Swiftboat vets, good and the bad: The WHOLE TRUTH! (long)

[Blue-Jay]

Trust me this is worth the read, and great for returning freep emails on the subject.
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Here are the 10 crewmates who served with Kerry in Vietnam. All but Steve Gardner support John Kerry and stood with him as he made his speech to the DNC. (except Tom Belodeau who is deceased .

I'll let them speak for themselves, including Steve Gardner. The following are sourced quotes.

PCF-94

Starting in late January 1969, this crew completed 18 missions over an intense and dangerous 48 days, almost all of them in the dense jungles of the Mekong Delta. The most intense action came during an extraordinary eight days of more than 10 firefights, remembered by Kerry's crew as the "days of hell."

David Alston - Rev. Alston is from Columbia, SC and served in Vietnam in the Navy as a Gunners Mate on PCF-94 with Senator Kerry.

"David Alston was the gunner atop Kerry's pilot house. Kerry, he told an audience here, was a compassionate commander. `We were in a lot of firefights,' Alston said. `You learn a lot about people. After a firefight, John would come up to me and he would put his hand on me and he'd say, 'David, are you all right?' `I didn't know then that I had a man of God on my boat,' Kerry said. `That's probably why I'm here today'." Orlando Sentinel, 1/31/04

`Down in the Mekong Delta, we lived together, we fought together, we bled together and we survived together,' said Alston. `Whether we were Democratic or Republican was not the issue,' he said. `The issues at that time were trust, courage, judgment and character.' Alston attached those attributes to Kerry and introduced his friend with no further ceremony." Providence Journal-Bulletin, 3/23/03

(Alston is the crewmate who gave a speech at the DNC last week. www.johnkerry.com/pressroom/speeches/ )


Del Sandusky -Mr. Sandusky is from Dunedin, FL and served in Vietnam in the Navy as the senior enlisted man on PCF-94 with Senator Kerry.

"Kerry commanded a Navy `Swift Boat' that patrolled the Mekong delta. His crew recalls Kerry as brainy and extremely aggressive, `a good leader and a bit of a hard-charger,' says Del Sandusky from Elgin, Ill." Washington Post, 6/2/02

"Del Sandusky, 58, of Elgin, Ill., and Clearwater, Fla., served under Kerry on a patrol boat in 1969. When another boat hit a mine, Kerry ordered the dead and injured brought on board and the sinking boat towed, six or seven miles, to the Gulf of Tonkin. Because Americans had died on the boat, Kerry, out of loyalty, wouldn't leave it behind for the enemy. `All the boat crew men volunteered to help in anyway we can,' with Kerry's political campaigns, Sandusky said. `Whatever he wants, we'll help him with. Because we believe in him.' " AP, 12/6/02

Fred Short - Mr. Short is from North Little Rock, AR and served in Vietnam in the Navy as a Gunners Mate on PCF-94 with Senator Kerry.

"In 1969, I was Sen. Kerry's gun mate atop of the Swift boat in Vietnam. And I just wanted to let everyone know that, contrary to all the rumors that you might hear from the other side, Sen. Kerry's blood is red, not blue. I know, I've seen it.

"If it weren't for Sen. John Kerry, on the 28th of February 1969, the day he won the Silver Star . . . you and I would not be having this conversation. My name would be on a long, black wall in Washington, D.C. I saw this man save my life." La Ganga, Maria L. "Crewmates Attest to Kerry's Mettle as Wartime Commander." Los Angeles Times. 29 July 2004 (p. A13). Zoroya, Greg. "Vietnam Crewmates Steady at Kerry's Side." USA Today. 29 July 2004 (p. A4).

Gene Thorson - Mr. Thorson is from Ames, Iowa and served in Vietnam in the Navy as a Engineman on PCF-94 with Senator Kerry.

In support of this grassroots deployment, 73,000 Iowa veteran households received a mailing in December from Kerry's Vietnam swift boat crewmate Gene Thorsen, of Ames, IA, rallying them to "stand up for John Kerry the same way he stands up for veterans."

