to be based on a fundamental misunderstanding, perhaps willful in some cases, of the swiftboat episode in the 2004 campaign. The swiftboat veterans in that year were the officers who served alongside John Kerry in Vietnam.... The National Review http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2035234/posts#comment Mon, 23 Jun 2008 20:25:42 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034882/posts Vietnam veterans ask T. Boone Pickens to pay up on Kerry record 02:48 PM CDT on Saturday, June 21, 2008 By GROMER JEFFERS JR./ The Dallas Morning News Ten men who served in Vietnam with Sen. John Kerry want Dallas billionaire T. Boone Pickens to fork over the $1 million he said he would give anyone who could disprove claims that Swift Boat Veterans for Truth made about Mr. Kerry's war record during the 2004 presidential campaign. The men sent a lengthy letter and supporting documentation to Mr. Pickens on Thursday. Mr. Pickens, who helped support the anti-Kerry group, could... Dallas News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2034882/posts#comment Sun, 22 Jun 2008 23:56:38 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004240/posts April 20, 2008 Redefining 'Swiftboating' and Rewriting History By Henry P. Wickham, Jr. If the words "swift" and "boat" must be combined and turned into a verb, then let us insist on its proper use. The word as a verb originates from the campaign undertaken in 2004 by the Swift Boat Veterans in response to the John Kerry presidential candidacy. The word means, or should mean, the exposure of a fraudulent autobiography of one seeking political office or public influence. It is the correction of a personal and professional record that has been selectively and dishonestly compiled, as the Swift... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2004240/posts#comment Sun, 20 Apr 2008 05:35:03 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003978/posts The days of Swift Boating are numbered Friday, April 18, 2008 12:25 PM EDT While the Democrats continue to gnaw at each other for the party’s nomination, there are signs, indications even, that some of the recent methods of electoral success in the past are fading as effective tools. Most notably, “Swift Boating,” may finally be on its way to becoming a historical footnote. Swift Boating describes the effective use on well funded false charges against th The Ironton Tribune (OH)/irontontribune.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003978/posts#comment Sat, 19 Apr 2008 15:02:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976651/posts One of the core charges that John Kerry’s media-aided campaign made in 2004 and since to delegitimize the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is that its leader John O’Neill, who had opposed Kerry in 1971, was a creation of Richard Nixon’s White House. I was there, and know better. Until now, the central purported prop for the charge went unrebutted. Charles “Chuck” Colson has now spoken up. It’s time for reputable media, and even Kerry’s advocates if they have any integrity, to cease this charge. Like a dime-novel legend, based on little, this charge has been frequently repeated and embellished... Democracy Project http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1976651/posts#comment Tue, 26 Feb 2008 20:46:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968797/posts WASHINGTON – A group of Vietnam veterans opposed to John Kerry's presidential bid are using a television ad and personal appearances to charge that most of Kerry's image as a thrice-wounded and highly decorated war hero is based on lies. But the attacks were quickly denounced by Republican senator and Vietnam veteran John McCain as "dishonorable." The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, which gets most of its funding from Texas Republican activists, launched a TV spot in three battleground states yesterday repeatedly charging Kerry with lying about his Vietnam service. To reinforce the ad, members of the group are touring... San Diego Union Trib http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1968797/posts#comment Tue, 12 Feb 2008 00:35:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963342/posts Since losing the 2004 presidential election, John Kerry and his supporters have continued to claim "Unfit for Command: Swift Boat Veterans Speak out against John Kerry" and the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have been "discredited" for spreading a pack of lies about Kerry's military service in Vietnam and his subsequent leadership in the anti-war movement.... World Net Daily http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1963342/posts#comment Fri, 1 Feb 2008 18:47:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959272/posts If John Kerry had been elected President of the United States in November 2004, especially with the incoming majority Democrat Congress, it is highly likely that Iraq would be in the midst of a civil war, Iran’s regional influence would have increased, Israel would be in more jeopardy than it is now, two Supreme Court seats would be occupied by clones of John Stevens and Ruth Bader Ginsburg instead of by John Roberts and Samuel Alito, judicial decisions would have given even more “rights” to enemy combatants, domestic entitlements and earmarks would have skyrocketed, the Bush tax cuts would be... FrontPageMagazine.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1959272/posts#comment Fri, 25 Jan 2008 04:56:32 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953175/posts Swett, Scott and Tim Ziegler, To Set the Record Straight, 2007, New American Media, 389 pp., index, ISBN 978-0-9799841-5-0. $29.95 Full disclosure: The first author's father and I served together at Holloman AFB, New Mexico, 1968 - 1972. I do not recall ever meeting the first author. The thread that runs through this book is how the Swift Boat Veterans attempted to bring out the truth about John Kerry's service in Vietnam and his collaboration with the Viet Cong and the North Vietnamese afterwards. However, it covers a great deal more than that. The opening chapters deal with how the... