pb...
08-17-2004, 02:47 PM
washingtonpost.com
MoveOn.org's Swift Response to Anti-Kerry Ad
By Howard Kurtz
Tuesday, August 17, 2004; Page A08
A liberal organization is taking to the airwaves today to challenge an
ad by a group of Navy veterans that accuses Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.)
of distorting his Vietnam record.
"George Bush: Take that ad off the air," says the 30-second spot from
MoveOn.org PAC.
The ad in question, from a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,
charges Kerry with "lying about his first Purple Heart" in Vietnam 35
years ago. The MoveOn response -- airing in the same four markets in
Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and on CNN and Fox News -- begins by
attacking President Bush's military record.
"George Bush used his father to get into the National Guard, and when
the chips were down, went missing," a narrator says. "Now he's allowing
false advertising that attacks John Kerry, a man who asked to go to
Vietnam and served with dignity and heroism." The ad quotes Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.) as calling on the Bush campaign to condemn the
"dishonest and dishonorable" ad.
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt called MoveOn "an extremist
organization" making "completely baseless attacks." Schmidt said, "They
have continued that tradition with this one, impugning the honorable
service of the president in the Air National Guard." Noting that the
campaign has praised Kerry's military service, Schmidt repeated Bush's
call for both campaigns to denounce all ads by independent "527" groups,
far more of which have aired in support of Kerry. But he did not
denounce the content of the Swift boat group's ad.
Retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann, founder of the Swift boat group, much of
whose funding has come from a Texas developer, said in a statement: "We
find it odd that MoveOn PAC would question the right of a group of
veterans to voice an opinion on a legitimate issue -- an issue first
raised by John Kerry -- and now the centerpiece of his campaign. . . .
We will not be silenced."
Asked why Bush should be responsible for an ad by an independent group
with the same legal status as MoveOn, Eli Pariser, the PAC's executive
director, said: "They're clearly a surrogate organization. The Bush
campaign has a responsibility for what's being done on its behalf.
Certainly if Kerry felt MoveOn was doing something he didn't agree with,
he has every right to condemn our ads."
Southern Discomfort
An unabashed racist won the Republican nomination for a House district
in Tennessee earlier this month. James Hart, who contends that whites
should not mix with "less favored races," thumped a Republican write-in
candidate -- 7,865 to 2,061 -- to win the party's nomination for the
state's 8th Congressional District.
"The poverty genes of less 'favored races', which are spread by welfare
and immigration, are destroying our cities no less than if they were hit
by a nuclear bomb," Hart said on his campaign Web site. "Unless we stop
dysgenic welfare and immigration policies, the U.S. will look like one
big Detroit."
The state GOP, which was unable to find another candidate in time for
the election's filing deadline, has disowned Hart's campaign, calling
his views "outrageous." The district, which is represented by Rep. John
S. Tanner (D-Tenn.), is considered Democratic country. But Hart's
candidacy will nevertheless give him a platform for his views and the
Republican Party a headache.
Political researcher Brian Faler contributed to this report.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
__________________________________
Reprinted because education is so important.
MoveOn.org's Swift Response to Anti-Kerry Ad
By Howard Kurtz
Tuesday, August 17, 2004; Page A08
A liberal organization is taking to the airwaves today to challenge an
ad by a group of Navy veterans that accuses Sen. John F. Kerry (D-Mass.)
of distorting his Vietnam record.
"George Bush: Take that ad off the air," says the 30-second spot from
MoveOn.org PAC.
The ad in question, from a group called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth,
charges Kerry with "lying about his first Purple Heart" in Vietnam 35
years ago. The MoveOn response -- airing in the same four markets in
Ohio, West Virginia and Wisconsin, and on CNN and Fox News -- begins by
attacking President Bush's military record.
"George Bush used his father to get into the National Guard, and when
the chips were down, went missing," a narrator says. "Now he's allowing
false advertising that attacks John Kerry, a man who asked to go to
Vietnam and served with dignity and heroism." The ad quotes Sen. John
McCain (R-Ariz.) as calling on the Bush campaign to condemn the
"dishonest and dishonorable" ad.
Bush campaign spokesman Steve Schmidt called MoveOn "an extremist
organization" making "completely baseless attacks." Schmidt said, "They
have continued that tradition with this one, impugning the honorable
service of the president in the Air National Guard." Noting that the
campaign has praised Kerry's military service, Schmidt repeated Bush's
call for both campaigns to denounce all ads by independent "527" groups,
far more of which have aired in support of Kerry. But he did not
denounce the content of the Swift boat group's ad.
Retired Rear Adm. Roy Hoffmann, founder of the Swift boat group, much of
whose funding has come from a Texas developer, said in a statement: "We
find it odd that MoveOn PAC would question the right of a group of
veterans to voice an opinion on a legitimate issue -- an issue first
raised by John Kerry -- and now the centerpiece of his campaign. . . .
We will not be silenced."
Asked why Bush should be responsible for an ad by an independent group
with the same legal status as MoveOn, Eli Pariser, the PAC's executive
director, said: "They're clearly a surrogate organization. The Bush
campaign has a responsibility for what's being done on its behalf.
Certainly if Kerry felt MoveOn was doing something he didn't agree with,
he has every right to condemn our ads."
Southern Discomfort
An unabashed racist won the Republican nomination for a House district
in Tennessee earlier this month. James Hart, who contends that whites
should not mix with "less favored races," thumped a Republican write-in
candidate -- 7,865 to 2,061 -- to win the party's nomination for the
state's 8th Congressional District.
"The poverty genes of less 'favored races', which are spread by welfare
and immigration, are destroying our cities no less than if they were hit
by a nuclear bomb," Hart said on his campaign Web site. "Unless we stop
dysgenic welfare and immigration policies, the U.S. will look like one
big Detroit."
The state GOP, which was unable to find another candidate in time for
the election's filing deadline, has disowned Hart's campaign, calling
his views "outrageous." The district, which is represented by Rep. John
S. Tanner (D-Tenn.), is considered Democratic country. But Hart's
candidacy will nevertheless give him a platform for his views and the
Republican Party a headache.
Political researcher Brian Faler contributed to this report.
© 2004 The Washington Post Company
__________________________________
Reprinted because education is so important.