He said he knew back then that the skipper of his boat, John Kerry, was bound for high places. Almost 30 years later, Thorson got a call from Kerry asking for political help. Now, he often gives up his weekends to travel with other veterans and campaign with Kerry on his run for president. Matt Neznanski, Staff Writer July 19, 2004 - Ames Tribune

"He took care of all of us. He really did," Thorson said. Des Moines Register

Tom Belodeau is deceased, he served on PCF-94 with Kerry

Kerry was helped by the fact that Belodeau stood beside him and said he had been misquoted."This man was not lying on the ground. This man was more than capable of destroying that boat and everybody on it. Senator Kerry did not give him that opportunity," Belodeau said. He also said that he was not sure whether or not he had hit the attacker. May 06, 2004 National Review Online

Mike Medeiros - Mr. Medeiros is from San Leandros, California and served in Vietnam in the Navy on PCF-94 with Senator Kerry.

"He made good decisions, I believe proper decisions," said Mike Medeiros of San Leandro, Calif., who served for four months on Kerry's swift boat in Vietnam. "And the fact that we all returned alive is a good indication that they were the right decisions."Medeiros was reunited with Kerry in 1996, when Republicans were attacking his military record in a heated Senate race. Kerry's crew mates came to set the record straight at the Charlestown Navy Yard, the same place they stood shoulder-to-shoulder on the eve of his nomination acceptance. ABCNEWS.com July 28, 2004 From AP
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PFC-44 - Kerry captained this ship from November 1968 to January 1969. This command saw considerably less action.

Jim Wasser - Mr. Wasser is from St. Anne, IL and served in Vietnam in the Navy as a Radarman on PCF-44 with Senator Kerry.

Mr. Kerry took command of P.C.F.-44 with a veteran crew headed by Mr. Wasser, a radarman second class. "Always, when there's a new guy on the boat, you check him out," Mr. Wasser said. "It only took me a few days. We knew that we had somebody special that cared for us. We bonded."

Combative and politically conservative, Mr. Wasser, from Kankakee, Ill., had a pair of American flags tattooed on his shoulder and still loathes Jane Fonda. NYTimes Febuary 24 2004

What I saw back then was a guy with genuine caring and leadership ability who was aggressive when he had to be. What I see now is a guy who's not afraid to tackle tough issues. And he knows what the consequences are of putting people's kids in harm's way." Braun, Stephen. "Kerry's War Tour Serves as Theme, Target." Los Angeles Times. 29 July 2004 (p. A13). Brinkley, Douglas. Tour of Duty: John Kerry and the Vietnam War. New York: HarperCollins, 2004. ISBN 0-06-056523-3. Klein, Joe. "The Long War of John Kerry." The New Yorker. 2 December 2002. Kranish, Michael. "John F. Kerry: Candidate in the Making -- Part 2: Heroism, and Growing Concern About War." The Boston Globe. 16 June 2003.

Drew Whitlow - Mr. Whitlow is from Huntsville, AR and served in Vietnam in the Navy as a Boatswain Mate on PCF-44 with Senator Kerry.

"I figured with the abilities he had, he was going to go high, but I didn't have any idea about him running for president," said Whitlow, 57, wearing a cap decorated with Kerry campaign pins.

Whitlow said he recalled Kerry as a humble seaman when he joined Whitlow's crew as a lieutenant junior grade in 1968.

Kerry told crewmates, "I know you guys don't need me but I sure need you," said Whitlow, who served as a boatswain mate.

"He accepted us for who we were," Whitlow said. "The decisions that he made saved our lives.

"He never shot from the hip when it came to decisions," Whitlow said. "He'd always confront the problems head on."

Whitlow, a Kerry campaign coordinator for veterans in western and southern Arkansas, began campaigning for Kerry in September 2003. In January, Whitlow traveled with Kerry to Iowa and New Hampshire. The Times Record Fort Smith, Arkansas Thursday, July 29, 2004

Bill Zaladonis - Mr. Zaladonis is from Sanford, FL and served in Vietnam in the Navy on PCF-44 with Senator Kerry.

