ROVE'S 2006 TV Swiftboating of Iraq Begins; FIGHTIN' DEMS to the Rescue!

[FrenchieCat]

Rove's 2006 election plan got into gear this week and started revving it up in Minnesota.

The Plan?
Justify the current War in Iraq by linking 2001's 9/11 terrorism to today's Terrorists in Iraq via the usual suspects; talking heads on Teevee, written op-eds in Newspapers, ads with Veterans touting success; Perform saber rattling aimed at Iran, and emphasize to the American people that it is the Republicans and this Administration that can keep America Safe, because Democrats aren't "into" National Security.

In Minnesota, veterans take to TV to build Iraq war support
BRIAN BAKST
Associated Press

ST. PAUL - As images of smoke pouring from the World Trade Center flash by, Lt. Col. Bob Stephenson boils down the Iraq war to a battle to squash the al-Qaida terrorist network.

"You'd never know it from the news reports," Stephenson says firmly. "But our enemy in Iraq is al-Qaida, the same terrorists who killed 3,000 Americans on 9-11, the same terrorists from the first World Trade Center bombing, the USS Cole, Madrid, London and many more."

Stephenson, a Marine reservist from Woodbury who spent five months in Iraq, delivered his message as part of a television ad that debuted Thursday in Minnesota. The 60-second spot aims to shore up support for the war by touting accomplishments, such as recent Iraqi elections.
snip
The ad was paid for by the conservative Progress for America Voter Fund, which will air it on network and cable stations in Minnesota over the next week. The Washington-based interest group wouldn't reveal the amount it spent, but spokesman Stuart Roy said the average television viewer should see it 10 times - a hefty number as ad rotation goes.

For now, Minnesota viewers are the sole target audience. Roy said the group hasn't decided whether to reach into other states.

Minnesota's 2006 U.S. Senate race is shaping up to be one of the nation's most competitive, but Roy insisted that wasn't a factor in choosing the state.
snip

Stephenson, who was stationed at the Camp Kalsu air base and didn't see combat during his tour, said in an interview that Americans are mostly hearing about death tolls, security problems and other negative aspects of war. He said the ad is a chance to convey the other side.

http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/news/special_packages/iraq/13832571.htm

FIGHTIN' DEMS fighting Back, right here! :patriot:

TROOPS BACK FROM IRAQ BEING DEPLOYED ON FRONT LINES OF SPIN WAR
Last update: February 16, 2006 – 11:10 AM
Nick Coleman

snip
But for those devoted to political spin more than truth, there was a positive development in the war, a development which, oddly, took place on TV sets in Minnesota.

A commercial featuring veterans of the war in Iraq began airing here, telling viewers that the war in Iraq is against the terrorists of 9/11 and that it is going swimmingly.

These are dubious assertions, given that the war was billed as a war against Saddam Hussein and that it had cost the lives of 2,267 Americans as of Friday (almost 1,800 since the president said the mission was accomplished).

But more curious than the dubious assertions is the agenda of this big-bucks ad campaign: Who is paying for this pro-war propaganda?

News reports identified the sponsor as "the conservative Progress for America Voter Fund," but that barely scratches the surface. Progress for America is a campaign front for President Bush, meaning we have reached the point when the money men for a president who no longer faces election keep spending on spin to try to shore up support for a mistaken elective war.

Fellow Americans, the Swift Boating of Iraq has begun.

"This is a political organization that is using troops for a political agenda," says Paul Rieckhoff, founder and executive director of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA). "These ads are trying to prop up the president's flagging agenda. That seems like a cheap trick. It's the same kind of thing he does when he keeps goes around giving speeches in front of the troops."

His group, formerly known as Operation Truth (ex-Gov. Jesse Ventura is on the board of advisers), is a nonpartisan organization that supports the military while "empowering" veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars "to use their credibility and experiences to speak truth to power."

To Rieckhoff, a combat platoon leader in Iraq, these ads do not speak the soldiers' truth.

"The troops do not overwhelmingly support the president in Iraq," says Rieckhoff, who notes that polls show the troops' approval sinking to the low 50 percent range. "And the CIA said there is no link between 9/11 and Iraq. They still say that.

"So this ad is simply not true."
http://www.startribune.com/357/story/240370.html

We've got to stay ahead of them this time, and hit back hard every step of the way!

Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) PAC right here!
http://www.iavapac.org/index2.html
General Clark is on the Board being the General that he is in this War on our Democracy.

Taking back the house and the Senate in 2006 is crucial......and so

"THE WAR HAS BEGUN!"

SEND THIS TO ANY AND ALL....JOURNALISTS, TV PERSONALITIES, TALKING HEADS, THE DNC, THE DCCC, THE DLC, AIR AMERICA (IN PARTICULAR RANDI RHODES, AL FRANKEN (he's from Minnesota!), SCHULTZ, STEPHANIE MILLER, ETC., ETC., ETC..... AND BLOG IT!

and if you don't have the time.....just Spread it this simple quote........

"THIS AD IS SIMPLY NOT TRUE!" :patriot:

[LincolnMcGrath]

1. recommended

:patriot:

[FrenchieCat]

2. Oh yes....and I forgot to mention.....

link to a run-down on Progress for America who paid for this "Iraq is just dandy" ad in Minnesota--
http://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Progress_for_America

Notice their legal council is Benjamin Ginsberg, the same guy who quit the Bush campaign (hahaha) when it was found out he was working for the Swiftboaters.