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1953175/posts#comment Mon, 14 Jan 2008 00:50:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1951446/posts MYRTLE BEACH, S.C. - Barack Obama is being endorsed by fellow Sen. John Kerry, the Democrats' 2004 presidential nominee who lost to George W. Bush that year and gave up his own plans for a 2008 run a year ago.[snip]Besides any potential help for Obama, Thursday's endorsement was a slap at Edwards, who was Kerry's running mate in the last election. The two had their differences during the campaign over strategy and spending. In post-mortem interviews, Edwards said he would have been more aggressive in challenging the unsubstantiated allegations of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, the Vietnam War veterans... Associate Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1951446/posts#comment Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:14:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1948834/posts More than three years after John Kerry's bitter defeat, at the dawn of what looks like a far more promising campaign cycle for the Democrats, the party is still haunted by the specter of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Once upon a time, "Swift boat" denoted an obscure military vessel, but thanks to the activities of this group it has come to represent movement conservatism's penchant for ruthlessly (and effectively) smearing any and all political opponents, from a sitting senator and war hero to an 11-year-old boy with a cranial fracture. Research by The Nation into Federal Election Commission... Yahoo! News/The Nation http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1948834/posts#comment Sat, 5 Jan 2008 18:26:45 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1943513/posts Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it." George Santayana... It may be Providential that a book of history is soon to be released dealing extensively with certain shameful events of nearly four decades ago, just as others are now seeking to shamelessly and eagerly repeat those events. Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler have co-authored To Set The Record Straight with the apt subtitle How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry. The book all but begins with details of the Winter Soldier Investigation (WSI) of 1971, an event I wrote about here... American Thinker http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1943513/posts#comment Sun, 23 Dec 2007 16:26:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1942362/posts Stephen Braun at the L.A. Times writes: The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth raised more than $25 million for media buys. Some of the money was donated in multimillion-dollar installments from reliable Republican fundraisers, including Texas businessmen T. Boone Pickens Jr. and Bob J. Perry. But last December, the group was fined almost $300,000 by the Federal Election Commission for exceeding spending limits and acting in concert with GOP campaign efforts. Wrong.Here is the December 13, 2006 Conciliation Agreement that sets forth the FEC’s findings (.pdf). In it, the FEC explicitly found that the Swift Vets did not act in... Patterico's Pontifications http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/1942362/posts#comment Thu, 20 Dec 2007 18:04:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1942061/posts Scott Swett interview by Thom Hartmann on Air America, December 19, 2007 Hartmann: And greetings, my friends, patriots, lovers of democracy, truth and justice, believers in peace, freedom and the American way. Thom Hartmann here with you. Scott Swett is with us. Scott is the author along with Tim Ziegler of a new book, "To Set The Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry." Scott – ToSetTheRecordStraight.com, by the way, the web site – Scott, welcome to the program. Swett: Hi, Thom. Thanks for having me on. Hartmann: First of all – I... To Set The Record Straight http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1942061/posts#comment Thu, 20 Dec 2007 02:10:13 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1936189/posts FALLS CHURCH, Va. -- Last week former President Bill Clinton, John Kerry and various members of the media once again used "Swift boating" as a shorthand reference for misrepresenting a candidate's record. In "To Set the Record Straight: How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry," authors Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler counter that assertion in a heavily researched 400 page work that provides the first historical assessment of the 2004 presidential campaign. "To Set the Record Straight" is the definitive account of the ad hoc political movement that dominated the 2004 presidential campaign. Based on... NewsMax.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1936189/posts#comment Fri, 7 Dec 2007 16:39:54 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1935358/posts This is the most important book you’ll buy this year: To Set The Record Straight, How Swift Boat Veterans, POWs and the New Media Defeated John Kerry, by Scott Swett and Tim Ziegler, with Forward by John O'Neill. Not only will you learn the inside details of the only book – Unfit For Command -- that ever decided a presidential election but, especially for those who have any doubts, you will learn about how the peoples' democracy can still work in the United States. For those inclined toward political science, the book is an important contribution to understanding how political... Democracy Project http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1935358/posts#comment Thu, 6 Dec 2007 00:32:49 GMT