"I never saw John back down from anything," crewmember Bill Zaladonis says April 13, 2004 USA Today

Steve Hatch - Mr. Hatch served in Vietnam in the Navy on PCF-44 with Senator Kerry.

Stephen W. Hatch of Altoona, Pa., with four tattoos, who says he supports Mr. Kerry though he wants no part of politics. NYTimes Febuary 24 2004

"He wouldn't let you go randomly down the river shooting up everything in sight," says Stephen Hatch, who served on the first of Kerry's two boats. April 13, 2004 USA Today

Stephen M. Gardner - Served in Vietnam in the Navy on PCF-44 with Senator John Kerry

"Kerry was chickenshiat," he insists. "Whenever a firefight started he always pulled up stakes and got the hell out of Dodge."

"I was driving down the road, and I hit that button and Rush was talking about Kerry and his campaign and how something just didn't feel right to him," Gardner recalled, his voice full of conviction. "Something about what John Kerry did or was doing, just really didn't set right with him. And you know I served with this guy, and the bottom line to it is; harsh as this may sound or as good as it sounds to any Democrat, out there, John Kerry is another `Slick Willy.' He's another Bill Clinton and that's exactly what he is. And I'm telling you right now, that if John Kerry gets to be president of these United States, it'll be a sorry day in this world for us. We can't stand another Democrat like that in there again. We'll get our asses in such a sling this time; we won't be able to get out of it. And the bottom line to it is, I don't care how much John Kerry's changed after he moved off my boat, his initial patterns of behavior when I met him and served under him was somebody who ran from the enemy, rather than engaged it. If I'd had Rush's 800 number, or known how to reach him, I would have called in."

"I've told a few of my friends that he was an asshole," Gardner says. "But I'm not looking to make news."

"Kerry sat some of them down and convinced them to buy into his side of what happened over there,"

"When you're as persuasive as Kerry it's not hard to make a guy change something that he saw." Time Magazine Online

(A recent interview with Gardner is at the Time link. The interview explains why he haven't been heard of until recently. All of the Gardner quotes are here and more. The author of the Time article states that he believes Gardner's motives are political, and after reading what he had to say I'm inclined to agree.)

Jim Rassmann - Jim Rassmann was not a crewmate but I think belongs here. - Mr. Rassmann is from Florence, OR and served in Vietnam as a Special Forces Officer in the Army.

He clung to the net as bullets whizzed past. `Next thing I knew, John came out in the middle of all this,' Rassmann says. `I couldn't believe it. He was going to get killed. He ran to the edge, reached over with his good arm and pulled me over the lip.' Rassmann later recommended Kerry for the Silver Star, and was upset when the Army instead awarded Kerry a lesser Bronze Star with a `V' for valor." Los Angeles Times, 3/13/04

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Headline (Monterey County Herald): Kerry foes get private investigator
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And now for the not-so swift, swiftboat gang:

The leader of this group, John O'Neill didn't meet Kerry until 1971. From their OWN website:

""our group includes men who served(emphasis added) beside Kerry in combat as well as his commanders."

The only man here who served beside Kerry in combat is Steve Gardner (mentioned above).

Registered as a "527" organization with the Internal Revenue Service, the "Swift Boat Veterans" group can raise and spend unlimited amounts of money for campaign activities, but is prohibited from working directly with the Bush campaign or the Republican Party.

This group has $158,000.

$100,000 from Bob Perry from Texas. Bob Perry donated $2,983,500 in fiscal year 2002 in Texas, 96,4% to republicans. As far as I can tell he did not serve in the military, he is not mentioned on the website.

$25,000 from Harlan Crow, also from Texas. Harlan Crow donated $323,200 in fiscal year 2002 in Texas, 86% to republicans. As far as I can tell he did not serve in the military, he is not mentioned on the website. He is a Trustee of the Bush Library.

