Strong evidence of a Swift Boat backlash

[Ugnmoose]

One of my associates just came back from a lunch meeting where she met a source who is a Fed Ex pilot and actively involved with the Federal Express Pilots Union. According to this source, the ex-military pilots are livid over the Swift Boat lies and disgusted with the slime being thrown around by Bushco. The source also told my associate that all of these pilots are so turned off that they will absolutely not vote for Bush and are moving over to Kerry. These were people who had previously voted for Bush.

So it looks like this Swift Boat thing may be coming back to bite the Bushies in the ass. We can only hope so.

[wryter2000]

1. Good news

I so hope you're right. It would be the ultimate justice.

[DoBotherMe]

2. One of JK's Yale friends and VN

buddy is the founder of Federal Express, Fred Smith.

[kimchi]

3. Right on!

I was hoping sanity would prevail.

[MODemocrat]

30. President Clinton says "In the end, People will get it right"

I've seen it happen so many times. People will sway back and forth, but intelligent people sort it all out, and do what's right. This always gives me courage.

[West Coast Democrat]

4. My father in law is a FedEx pilot and Air Force Veteran from Vietnam

I can tell you he hates Bush.

[HFishbine]

10. Not Surprising

Aren't the FedEx Pilots pretty loyal to their union? Can't imagine anybody who belongs to a union thinking Bush is good for their economic security.

[West Coast Democrat]

11. Normally, FedEx pilots are pretty conservative...

especially the former military pilots, but many of them didn't support Bush in 2000 (or now) because of what his father did to the pilots' unions.

[DinahMoeHum]

5. No self-respecting veteran should vote for * after this slimefest.

and anyone who does wasn't fit to wear the uniform to begin with.

:kick:

[Booster]

37. I just sent my donation request from the Vets back

to them with a note that I won't be donating until Vets begin to support true heroes like Kerry, Max Clelland, etc. I didn't use their postage so it wouldn't cost them anything, but hopefully they will get the message. Vets who support the Coward from Crawford over Kerry just don't have my respect or donation.

[HFishbine]

6. Interesting. FedEx pilot. Air Guard. Alabama. 1972. No see Bush.

BUSH A NO-SHOW AT ALABAMA BASE, SAYS MEMPHIAN
FedEx Pilot Bob Mintz, backed up by a Carolina colleague, recalls no Dubya at Dannelly AFB in 1972.
JACKSON BAKER | 2/13/2004

Print this Article
Copyright 2004 The Memphis Flyer

SEE UPDATE -- "ON GUARD -- OR AWOL?" CLICK HERE OR GO TO http://www.memphisflyer.com/ADMIN/dailydose.asp?action=EDIT&ID=2837.)

MEMPHIS – Two members of the Air National Guard unit that President George W. Bush allegedly served with as a young Guard flyer in 1972 had been told to expect him and were on the lookout for him. He never showed, however; of that both Bob Mintz and Paul Bishop are certain.

The question of Bush’s presence in 1972 at Dannelly Air National Guard base in Montgomery, Alabama – or the lack of it – has become an issue in the 2004 presidential campaign.

Recalls Memphian Mintz, now 62: “I remember that I heard someone was coming to drill with us from Texas. And it was implied that it was somebody with political influence. I was a young bachelor then. I was looking for somebody to prowl around with.” But, says Mintz, that “somebody” -- better known to the world now as the president of the United States -- never showed up at Dannelly in 1972. Nor in 1973, nor at any time that Mintz, a FedEx pilot now and an Eastern Airlines pilot then, when he was a reserve first lieutenant at Dannelly, can remember.

“And I was looking for him,” repeated Mintz, who said that he assumed that Bush “changed his mind and went somewhere else” to do his substitute drill. It was not “somewhere else,” however, but the 187th Air National Guard Tactical squadron at Dannelly to which the young Texas flyer had requested transfer from his regular Texas unit – the reason being Bush’s wish to work in Alabama on the ultimately unsuccessful U.S. Senate campaign of family friend Winton "Red" Blount.

more: http://www.memphisflyer.com/content.asp?ID=2834&onthefly=1

[mistertrickster]

12. Great article--Kerry should fire back with this.

If GW didn't want to take it, he shouldn't have dished it out.

Thanks for the post--another one for the office door.

[West Coast Democrat]

13. Cool! I'll forward this to my father-in-law

[tandot]

15. Let me get this straight:

The SlimeVets and Bush supporters smear Kerry because his injuries he received in Vietnam -- fighting for his country...willing to die for his country -- might have been not "serious" enough...

...and they support a drunken coward who used his daddy's connections so he wouldn't even have to go to Vietnam and then he didn't even bother to show up?

Great Hero you have there, freeper idiots. How any freeper who has honorably served in the military can support TWO draft dodgers is beyond me.

