The reason the Repubs are going after Kerry's military record.....

[kentuck]

Because the military is George Bush Jr's greatest strength and his greatest weakness. If he can keep his supporters focused on an image of a strong and decisive leader and a war president, then he maintains his greatest asset in tact and preserves his candidacy and will make him difficult to beat in November. That is what they think.

But, his greatest weakness is that his opponent will be a highly-decorated military veteran, with years and years of military affairs experience. This dilutes his image because voters may start to contrast the military records of each candidate. This has the possibility of destroying his candidacy if his war credentials are questioned.

Therefore, the decision has been made by Rove and others to tear down his opponents strengths so that George Jr can maintain his standing as the "war president" without being challenged by the war credentials of his opponent. It is a huge gamble. Although it worked against George McGovern and many other Democrats with sterling military records, there is no guarantee it will work this time. But, in order for Bush to maintain his present "credibility" with his war effort, he must tear down his opponent in the process.

It is a coordinated effort by the RNC. That is why we have seen an entire week of anti-Kerry talk radio and press releases. They work behind the curtains. They move in the shadows. They are much like the real Mafia.

[Tim4319]

1. I just hope the George is sleeping with the fishes,

come November.

[randr]

2. Check this out--your gonna love it!

http://www.salon.com/opinion/conason/2004/04/23/o_neill/index.html

[displacedtexan]

3. They did the same thing to Al Gore.

Gore- went to Viet Nam, where EVERYONE was in danger of being killed every minute of every single day...
but Gore was "just a reporter."

Bush*- was somewhere in either Texas or Alabama, squandering a million dollars worth of flight training, working on a campaign, trashing the guest house he rented, bragging about his drinking and womanizing... but he was a "fighter pilot."

Stupid people vote Republican.

[kentuck]

4. Don't forget Max Cleland....

Look what they were able to do to him.... :mad:

[Sparkly]

5. I agree

There seems to be a long-standing stereotype that Republicans are "tough," and Democrats are "soft." It shows up in polls all the time, no matter what the reality is. (Personally I think it's more a matter of incompetent/ineffective vs. smart/effective!)

So they attack any Democrats with strong military credentials. Remember Ann Coulter saying Max Cleland was simply "lucky" to pick up a grenade? Remember the smear that Clark didn't earn all of his stars, but was an "opportunist" who brown-nosed his way up (and *real* military men didn't like him)? Same thing with Kerry. Didn't really *earn* what he got, just happened to be in the right place (a swift boat - very dangerous duty!), and *real* military men don't like him....

How do we fight this when all the major news networks jump at the chance to get a microphone in front of clowns like John O'Neill?

[mohinoaklawnillinois]

Well, if I get into a conversation with someone who

spews the RNC line on this, my answer to them would be: Where was George during this period of time? How could they answer that with any credibility. It's impossible.

The bottom line is this: John Kerry enlisted in the US Navy and went to Vietnam and served with distinction. What did Bush do: he enlisted in the Texas Air National Guard, learned to fly on the taxpayer's dime and then disappeared for a while.

[Wapsie B]

22. You know that and I know that.

But the repugs just spew their line of denial. They don't believe that chimpy went awol. In their minds he served honorably. It doesn't register with his core. Not one bit. People like my brother and old man will not believe what really happened. However with it being April we still have time to slowly take away his core, deprogramming those amongst them that are still salvageable.

You know of course I'm being optimistic that we won't have another "attack" giving people like Tommy Franks his reason to declare martial law in this country and cancel the elections.

[KharmaTrain]

6. Spot On...And May I Add...

I'm noticing such a regular and orchestrated campaign to discredit Kerry using almost a template.

It's to distort Kerry's past and then say he's "flip-flopped"...this gest out fast and before Kerry can respond...filtering through Op-Eds, hate radio and the internet. It doesn't have to be refuted because it moves so fast as to create a moment of some "credibility" or creates a question about the person's character.

A lot of this is being done to energize the wingnut base as I see people slamming Kerry with little more than talking points...and most that have been long debunked, but they're spewing them anyway as the "lie"is to be taken as the truth until proven otherwise...and for Kerry to do that is almost impossible. It's the "how bad did you beat your wife" scenario.

Actually I think the wingnuts shooting all these salvos right now is a good thing. It's toughening us up for what's ahead and creating a lot of rope for us to hang these bastards on later. Right now they're attempting to "whip everyone in line"...but that rhetoric works only so long when you're looking for work, seeing a loved one come home in pieces from Iraq or hating how this country is going.

Let the blowhards go off the deep-end, we'll see how little they'll matter come September.

[DemLikr]

7. with all the factual historical ammunition clearly showing W's cowardice..

...it is amazing to me that the Kerry campaign has not already utterly destroyed his "credibility."

W is made of tissue paper; and Kerry is still lobbing poorly aimed softballs.

I believe the American public,w hether they like what they hear at first or not, will ultimtely respect Kerry much more for calling Bush on his bullshit in rough, clear, unequivical language.

And if Kerry waits until near the election, he will be open to charges of "desperation."

Here we go again...

[lindashaw]

8. I'm working for Kerry, I'm going to vote for him, but sheesh! I wish

he would speak out with the clarity of Joe Biden!

[calimary]

16. Which, unfortunately, is not saying a whole lot.

Biden's disappointed me again and again with his milquetoast crap - he can usually be counted upon to be one of those "strong-spined" Dems who starts every rebuttal with "well, my opponent DOES make a good point..."

It's pretty sad when one is hoping that Kerry amps it up to the Joe Biden level. Jeez...

But I know what you mean. WHERE THE HELL IS KERRY RIGHT NOW? ON ANOTHER VACATION??????????????????????????????