$25,000 from John O'Neill. O'Neill is the leader of this group.
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Kerry's evaluations from his commanders:

Lieutenant Commander George Elliott:

In a combat environment often requiring independent, decisive action LTJG Kerry was unsurpassed. He constantly reviewed tactics and lessons learned in river operations and applied his experience at every opportunity. On one occasion while in tactical command of a three boat operation his units were taken under fire from ambush. LTJG Kerry rapidly assessed the situation and ordered his units to turn directly into the ambush. This decision resulted in routing the attackers with several enemy KIA.

LTJG Kerry emerges as the acknowledged leader in his peer group. His bearing and appearance are above reproach. He has of his own volition learned the Vietnamese language and is instrumental in the successful Vietnamese training program.

During the period of this report LTJG Kerry has been awarded the Silver Star medal, the Bronze Star medal, the Purple Heart medal (2nd and 3rd awards).

Lt. Commander Grant Hibbard:

Hibbard's evaluation was brief and incomplete because Hibbard oversaw Kerry's service for only about two weeks. Kerry's duty under Hibbard included "counter infiltration operations against Viet Cong forces. Engaged in combat operations." Hibbard marked a few performance categories, noting that Kerry's initiative, cooperation, and bearing ranked among the top few(emphasis added). But unlike other evaluators who wrote about specific actions by Kerry, Hibbard did not do so, providing this explanation: "The short period LTJG Kerry was attached to Coast Division 14 prevents further evaluation."

Captain Adrian Lonsdale:

In the November 4, 1996, issue of South Coast Today, wrote: "Adrian Lonsdale remembers a young John F. Kerry as a naval officer who was a good debater, even back in his days in Vietnam. "'He and I and others used to have long discussions at the officers club,' said Mr. Lonsdale of Mattapoisett, a former Coast Guard officer who commanded a division in which the Massachusetts senator was attached back in 1969. 'They were very spirited discussions about the war and the politics back home.' "'He was opposed to the war but it didn't make any difference in his performance,' said the former owner and still instructor at Northeast Maritime Institute in New Bedford. 'He was a very good officer.' "Capt. Lonsdale was among a group of former Vietnam veterans the Massachusetts Democrat brought to the Charlestown navy yard recently to rebut a Boston Globe column that raised questions about Sen. Kerry's Vietnam service, particularly the Silver Star he won. "Mr. Lonsdale was in charge of a two-division flotilla opereating out of Phu Quoc, a big island near the Cambodian border. One division was made up of Swift boats, fast 50-foot offshore boats, while the other was composed of 82-foot Coast Guard patrol boats."

Captain Allen W. Slifer:

October 19, 1967, evaluation from Captain Allen W. Slifer: "A top notch officer in every measurable trait. Intelligent, mature, and rich in educational background and experience, ENS Kerry is one of the finest young officers I have ever met and without question one of the most promising."

Admiral Walter F. Schlech - March 2, 1970 evaluation from Admiral Walter F. Schlech:

"... one of the finest young officers with whom I have served in a long naval career."

Captain E.W. Harper, Jr - September 3, 1968, evaluation from Captain E.W. Harper, Jr.:

"LTJG KERRY is an intelligent and competent young naval officer who has performed his duties in an excellent to outstanding manner."

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(Back to Blue-Jay here):

Do not let these Republican shitheads get away with this slander. Only ONE of the O'Neill's Swiftboat Vets was ever on the same boat as Senator Kerry. The rest are hand-picked political operatives that NEVER served with him. Sure, they may have served NEAR him, but that doesn't mean a goddamn thing! I live NEAR my nextdoor neighbor, and I have NO IDEA if he's a good worker, a good father, a good man, or a good thief.

Why? Because I don't work with him directly, nor do I live with him.

If someone paid me $5000.00 to say that he was a sonofabitch, I'd consider it.

Get the word out, people! Send this to any & ALL fence-sitters, and Republicans that you know. The men who know Kerry's service best, are those who served closest to him.