[City Lights]

17. Yes, and now his daddy's connections have been confirmed

on video.

[tandot]

19. there is a video. How can I miss that???

Do you have a link? Thanks!

[City Lights]

22. It's the second video.

http://www.austin4kerry.org/Barnes/index.htm

[tandot]

27. I have problems opening it

I bookmarked it and will try it later. Thanks.

[City Lights]

28. Transcription of impotant stuff can be read here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=132x679582

[tandot]

29. Thanks, DesertDem

:yourock:

[MODemocrat]

32. tandot, you're so good "Two draft dodgers"

the name really fits. What are people thinking that would actually vote for these slackers?:puke:

[lancdem]

7. Great!

It's always encouraging to hear anecdotal evidence.

[mistertrickster]

8. Yeah, I wondered about that too--It seems like the only people who

are happy about the smears are people who are already major Bush-bots to begin with.

I can't imagine anybody so dumb that they think: "I was leaning Kerry, but after all those soldiers stepped forward and called him a liar, I'm going with Bush."

Kerry didn't just win a medal--he won FIVE medals. You can't lie your way to a silver star or a bronze star with combat V--even most sheeple must know that.

Anybody so stupid as to be swayed by these ads SHOULD vote for Bush. I don't want them on our side.

[Indiana_Dem]

9. My Vietnam vet husband hates Bush too.

He wasn't going to vote but ever since the Swiftboat issue came up, he has decided to vote Kerry!

[enough]

14. Please let this be TRUE.

I have been getting more and more discouraged by the idea that these slimey smears could really work. It was making me wonder more and more about my fellow citizens. I really want to believe the anecdotal evidence of veterans being turned off by this stuff.

[CarolynEC]

16. Thanks for posting this!

I think it's finally sinking in that this smearvote gargbage is not 'just' an attack on John Kerry. It's a slap in the face to anyone who's ever served.

[tandot]

18. Democrats appearing on TV have to really hammer in that the whole smear

campaign from those SlimeVets are connected to Bush.

He can't officially smear Kerry on his service, having been AWOL himself, but he is using third parties to do the job.

The Bush campaign did this with "Kerry is a Flip-Flopper": every Republican on TV continuously repeated it...over and over again... until it became Kerry's label.

We have to do the same with the SlimeVets, the smear campaigns against McCain in 2000, and Cleland in 2002... repeating it until America knows that the AWOL coward is behind the attacks against soldiers who were willing to fight and die for their country...

[ArkDem]

20. Ever since this stuff started Kerry's stock has been rising with the

Vets!

[Nicholas_J]

21. As a matter of fact

An article on the AP today had an interview with a veteran who was on Thurlows boat, is not voting for Kerry, actaully cant stand Kerry, BUT verifies Kerry's story, particularly about the gunfire, and states that one of Kerry's main critics who was there during the events (Thurlow) was way too distracted and obviously didnt notice the gunfire that was going on at the time.

[DemoTex]

23. I am a member of the same union as the Fedex pilots - ALPA.

The Air Line Pilots Association (AFL-CIO) has endorsed John Kerry for president.

[snyder]

24. Hey DemoTex

You and other Dems in that union ought to be going to your colleagues one-on-one and pitching them on Kerry. And if they're vets, see if you can get them to write letters to the editor of their local newspaper. These people are important voices.

[snyder]

25. Boy Do I Hope It's True

[NewYorkerfromMass]

26. You needn't hope. It is MOST definitiely true.

The backlash is (and will be) tremendous.

[snyder]

31. If So, It Will Be Reflected in the Polls

It ought to take about a week for the polls to turn. The SBVT stories shaved 5 point off of Kerry's numbers and did all manner of damage to his campaign's ability to get its other messages out. We'd better hope for a backlash, but frankly you are more optimistic than I am on that one.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

33. That is, if you believe polls are unfailingly accurate.

Do you believe that?

[snyder]

34. Only Losers Dispute the Polls

Whenever I see someone say "ignore the polls!" you know that person is running behind. Of course you can't believe one of them. Of course they can change. Of course there's time for Kerry to rebound. But don't pull that tired "the polls don't matter" crap.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

35. It's a simple question. Do you believe polls are unfailingly accurate?

[snyder]

36. Pointless Question

They don't have to be "unfailingly accurate" for people to legitimately observe when a number of them move in the same direction.

[Feanorcurufinwe]

39. Obviously not, or you'd be willing to answer it.

[Arkana]

38. Yeah, I don't get it

Even FOX 25 was trying to stir up a furor by saying that compared with 42% who would have voted for Kerry just because of his military service (after the convention), only 21% would now. Then they abruptly kill their case by showing a Gallup poll that says 63% of the people think Kerry is telling the truth about Vietnam!

So what the fuck was the point of this news story again?