McCain Swift Boated in South Carolina
One thing that makes me sick to my stomach is very much personal attacks on a persons character and state of mind while in service to our nation in the United States armed forces. I’m not by any means a supporter of John McCain but I am a very strong defender of Veterans and our military troops. John McCain has no shame in his military record and his lengthy stay at the Hanoi Hilton was not and should not be up for discussion by extremist from any political faction.
How do you stomach anyone that attacks a man that was tortured as a prisoner of war, or POW for short if you are a political hack writer that thinks McCain was a coward in Vietnam for being tortured. I don’t think it is fair to compare John McCain to John Kerry but they are both and will always be men that served proudly in defense of their country. Now they are both Veterans of political hacks looking to toss the vote as well.
Over at the New York Times they have this to say about it…
McCain Campaign Responds to Attack
By Michael Cooper
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The polls had not even closed in Michigan yet when the McCain campaign worked Tuesday evening to repel an attack here in South Carolina, where a brutally negative campaign derailed Senator John McCain’s candidacy in 2000.
The campaign, which has vowed not to take any attacks lying down this time around, said in a statement that a group calling itself “Vietnam Veterans Against McCain” had sent out a negative mailing about Mr. McCain to South Carolina voters.
“Today, a shadowy political organization calling itself ‘Vietnam Veterans Against McCain’ launched a vicious attack on John McCain in an attempt to impugn his character in the closing days of the South Carolina Republican Primary,” Orson Swindle, who was a fellow prisoner of war in Vietnam with Mr. McCain, said in a statement put out by the campaign. “The group claims that John McCain turned his back on his fellow POWs in order to save his own skin.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Mr. Swindle, a former assistant commerce secretary, said in the statement. “I know because I was there. The truth is, the North Vietnamese offered John McCain early release, and he refused.” - New York Times
For all I know Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain attacking the Senator and his military record is just one guy with a computer. Then again maybe it is a few people with a grudge or a mission to wake up the Republican vote? I tend to believe it is the former as in the Catholic League with its one man protest against Kathy Griffin of the D List fame.
This reminds me that the Karl Rove (Who should be in an orange jumpsuit in prison) of the first W election is alive and well which leads me to wonder where the money is coming from to pay for this smear campaign against McCain? We all know what the Bush election people did with push polls to discredit McCain in 2000 and this will play into those same polls. I for one would not be surprised at the true source of the money but it would be wrong to speculate at this point.
Gerard "Jerry" W. Kiley is the founder of this group and I am not questioning his service in Vietnam. I’m proud of him for it but I don’t see how that service is relevant to his bashing of John McCain’s. John McCain was a Prisoner of War and Mr. Kiley was not. Maybe the main stream press like the New York Times and the Washington Post need to look into this mans background and simply report what they find. I’d send my crack team of reporters but my five year old with a crayon might need some help with her letters, staying in the lines and… well you get the idea.
I don’t care for yellow journalism and I care less for yellow bashing of any Veteran from any source. Republican or Democrat victims of this kind of politics is wrong. Even if the time they served was forty years ago or two hundred years ago. Being thankful for the service and sacrifice they all paid is who we as a people are today.
Holy Crap! I just defended a Republican. I’m off to church to say a few Hail Mary’s and Our Father’s. Up is down and Right is Left and cats and dog’s are no longer fighting.
Then again I’m thankful to all Veterans and McCain has and will always be a Veteran in my eyes no matter how nutty he can be. I’ll defend him any day over the nut jobs from any source when they attack his military service, be they illegitimate whacko’s on the internet or main stream press. John McCain has a voice in 2008 and not 1968 politics and that is what is important today.
That’s another ten Hail Mary’s for me… Thank you very much Senator John McCain.
Papamoka
How do you stomach anyone that attacks a man that was tortured as a prisoner of war, or POW for short if you are a political hack writer that thinks McCain was a coward in Vietnam for being tortured. I don’t think it is fair to compare John McCain to John Kerry but they are both and will always be men that served proudly in defense of their country. Now they are both Veterans of political hacks looking to toss the vote as well.
Over at the New York Times they have this to say about it…
McCain Campaign Responds to Attack
By Michael Cooper
CHARLESTON, S.C. – The polls had not even closed in Michigan yet when the McCain campaign worked Tuesday evening to repel an attack here in South Carolina, where a brutally negative campaign derailed Senator John McCain’s candidacy in 2000.
The campaign, which has vowed not to take any attacks lying down this time around, said in a statement that a group calling itself “Vietnam Veterans Against McCain” had sent out a negative mailing about Mr. McCain to South Carolina voters.
“Today, a shadowy political organization calling itself ‘Vietnam Veterans Against McCain’ launched a vicious attack on John McCain in an attempt to impugn his character in the closing days of the South Carolina Republican Primary,” Orson Swindle, who was a fellow prisoner of war in Vietnam with Mr. McCain, said in a statement put out by the campaign. “The group claims that John McCain turned his back on his fellow POWs in order to save his own skin.”
“Nothing could be further from the truth,” Mr. Swindle, a former assistant commerce secretary, said in the statement. “I know because I was there. The truth is, the North Vietnamese offered John McCain early release, and he refused.” - New York Times
For all I know Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain attacking the Senator and his military record is just one guy with a computer. Then again maybe it is a few people with a grudge or a mission to wake up the Republican vote? I tend to believe it is the former as in the Catholic League with its one man protest against Kathy Griffin of the D List fame.
This reminds me that the Karl Rove (Who should be in an orange jumpsuit in prison) of the first W election is alive and well which leads me to wonder where the money is coming from to pay for this smear campaign against McCain? We all know what the Bush election people did with push polls to discredit McCain in 2000 and this will play into those same polls. I for one would not be surprised at the true source of the money but it would be wrong to speculate at this point.
Gerard "Jerry" W. Kiley is the founder of this group and I am not questioning his service in Vietnam. I’m proud of him for it but I don’t see how that service is relevant to his bashing of John McCain’s. John McCain was a Prisoner of War and Mr. Kiley was not. Maybe the main stream press like the New York Times and the Washington Post need to look into this mans background and simply report what they find. I’d send my crack team of reporters but my five year old with a crayon might need some help with her letters, staying in the lines and… well you get the idea.
I don’t care for yellow journalism and I care less for yellow bashing of any Veteran from any source. Republican or Democrat victims of this kind of politics is wrong. Even if the time they served was forty years ago or two hundred years ago. Being thankful for the service and sacrifice they all paid is who we as a people are today.
Holy Crap! I just defended a Republican. I’m off to church to say a few Hail Mary’s and Our Father’s. Up is down and Right is Left and cats and dog’s are no longer fighting.
Then again I’m thankful to all Veterans and McCain has and will always be a Veteran in my eyes no matter how nutty he can be. I’ll defend him any day over the nut jobs from any source when they attack his military service, be they illegitimate whacko’s on the internet or main stream press. John McCain has a voice in 2008 and not 1968 politics and that is what is important today.
That’s another ten Hail Mary’s for me… Thank you very much Senator John McCain.
Papamoka
Interesting reads on this topic...
Blue Gal, Red State (Amazing info packed post)
Technorati Tags:
John McCain, New York Times, Michael Cooper, Veteran, Military record, Vietnam, Prisoner of war, Hanoi Hilton, South Carolina politics, Republican Primary, Election, White House, Election 2008, George Bush, Attacking Veterans, Dirty politics, yellow journalism, Romney, Giuliani, Huckabee, McCain News
Labels: Bashing McCain, New York Times, South Carolina politics, Support McCain, Thank You Veterans, Veterans against McCain
posted by Papamoka at
8:01 PM
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