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Sorry for the length of this.

[blm]

1. Excellent compilation.

Will definitely use it.

[Blue-Jay]

2. To be honest, I didn't do all the research myself.

I have, however, spent the last two days verifying it.

Kick this MFer if it sinks, OK? I gotta go soon.

[ThatPoetGuy]

6. kick

[benburch]

3. Damn! One of these fellows is from Elgin, IL?

My home town!!!

[A_Possum]

4. Thanks, much obliged

And I still want the dirt on Larry Thurlow, who got a Bronze Star in the same encounter he's dissing Kerry and Rassman for lying about.

[Blue-Jay]

7. Check out The Daily Koz.

IIRC, he is quoted as wanting to trash Kerry's Star, but has been unwilling to discuss his own from the same incident. I *think* Koz has is documented.

[A_Possum]

10. Limited info on Kos

Just the comparison of David Brinkley's book (which is essentially Kerry's account) and what Thurlow is now claiming is true.

Are medal commendations public? I'd like to read Thurlow's. Or be assured that his Bronze Star did indeed come from the same incident, and not a different one. So for I've only seen the Brinkley book mention of it.

I really would like to know what kind of personal venom it would take for a guy to claim a whole crew and a Green Beret were lying while he's telling the truth.

[JohnKleeb]

5. good job

Any research you guys need me to do? Research is one of my specialities, I cant debate for shit but I can research well.

[bobbieinok]

8. STEVE GARDNER ... was on Savage; 'frightening new info

about Kerry lies.....this man lies about his record and wants us to elect him as commander-in-chief???????'

Gardner is REALLY BIG NEWS on RW media

[Blue-Jay]

9. Gardner is the only one who served with Kerry.

THE ONLY ONE!

The rest of the not-so-swift idiots either never served or served NEAR Kerry. And Gardner only served briefly with him on less-dangerous duty. He was never "in the shit" with Senator Kerry. The ones who were have nothing but glowing praise.

That's gotta mean something, eh?

[A_Possum]

11. Good point

about Gardner serving on the less dangerous duty. And anybody knows that there's always at least one guy (or more) who can't stand the commanding officer.

All of his quotes have that sneering resentful attitude of the guy who'd like to be top dog and isn't.

[JohnKleeb]

12. So Gardner is the only guy who served directly with Kerry

and doesnt like him but when he did serve with him it was brief yet the guys who served with him directly, guys like Dave Alston, Del Sandusty, etc these guys know what Kerry is all about and support him, hmmm :think: I think its pretty obvious whats up here. I'll take the word of guys who served directly with Kerry over a guy like O'Neil.

[Blue-Jay]

13. I gotta go, but I'm leaving Kleeb in charge.

KLEEB! Put down the burger! You're in charge. Make sure everyone reads & saves this.

Don't disappoint me, me boyo.

[JohnKleeb]

36. youre leaving me in charge?

I am a lounge monkey you know that.

[blm]

16. He's hated Kerry since Kerry threatened to write him up for court-martial

for shooting at young Vietnamese indiscriminately.

THAT'S the skinny on Gardner.

[Blue-Jay]

17. Link me to that and I'll be forever in your debt!

Dirt on Gardner is mana.

[blm]

20. Just double checked and Kerry doesn't recall it

at all and it is Gardner who CLAIMS Kerry threatened him with court martial for killing a Viet Cong who was not engaged in battle at the time.

But, Kerry and none of the others remember it happening, so the story must just be another legend being perpetuated.

[in_cog_ni_to]

14. Were the swiftboat vets paid for their participation

in destroying Kerry? If so, why aren't the networks talking about THAT?

[Blue-Jay]

15. I believe that many are being paid.

I'll look into that in more detail tomorrow or Sunday, time permitting. I don't believe that all of them are motivated by money (at least not getting "paid off"), but I'm positive that many are going to reap the rewards of slanderous sound bites.

