Swift Vets Ponder Next Move, Will No Longer Focus Attacks On Kerry's War Record
Fox News reports there has "been a couple of days of respite for John Kerry, at least as far as the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth are concerned. They have not run an ad anywhere on American television, cable or otherwise, since Thursday, which so happened to be the very last day of the Republican National Convention in New York City. Now, Democrats might point to that and say well, that's an awfully strange coincidence. They stopped their ads the day the Republican convention ends in New York. The Swift Boat Vets say, however, there is no collusion or coincidence with the ending of their ad campaign. Right now, they're sitting on some money and deciding what to do. They may develop some more ads. Or they may simply extend the ads they've already had on TV. . . . And the Swift Vets tell Fox they no longer will do anything on the air or otherwise to criticize John Kerry's Vietnam heroism. Asked if that is a confession, basically that they can no longer make those allegations against Kerry stick, the Swift Vets said no, they're trying to find something that is more compelling, they say. They have raised about $3 million over the Internet. . . . And $500,000 separately from unsolicited mail that's come to their Alexandria, Virginia address."
Another Anti-Kerry Vietnam Veterans Group Formed
The Washington Times 's "Inside Politics" column says there is 'another group of Vietnam veterans that "plans to rally against the Democratic presidential nominee. Vietnam Vets for the Truth (www.KerryLied.com) 'represents men and women who served honorably during that war and feel terribly maligned' by Mr. Kerry's 'longstanding claims of widespread atrocities and war crimes' by U.S. troops in Vietnam, the group said. The group, led by retired Navy Capt. Larry Bailey, former head of the Navy's SEAL school, plans a press conference at 9:30 a.m. today at the National Press Club. Among other events and election-season plans, the group will announce a 'Kerry Lied' rally set for 2 p.m. Sunday at Capitol Plaza Park, between the U.S. Capitol and Union Station. The rally will feature 'prominent Vietnam veterans,' the group said."
Kerry Aides Argued Against Hitting Back On Swift Boat Ad Controversy Newsweek says this week Kerry "wanted to hit back" after the attacks from Swift Veterans For Truth started coming last month. "But no, campaign manager Mary Beth Cahill and other staffers argued, the Swift Boat ads would blow over. Finally, Kerry had had enough. For three or four days, as he campaigned across the country, Kerry ripped into Cahill, furious that the mostly baseless attacks on his valor were driving his numbers down."
New Pro-Bush 527 Ads Links Kerry To Willie Horton's Release
The New York Daily News reported Saturday on "Willie Horton – the sequel. A new conservative group is getting ready to air a pair of blistering attack ads against Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry, including one that revives the infamous figure of Horton and blasts Kerry for helping free a 'would-be cop killer' from prison. Another slams him for ties to the Rev. Al Sharpton." The Daily News adds, "Apparently set to air in Washington on Tuesday, it invokes the name of Willie Horton, the African-American inmate who raped and tortured a suburban couple while on furlough from a Massachusetts prison. . . . In the new ad, a narrator says that in 1982, Kerry, as a private attorney, 'successfully overturned the conviction of his client George Reissfelder,' who had escaped in '74 while on furlough – 'just like Willie Horton.' When Reissfelder was captured three years later, he tried to grab a cop's gun. The ad says he tried to shoot a police officer and pleaded guilty to that, but didn't serve his 15-year sentence." The Daily News adds, "In the Sharpton spot, the narrator accuses Sharpton of blaming the U.S. for the 9/11 attacks, calling Adolf Hitler 'a great man,' urging college students to kill cops and indirectly instigating a fatal fire at a Jewish-owned store in Harlem."
