The irony absolutely stuns me...
http://www.gopusa.com/news/2004/augu...networks.shtml
Democrats Threaten Networks Over Anti-Kerry Ads
By Jeff Gannon
Talon News
August 6, 2004
WASHINGTON (Talon News) -- The Democratic National Committee quickly responded to ads that began airing this week which question Sen. John Kerry's (D-MA) military record. Lawyers for the DNC and the Kerry campaign sent a letter to station managers across the country advising them that their stations could be held "responsible for the false and libelous charges" made in the ads.
Several members of over 250 Vietnam veterans who make up a group known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (web site) appear in the ad, claiming that Kerry lied about certain aspects of his four months of combat duty. One of the veterans in the ad says that Kerry didn't deserve one of the three Purple Hearts that enabled him to return early to the United States.
Many of the group were wounded in combat or are highly decorated veterans themselves. They are resisting the attempt by Democrats to suppress their side of the story.
Rear Admiral Roy Hoffmann (ret.), founder and chairman of the organization, said, "We purchased with our blood and service the right to be heard, to set the record straight about our unit, and to tell the truth about John Kerry's military service record."
The ad campaign comes in advance of the August 15 release of a book written by another member of the group, John O'Neill. His book, "Unfit for Command," argues that Kerry's conduct in Vietnam as well as his anti-war activities following his early out disqualify him from being commander-in-chief. O'Neill debated Kerry on the Dick Cavett Show in 1971 about the Vietnam War.
Sen. John McCain (R-AZ), a former prisoner of war in Vietnam, told the Associated Press that he thought the ads went too far.
Hoffmann responded, "We respect Sen. McCain's right to express his opinion and we hope he extends to us the same respect and courtesy, particularly since we served with John Kerry, we knew him well, and Senator McCain did not."
Still, the Arizona Republican urged the White House to disavow the ads that he called "dishonest and dishonorable." But McCain had harsh words for his future senate colleague in 1973 when he wrote an article for the U.S. News & World Report. McCain said that the communist captors who held him at the infamous Hanoi Hilton for five years tried to demoralize him with the public statements of Kerry and other Democrats including Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA) who talked of war crimes committed by U.S. soldiers.
McCain said, "All through this period [they] were bombarding us with anti-war quotes from people in high places back in Washington. This was the most effective propaganda they had to use against us."
The White House denied any involvement in the ad or the 527 group that produced it.
White House Press Secretary Scott McClellan said, "We have not and we will not question Senator Kerry's service in Vietnam."
"The president has been on the receiving end of more than $62 million in negative attacks from shadowy groups," McClellan added. "The president is calling for an immediate cessation to all the unregulated soft money activity."
McClellan was referring to the ads from 527 groups like MoveOn.org that have waged a brutal and relentless anti-Bush campaign for nearly a year. Billionaire financier George Soros has contributed $15 million to these groups for the specific purpose of driving Bush from the White House.
He said, "I think that this is another example of the problem with the unregulated soft money activity that is going on. The president thought he got rid of this kind of unregulated soft money when he signed the bipartisan campaign finance reforms into law."
But the Federal Election Commission failed to deal with the loophole in the law when it had the opportunity earlier this year. Vice chairman Ellen Weintraub, a former Democratic counsel to the House Ethics Committee who was chosen for the commission by Sen. Tom Daschle (D-SD), recommended against taking action before the November election. The FEC's inaction led to massive amounts of "soft money" flowing into the 527 groups that are virtually unregulated.
This is the first legal action suggested from either party in regard to statements made by 527s. Earlier this year, the MoveOn.org web site featured a commercial where Adolf Hitler morphs into President Bush. The Republican National Committee complained about the ad, but no legal action was taken.
A copy of the DNC letter to station managers can be found at Human Events Online (web site).
Additional information about Kerry's anti-war activities can be found at WinterSoldier.com (web site).
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