New anti-Kerry ads air in N.C. ("irrational" vet)

[Nambe]

VNU eMedia

LOS ANGELES Another highly decorated Vietnam veteran has entered the election ad fray. Special Forces veteran Ted Sampley, co- founder with Mike Benge and Jerry Kiley of Vietnam Veterans Against John Kerry, has launched a local spot buy targeting military family-rich areas in North Carolina, Sampley said.

The ads broke either yesterday or today on Fox affiliates reaching MCB Camp LeJeune, Marine Corp Air Station Cherry Point, and Seymour Johnson AFB, said Sampley, whose own base of operations is Kinston, N.C. He is currently negotiating further media buys to cover the communities near Fayetteville, near Fort Bragg and Pope AFB. ..

The 60-second spot, written by Sampley and constructed by a local television station, shows a montage of photos of Kerry from Sampley's collection, with a blistering voice over commentary describing Kerry's involvement in "one of America's most radical, pro-Communist, anti-war groups, the Vietnam Veterans Against the War," accusing Kerry of having "marched in demonstrations carrying the flags of the America's enemies, the Vietcong and the North Vietnamese" and having "used the blood of U.S. service men, still fighting on the battlefields of Vietnam, for his own political advancement. He claimed to the world that American soldiers were rapists and murderers." ..

Mary Beth Cahill, Kerry campaign manager, released a statement today that said Sampley "has a long history of irrational public attacks against both John McCain and John Kerry" and called for President Bush to condemn Sampley's ad.

[bluestateguy]

1. This guy is a crackpot

Sometimes I think we lost the war in Vietnam because there were too many cranks like him, Lt. Calley and the SBVT folks.

[demgrrrll]

2. I like the new "War on Heroism" meme. Certainly is apt here. eom.

.

[A_Possum]

3. Previous Sampley irrational stunts

Sampley claimed John McCain had been "programmed" by the North Vietnamese, like the Manchurian Candidate.

In 1991, he photoshopped a picture to make it appear that Kerry shot an MIA.

He tortured the family of an American POW in Iraq with fabricated details of his cruel death at the hands of an Iraqi mob. When the pilot was subsequently freed alive, Mr. Sampley dismissed his fraud as necessary to publicize the plight of POWs.

His earnings from his T-shirt concession located near the Vietnam Veterans Memorial were nearly $2 million over three years. He keeps his overhead costs down by not paying a dime to his employees.

The Truth about Ted Sampley

[struggle4progress]

8. Thanks! Several of the headlines are delightful! I enjoyed, in particular,

"Sampley Says McCain is Actually a KGB Spy" and "Sampley Ordered to Serve Jail Time for McCain Altercation."

The McCain statement is nice, too: "I strongly caution reporters who may be contacted by or are interested in Mr. Ted Sampley and the various organizations he claims to represent, and his opinions on the subject of Senator Kerry, or any subject for that matter, to investigate thoroughly Mr. Sampley's background and history of spreading outrageous slander and other disreputable behavior before inadvertently lending him or his allegations any credibility."

[chelsea0011]

4. Why isn't he speaking at the convention?

A big tent unity thing with McCain would have been nice last night. Kinda like a Martin/Lewis reunion.

[fearnobush]

5. I think it's time for Anti Bush 527's to counter these ads directly

market for market for market. Ads ought to spell lies of what was done to McCain and draw Bush contacts to their creators. They oughta follow with "Is this what Jesus would do."

[leftistagitator]

6. Seriously, we donated all this money...

Why is it the only ads I ever hear about come from the relatively outmatched repug 527s? Moveon shouldn't have pulled the ad attacking Bush*s military service, they should have expanded the attack into his shady business dealings and criminal activities. I can't believe we are on the defensive in this election, what the hell is going on?

[yardwork]

7. They have more crazy people than we do.

Seriously. Most Democrats couldn't even think this shit up, but it's all in a day's business for nuts like Sampley.

[Democat]

12. Where is all the money going? We hardly ever hear about anti-Bush ads

But every day there's a new Kerry bashing ad all over the media it seems.

Where is all of the anti-Bush money going?

[GOPAgainstGW]

9. Thanks for HeadsUp - Sampley is being GOP Funded on this AD!!!!!!!!

[radfringe]

10. did the same thing to McCain

painted him as a Wacked-out vet as a result of being a POW

geee, wonder if smirk-boy sees a pattern now?

[hippywife]

11. Here's a fun link to share

http://www.miafacts.org/prankster.htm

"Summary. In my discussion of the attacks on Senator John McCain, I rely on work published by Ms. Susan Katz Keating in her book Prisoners of Hope: Exploiting the POW-MIA Myth in America. Ms. Keating, while she was a reporter for the Washington Times, was convinced that live American POWs remained in Vietnam. As time went on and she became more and more acquainted with the issue, she discovered the facts of the charlatans who take advantage of MIA families and who flim-flam the public, as well as discovering that the US government could have done a better job of managing the issue."


The link is the whole chapter from the book that covers Sampley and his whack-job antics. Such as:

In 1986, for example, when Sampley was in Washington, D.C., attending one of his many POW functions, he set up a publicity stunt that could have killed or seriously injured someone. Shortly before 2 A.M., bar closing time, Sampley and a few confederates erected a barrier at the top of a freeway on-ramp that handles traffic coming from Capitol Hill. They coated the ramp with oil, so that unsuspecting motorists would slither wildly before crashing into the barrier. The cars' headlights would illuminate a sign on the barrier that read "Free the POWs."

The next day I learned about the on-ramp trap from Sampley, who called to announce what he had done. He was proud of his effort but disappointed that the trick had not come off. While Sampley and friends had watched from a nearby hiding place, police officers had found and dismantled the arrangement before any cars ran into it.

When I told Sampley he had risked people's lives with the stunt, he accused me of being a spoilsport. He also said he was dismayed at missing the chance for newspaper coverage. It was a rare lost opportunity. Over the next couple of years, Sampley would succeed in attracting considerable press coverage of antics designed for that specific purpose. His favorite trick was to chain himself and others — preferably attractive MIA daughters — to the gates of the White House and throw fake blood at police, onto the White House lawn, or at Secret Service agents.

Pretty interesting read...to say the least! :wow:

[bushwakker]

13. sampley accused awol's father of deserting his comrades

when he ditched his plane in the pacific.