Swift-Boating for Truth

Swift-Boating for Truth
By Martha Zoller

Whether it is the 2000 election results, the ongoing historical revisionism about the victory of Senator Saxby Chambliss over Senator Max Cleland in 2002 or the role The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth’s grassroots victory over Senator John Kerry in 2004 -- Democrats never think they lose a fair fight. The fix is always in and it is against them. When the 2006 midterms came around and Democrats won, of course, that was accurate. If Democrats win, it is a fair outcome, when they lose -- the response is the personal destruction of anyone in their way.

Senator John Kerry had many months to dispute the claims made by The Swifties and has not taken the opportunity. On November 6, T. Boone Pickens, Chair of BP Capital Management, offered a challenge. He promised $1,000,000 to anyone who can disprove even a single charge of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth.

This weekend, I spent some time with Col. George “Bud” Day, (USAF, Ret). Col. Day is the most decorated veteran since General Douglas MacArthur, a Medal of Honor recipient and a POW for over 5 years in Vietnam. He appeared in an advertisement for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004, saying (about Sen. John Kerry),”How can you expect our sons and daughters to follow you when you condemned their fathers and grandfathers?"

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ads were very effective and nothing in them was ever successfully disputed. After making the challenge Senator John Kerry waited until November 16 to respond. By Monday, the letters were posted for the world to see on T. Boone Pickens’

website.

Kerry says that he only found out about the challenge through a friend’s email and that’s why it took so long to respond. It is not believable that Senator Kerry just found out about the challenge. He has been seething “swift boat” ever since the 2004 election.

Hardly a day goes by that some Democrat doesn’t accuse some other Democrat of “swift boating.” This weekend, the Obama campaign charged Hillary Rodham Clinton -- President Rodham to you -- with mud-slinging “swift boat” politics. Ouch! That had to hurt. The leftists try to make “Swiftboating” into a verb that connotes lies and slander, but the fact is The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth was a shining moment where guys with integrity stood up and told the truth. That is why it worked.

John O’Neill said when asked about Kerry’s letter, “It’s time for him to get over it. It shows what a shallow human being he is…He’s looking for an excuse to be a victim in his loss for president; I think a better excuse is the 15 million he left in the bank. That’s like holding on to bullets in a battle just because you want to keep them. He ought to be embarrassed and he wants to be a victim. He says we criticized him. This is the same guy that said we were the army of Genghis Khan. He’s the king of unfair allegations.”

Pickens’ challenge is saying, in effect, “Senator Kerry, prove them wrong. I dare you. I don’t have a million dollars to pay you but your honor, if you have any left, ought to be worth that.” Mr. Pickens is right to make the challenge and he’s right to ask John Kerry to put up or shut up by releasing all his military records. Bottom line is, the assertions of the Swift Boat Vets were right and true or they would have been disputed by now. These are men of honor and integrity who know what truth is.

Col. Day spoke on Saturday night about his love of country and about the sacrifices that our military men and women making every day. Senator Kerry is still fighting the Vietnam War. The Japanese soldier, Hiroo Onoda, emerged from the jungle 29 years after the end of World War II, and accepted the commanding officer's order of surrender in his dress uniform. Senator John Kerry has been fighting the war in Vietnam for more years than this one lone Japanese hold out. Get over it, John Kerry. Stop attacking honorable men. You and your ilk may want to turn the phrase “Swift Boat” into a slur, but it won’t work because they have the truth on their side.

http://www.humanevents.com/article.php?id=23510