Listen. These guys get paid for EVERY appearance that they make on the cable news networks. (to be fair, so do Kerry-supporters)

Ask yourself this: Why did these guys wait 35 or so years before coming forward? Why is it that none (except Gardner) ever actually were on the same boat as Kerry, yet claim to know all about his character? Why is this suddenly a big story immediately after the DNC? Why does the White House REFUSE to refute any of their crap? Why does the "liberal media" (HAHAHAHAHAHA) give it so much airtime? Why doe Scotty McClennan's head look like a flaccid, over-abused penis?

Politics as usual. Truth be damned.

[prolesunited]

18. Excellent compilation on all the players

and relevant data. I'm bookmarking this one for sure.

It certainly would be worthwhile to e-mail to the so-called journalists who can't be bothered to do any actual research before putting this crap out there.

A :toast: to all of your hard work and efforts.

[bluedog]

19. court martial

Wednesday, March 10, 2004


Stephen M. Gardner, the only Kerry boatmate who hadn't been heard from, has now surfaced. As suspected, his story does not fit the JFK2 legend. Gardner says Kerry was "chickensh-t," an "opportunist" and an "a--hole." Unfortunately, Time's story is written by Douglas Brinkley, about the last man you'd want to assess Gardner's credibility. Brinkley, after all, has a whole lot invested in his Tour of Duty tale of Kerry heroism and leadership. He's also publicity-mad. ... The lines that will be used to discredit Gardner are fully deployed in Brinkley's piece. Gardner listens to Rush Limbaugh! He's a Republican! He hates Bill Clinton!

Kerry once threatened him with a court-martial, he claims. ...

Maybe Gardner's not to be trusted. But I don't trust Brinkley to be the one not to trust him. The Limbaugh angle is especially overplayed. (Gardner decided to come forward after listening to Limbaugh express suspicions about Kerry. Not irrelevant, but Brinkley tries his best to make it seem discrediting.) ... Brinkley also writes that Gardner

claims he works at Millennium Services (an insurance inspection company) ...

Well, does he work there or doesn't he? Couldn't
http://slate.msn.com/id/2096850/

[buycitgo]

31. who else? MIckey Kaus

when I saw Slate, I thought: Mickey Kaus or Timothy Noah

Kaus, of course, is voting for Kerry, he claims, and spends three quarters of every column that I've read trashing him

he also LOVES Peggy Noonan; thinks she's a great writer

so you can see how credible his OWN opinions on this aspect of the story are. note how he seems to stand up for Gardner, and, in the snip here, says nothing about the other crewmen

DICK

I refuse to read his trash, so if I'm missing something, feel free to complete, but, realized, Kaus is an ASScastle

that said, I read somewhere that Brinkley wanted ten grand to do something in regard to JFK junior's death, and that he IS a publicity hound

[Blue-Jay]

21. Morning kick

:kick:

[greatauntoftriplets]

22. Wow Blue-Jay.

This is extremely thorough. Thanks.

[prolesunited]

24. He did do an excellent job, didn't he?

However, I will be the first to admit that I am biased. :-)

[fishface]

23. Great stuff...

cc

[mopinko]

25. excellent job blue jay

:kick:
i got a call from the dnc last night. they said they were trying to raise money to fill the gap between conventions. i said "to counter the swift boat liars?" they said, absolutely.

[never cry wolf]

26. Great job, Blue Jay

Now, if we could only get move on to put this into a commercial!

[Tennessee Gal]

27. Absolutely brilliant!

It will be put to good use!

Great work and thanks!

[Magginkat]

43. Heyyyyyyyyy Becky......

Good to see you here. Did you skip town (country) for a while?

[prolesunited]

28. A lot of information packed in here, folks!

:kick:

[Blue-Jay]

29. <snooch>

[prolesunited]

35. What the heck

is a "snooch"? :shrug:

:*

[Blue-Jay]

37. If you watched Kevin Smith movies, you'd know.

snootchie-bootchies!