I worried about this early-on, in the campaign. Yes, he pushed through at the end, but seems to me it's foolish of him and his campaign to simply assume that they can pull off an eleventh-hour push again. REALLY discouraging at how much opportunity they're allowing to slip through their fingers. Is Donna Brazile running things again?

[Tellurian]

18. I agree with you about Biden...

since he's had his teeth whitened he only speaks "happy" thoughts that make him smile and smile and smile.

Imus interviewed him this morning.. Biden's world is rosy. He semi- backed the war and was generally someone whose mind is on vacation.

[DemLikr]

19. you're kidding, right?

Biden has been giving the white house blow jobs for three years.

Only recently, when things are beginning to go nuts in Iraq, is he opening his trap to any good effect.

[Vladimir]

9. And at the same time

constant talking about Kerry's military record may lead to some of his left-wing support ebbing away. I noticed a lot of people are uneasy about Kerry's 'kills' and suchlike... this may be part of a ploy to get these voters to stay at home or go 3rd party.

[kentuck]

11. Possibly, but I think they are mostly thinking of themselves....

and what they can do to maintain their own position...

[edison1958]

10. It Really Bothers Me.....

....when the US military is perceived as the uniformed branch of the GOP. I've called out several people in uniform for being too political. You can believe what you want, but when you wear the uniform, your duty is to the Nation and not to any one administration. That said, most people in the military are pretty conservative, but they also take their oath very seriously......

[NNN0LHI]

12. I have noticed a coordinated effort to do that here at DU too

Has anyone else noticed it?

Don

[rocktivity]

13. This might have worked a few months ago

But here are the top four reasons why it won't work now:

White House Says Iraq Sovereignty Could Be Limited
US turns to old foes to secure Iraq--Saddam Hussein's senior officers
Former Baathists May Be Tapped for Leadership Roles
3 Big Firms Suspend Operations In Iraq (Siemens/GE/Bechtel)

Bush may be willing to "get in the ring," but people are beginning to remember that the best boxers hit smart as well as hard. The commander-in-chump thought that might would make right, and his lack of an exit strategy is really beginning to show. Rove can make Kerry look as "soft" on defense as he wants--it won't solve the real problem of Bush looking too soft-headed.

:headbang:
rocknation

[WolverineDG]

14. dang straight it was RNC coordinated

the day after the records were released, there was a LTTE in the San Antonio paper about how the writer & other former military believed that Kerry's medals were undeserved. :grr:

well, i fired up my pen again, & here's the result which i emailed last night:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=104&topic_id=1458200&mesg_id=1458200

i'm becoming a letter-writing fool, & i'll keep on doing it....

dg

[AgadorSparticus]

17. your letter is great!!! keep the letters coming!!!

:toast:

:bounce: :bounce: :bounce:

[WolverineDG]

23. HUZZAH HUZZAH

I got a call from the SA Express asking if I was indeed the same person who sent them a letter. I said yes, and was told my letter was going to be published....sorta. :7

I was told the paper received so many letters, they are going to have to run some of them online. I haven't gone to check to see if it's been posted live yet, but if you're interested, it's www.mysa.com
You will have to register :eyes: but at least it's free.

I'm going to check the paper for the next few days to compare the number of Bush/Kerry letters which are run. SA is a YOOGE (copyright the Donald) military town......

dg

[DinahMoeHum]

15. Check out this LTTE in Salon (2nd one) from a Vietnam vet. . .

Link:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/letters/2004/04/22/purple_mercenary/index.html

(snip)
"Concerning fakes: If any fuckhead is stupid enough to claim ownership of a PH that does not belong to him, there's a big cottage industry of really nasty people who will take pleasure in making his life one definitive hell. These would be the folks who actually earned Purple Hearts. Fakers get confronted in public, in front of their families, their co-workers, their Boy Scout troops, wherever it's possible to inflict the most humiliation. There's no sympathy for these people. So if Kerry had worked some kind of game on a Purple Heart, he would have been hideously outed long before this. There's an army of war vets (and the widows of war vets) with nothing better to do than to hunt down fakes and frauds..."
(snip)
(snip)
"Regardless of politics, those who have PHs tend to be clannish...So when a drug addicted coward like Limbaugh, or any of those other vermin, talks trash about a guy's Purple Heart, he's insulting the rest of us. It's like taking on a biker gang that graduated from grenades and machine guns to lawsuits, Web sites and political campaigns. Same attitude, different toys.

The assholes who talk trash about Kerry's Purple Hearts are playing a dangerous, self-destructive game..."
(snip)


'Nuff said!!

:kick:

[Tellurian]

20. The assholes who talk trash about Kerry's Purple Hearts

are playing a dangerous, self-destructive game..."


And getting well paid to do it!

[Misunderestimator]

21. Ok this is from left field, but....

I kind of see Kerry like the creature from Alien. The RNC keeps cutting him, and they haven't yet realized that the blood is acid that is destroying them.

I know... not the greatest analogy. :)

[NewJeffCT]

24. summary of my LTTE

In my letter to the editor, to summarize, I said the reason Bush and his minions have smeared decorated war veterans like Kerry, McCain and Cleland is that they are afraid of real men that actually served heroically in combat as it reflects badly on an administration full of chickenhawks who think nothing of sending our young men & women off to die in a war of choice. Or, something to that effect.

[Warren Stuart]

25. They don't have many options, D-Day is coming

Their own guy is a skunk, Kerry is a bonafide hero. The only way they can even the playing field is by tearing down the other guy.

They have to act fast because June 6, will mark the 60th anniversary of the D-Day invasion. This will put a spotlight on Bush's disgraceful military record, just like ten years ago when the 50th anniversary was a turning point in the "Year of the Angry White Male".

Plus Bush will have that French thing working against him, throw in some jet lag and you got a recipe for disaster.