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"Swiftboating"
By Ted Sampley
Today, leftists frequently misuse the term "swiftboating (swiftboated) " as a convenient antidote
to attempt to redefine legitimate criticism as nothing more than name-calling and smearing. The term "swiftboating" evolved out of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth's successful campaign against Kerry in the 2004 election. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was formed during the 2004 presidential election to counter the false war crimes charges Kerry repeatedly made against Vietnam veterans and to accurately portray Kerry's exaggerated claims about his own service in Vietnam. During the 2004 campaign, "Swiftboaters," many of whom served in U.S. naval units like Kerry's, made public how Kerry solicited unearned medals for valor and Purple Hearts for questionable wounds. The Swiftboaters revealed how Kerry used his Purple Hearts to exploit a loophole in Navy regulations allowing him to leave his crew and go home to a desk job after only three months service in Vietnam. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth registered their group under Section 527 of the U.S. tax code and went public at a news conference held in the National Press Club in Washington, D.C. on May 4, 2004. The group publicized their criticisms of Kerry in a book and in television advertisements that ran in swing states and in the national media. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth maintained that Kerry's anti-war criticism of United States involvement in the Vietnam War was a "betrayal of trust" with his fellow military men and women and that his pro-Hanoi activism caused direct and inexcusable "harm" to those still on the battlefield. "Swiftboaters" were so effective against Kerry that they became the subject of several complaints to the Federal Election Commission (FEC), including a charge by Kerry of illegal co-ordination with the Bush campaign. "Clearly, the Swift Boat veterans are having a major impact on this presidential race." Larry Kudlow, Editor of the National Review Online wrote August 30, 2004. "In truth, not one of the political pundits saw this coming. Perhaps John Kerry should have anticipated it, but judging from his tepid, halting, and per-usual flip-flopping responses, it would appear that he was totally unprepared." Kudlow pointed out that because of the Swift Boat veterans, President Bush, who had been running neck and neck with Kerry for the lead, opened up "an absolutely incredible 58 percent to 42 percent lead over Kerry" in just two weeks in August 2004. "And the worst may be yet to come for Kerry: Two other surveys show that the impact of the Swiftees could be even greater than established polling data suggest," Kudlow wrote. And the worst for Kerry did come in November, 2004, when the socialist Democratic ticket of John Kerry and John Edwards lost to incumbents President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney. Kerry won 59.03 million votes or about 48 percent of the popular vote; Bush won 62.04 million votes, or about 51 percent of the popular vote. After the election, Kerry complained that he had waited too late to "hit back" at the Swift Boat vets who he bitterly accused of telling "total lies" about him. He said he was disappointed at the news media for "gossipy" reporting by "repeating by the lies." Wikipedia, the free online encyclopedia is defining "swiftboating" as a negative catch-all term for
baseless attacks and a smearing: Conservatives define "Swiftboating" as being more appropriate to the to actual Swift Boat Veterans for
Truth campaign: The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is the primary veteran's group credited by some media and praised by conservatives as being a principal contributor to the defeat of Kerry. Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry (VVAJK) was the first veterans organization to publicly challenge Kerry for his pro-Hanoi, anti-American activism during and after the Vietnam War. VVAJK was led by Vietnam veterans Ted Sampley, Jerry Kiley and former Vietnam POW Mike Benge. The group's website appeared on the internet January 31, 2004. Within 90 days, the Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry website had in excess of 10 million visits. Former Swift Boat commander John O'Neill launched Swift Boat Veterans for Truth on May 4, 2004. Lead by retired Navy Captain, Larry Bailey, Vietnam Veterans for Truth (VVFT) joined the campaign to expose Kerry's lies in June 2004. Bailey's group had a great deal of success, especially in conceiving of and implementing Operation Street Corner, a program in which citizen volunteers worked street corner booths educating the public about Kerry's lies. Free the "Pendleton Eight!
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