Kerry is facing some problems with his military service. Whether they will be big problems depends on how they play out, but the potential problems are:
The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. A group of officers who knew Kerry well, who served with him, and who are adamantly opposed to him. On the front page of that web site, they show a picture of Kerry surrounded by 19 fellow Swift Boat skippers. Of the 19, only two have endorsed Kerry, and they are both employed by his campaign. Of the rest, four will not make a statement one way or the other, two are dead, and ELEVEN have signed a statement saying that they believe Kerry is unfit for office.
I don’t know if these guys will find any traction - it depends on how well-founded their charges are, and whether the Republicans can figure out a way to use them effectively. But potentially, you could see commercials like this:
“John Kerry was a Swift Boat veteran in Vietnam. There is no doubt that he acted heroically at times. But what about his leadership skills? What about his command judgement? For answers to those questions, let’s ask his fellow Swift Boat skippers, all of whom can be seen in this photo with John Kerry…”
Some of their charges are pretty lurid, and I have no idea if they have any evidence for them. For instance, they claim that two out of three of Kerry’s Purple Hearts were the result of self-inflicted wounds.
The thing about the Swift Vets is that they aren’t a bunch of rednecks from the Holler. Many of them are well known people of some prestige - people who you would not expect to just come up with a pack of lies. For instance, here’s what Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann says:
Here’s what his immediate commander in Vietnam says about him:
Again, it may turn out that there’s a lot of smoke here and no fire, but this is a potentially explosive issue, given how much Kerry himself has made his Vietnam performance a major plank of his campaign.
The ‘fake’ video footage - This plays into #1. The accusation now is that Kerry took a video camera and hauled his crew back out to the scene of previous battles so that he could film himself ‘in action’. If true, it’s at best a little creepy, and at worst the sign of someone who is completely self-absorbed and interested only in puffing himself up. Combined with the Swift Vet’s upcoming campaign, it may be that a picture will be painted of Kerry as a self-aggrandizing schmuck who didn’t know what he was doing, faked a couple of injuries, got involved in a couple of firefights, and used a third purple heart to bug out as soon as he could. I don’t know if that charge would be fair, but this is politics. It all depends on whether the Republicans can find traction with this.
Kerry’s voting record on the military and defense - This is a legitimate issue, and Kerry’s record is a consistent voting against military systems and funding.
The flip-flopper on national security. I think this is also a charge that has merit. Kerry in the past has been a serious hawk on Iraq, to the right even of his own party, and then he’s been a veritable peacenik. Then a hawk again, then a peacenik… All depending on how the political wind is blowing.
The RNC has released a video that’s pretty effective at showing this, and word is they may buy prime-time airtime to play this video.
I don’t think the Republicans will have a great deal of difficulty using the group - after all, the Republicans created it. “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” are a Republican front, funded by a PR firm with close ties to the Bush campaign. Cite.
Stop regurgitating the Republican talking points, Sam. Come up with your own stuff.
Even if it is a Republican front (which doesn’t appear to be true, btw, the group just uses a common PR firm), why would so many of John Kerry’s former colleagues sign on?
It’s certainly an interesting question. I’m pretty partisan, but I would never screw over a Navy buddy and fellow veteran this way. There has to be a good reason for these men not to respect Kerry.
By the way, while we are here, I would appreciate your returning to discuss the lies you leveled at Joe Wilson regarding the Plame Affair. I took the time to debunk them, you could at least have not scurried away without a peep.
And personal attacks are stock in trade for others. Feel free to stop it any time.
I’ll start debating with you when you start debating like a grownup.
‘Scurried away’ == ‘Going on vacation’. I had a lovely time at the lake. Did some waterskiing, some speedboating, some snoozing, and played with my daughter a lot. Didn’t think of you once.