[prolesunited]

44. snootchie-bootchies! snootchie-bootchies

Back to you then. :-)

[Maestro]

30. Great research

Nominated for frontpage.

[Imalittleteapot]

32. Thanks. I've been in a Swift Boat discussion with a

RWer for a week. Your compilation should put the questions to bed. Great job.
:yourock:

[Onlooker]

33. Keep this kicked

Blue-Jay's post is superb and there's great additional info in the thread. Let's keep this kicked.

[sleepyhead]

34. Bookmarked.

This will definitely be useful. Oh, and kick!

[patdem]

38. Kick for this am

:kick:

[Scorpious_Maximus]

39. Nice Work

[Kukesa]

40. Sunday Morning Kick! n/t

[Karenina]

50. Monday afternoon kick!

:kick:

[Magginkat]

41. Politics as usual????

Not with that incompetent, bungling, lily livered, chicken ass, AWOL, fraudulent pRes and his Hitlersque Karl Rove around.... This is politics as you have never before seen it.

This is Kompassionate Konservative Khristian politics that will make what they did to our last legally elected President Bill Clinton look like child's play in comparison.

Heck, Karl Rove make Satan himself look like a kindly Sunday School teacher. People, I think it's safe to say "you ain't seen nothing yet". These people will make a whole new definition for nasty, mean, vile and an assortment of other uncomplimentary words.

I truly believe that they would kill to stay in power.

[Sparkly]

42. I have to agree with you

I didn't think they could descend any lower than they did in 2000, yet they have. I shudder to think of what's next. Who could possibly want to run for Democratic office and face this machine? That alone takes heroism!

[Blue-Jay]

52. Perhaps I should have qualified that statement.

I meant it mostly sarcastically. Yes, this is a new breed of mud-slinging, but it's about what I expected from the Rovian pop-up book of dirty tricks.

It's good to know that we've got tehem on their heels, though. If Bush were leading in *any* of the polls, he'd be advertising mostly positive messages about how wonderful everything is in the country. He'd have also denounced this particular add. The reason he didn't denounce it is because he wants people to believe it.

[xrepub]

45. How many swift boat vets are there

Does anyone know how many men served in swift boats during Nam?

If there were thousands, then finding only 200 to bash Kerry wouldn't be much of a feat, and that should be publicized.

[janx]

46. That's a very good question. From what I've read so far,

soldiers were in and out of the boats very often. One of the main purposes of the boats was to lure the enemy to a specific point or points, so in effect they were supposed to be "sitting ducks." (Or they were supposed to appear that way.) You couldn't keep too many on boat duty for very long in that circumstance. They'd either be killed or at least be wounded a couple of times, especially during the time that Kerry volunteered.

[xrepub]

54. How many swift vote vets were there

I can't find this info anywhere. Again, if there were thousands of them and the repugs were only able to scare up 200 for their sliming, we should let people know.

[HotJavaJack]

47. Nice work---Need more, though

Has anyone done the legwork on this, yet? http://www.captainsquartersblog.com/mt/archives/002202.php

[NV1962]

48. No idea who or what that "captain" is but

he/she/it surely hates America. Why else would this "captain" use a glorified battle scene of Dutch ships to adorn his/her/its blog?

An unpatriotic, un-American traitor for sure - just like his pet monkey in the WH!

[moondust]

49. These hacks have no medals.

I was alive during Vietnam and therefore I know the stories about their phony medals better than they do. They faked it all, forging signatures and everything. I even went out in an aluminum boat once in a while. :)

[skip fox]

51. needs on front page

n/t

[Blue-Jay]

53. Is was for a few days.

They gotta keep the front page hopping, however. Thanks for the sentiment.

[NewYorkerfromMass]

55. Thank You!!! eom

[greensforpeace]

56. The "Kerry was not in Cambodia" story is a lie!!!

We need some of the smarter ones around here, to prove that Kerry was actually in Cambodia at Christmas in 1968 as Kerry has said he was. These lies by these "vets" saying he was 50 miles away cannot go unchallenged!

Fight On!!!