[FrenchieCat]

3. And I'm liking Nick Coleman who wrote the story exposing this

spin!

his last paragraph in that newstory says it all! "Be warned: Despite the patriotic music, the flags and the burning Twin Towers, these ads aimed at Minnesota's heartstrings are not about supporting the troops. They are just a desperate attempt to salvage support for an unpopular president's reckless war.
Nick Coleman • [e-mail].

I wrote him and thanked him.

I've been writing to a lot of reporters lately. You can call it cultivating the battleground....cause I'm not about to let Rove an'them use the same ass tired tricks in 2006....and just hope for the best.

I HOPE THAT YOU (yes, you) ARE "IN"!

[Erika]

4. Thanks, I wrote him also

Karl Rove's days are over as is the "swiftboating" of American troops.

[FrenchieCat]

6. But we've got to remain vigilant and active.....

Sure we already know about this shit.....but it is American Idol watching Dick and Jane that we need to holler at! :hi:

[Erika]

7. I think we'll do fine

I think the swiftboating in the last election left a sour taste. They kind of did to Nam vets what they accused others of doing 30 years ago.

[FrenchieCat]

8. Well Erika,

Possibly John Kerry was thinking like you...considering that his close friend, Senator Max Cleland, a triple Amputee, was swiftboated in Georgia, circa 2002......and so it goes, that in 2004, the same technique was used nationally on John Kerry. Now we are in 2006....and I for one, ain't as confident as you.

So you can sit back and "feel" sure as to what's what.....but as for me, I'm gonna "make" sure.

So you see, there's work to be done......

I'm an Ant. be glad of that, Grasshopper!

PS: Swiftboating is a term in our Lexicon now meaning "a campaign full of lies about.....(fill in the blank)". It doesn't necessarily mean that the campaign will be the exact same as it was in 2002, nor what it did in 2004....you see, it keeps on morphing.

It's about the goal; keep Democrats losing elections

[FreedomAngel82]

22. I hope so

This is why I love love love the Band of Brothers and the Fighting dems. They're great!

[FrenchieCat]

5. A suggestion if you have the inclination to make a difference.....

Please Write to Newspapers and TV stations in Minnesota about this,
which is what I'm doing right now!!!!

And while it's great to debate Hackett vs. Brown vs. the leaders, etc.....
this Rove shit is what's gonna lose us some "about to be here" elections!

Please Go here..... as all of the email addresses and phone numbers for ALL OF Minnesota'S Newspapers, TV and Radio stations are right there in alphabetical order, just waiting to be emailed to!

http://www.congress.org/congressorg/dbq/media/?command=state_search&state=mn
To send a message, select your recipient(s) and click "Compose Message" below.
Select a selections of 5, and before sending Copy and paste...
Then select 5 more, paste,
select 5 more, paste
etc., etc., etc..


AMERICA NEEDS YOU RIGHT NOW! :patriot:

[Jai4WKC08]

15. Not just in MN, I'm afraid

The article said that RoveCo would be taking the ad to neighboring states. This is just the road test.

I also would swear I read something, maybe here at DU, about something like this being broadcast by one of the major networks, but I don't remember the details. Anyone else see anything?

[threadkillaz]

9. Video Links

http://www.midwestheroes.com/
http://pfavoterfund.com/

Dunno if this is exact commercial, but this is the exact group.

[FrenchieCat]

10. Yep...that's them

Liars!

Thanks! :hi:

[threadkillaz]

11. Their brochure is especially cute.

http://www.midwestheroes.com/docs/brochure/

The part in the midwestheroes.com video when the dad says his son would die twice, makes me want to cry and puke at the same time.

[FrenchieCat]

12. Yep...Too bad the Dad couldn't have had his son die

an estimated 2,300 times and spared those who didn't want to die.

http://icasualties.org/oif/ByState.aspx

American Military Casualties in Iraq
Date Total In Combat

American Deaths
Since war began (3/19/03): 2271 1819
Since "Mission Accomplished" (5/1/03) (the list) 2134 1720
Since Capture of Saddam (12/13/03): 1804 1513
Since Handover (6/29/04): 1405 1185
Since Election (1/31/05): 835 707
American Wounded Official Estimated
Total Wounded: 16549 15000 - 48100
Latest Fatality February 14th, 2006
Page last updated 02/16/06 1:38 am EDT
US Military Deaths by Month
Put a Casualty Counter on Your Website
Others
Other Coalition Troops 204
US Military Deaths - Afghanistan 266
Iraqi Body Count IBC
American Civilian Casualties
Sources: DoD, CentCom, MNF, and iCasualties.org

Daily DoD Casualty Release

The Faces The List Sources American Casualties Iraqi Casualties Contact

.::A Running Log of the Wounded::.

UPI reports :

As many as 1 of every 10 soldiers from the war on terror evacuated to the Army's biggest hospital in Europe was sent there for mental problems.

Between 8 and 10 percent of nearly 12,000 soldiers from the war on terror, mostly from Iraq, treated at the Landstuhl Regional Medical Center in Germany had "psychiatric or behavioral health issues," according to the commander of the hospital, Col. Rhonda Cornum.

That means about 1,000 soldiers were evacuated for mental problems.

The hospital has treated 11,754 soldiers from the war on terror, with 9,651 from Iraq and the rest from Afghanistan, according to data released by the hospital.

Also see The Missing Wounded.

American Count

Dates and sources of Americans killed in Iraq since 5/1/03 are documented in this file. Admittedly the file is incomplete, for the Department of Defense does not maintain old records. All data was compiled from http://www.defenselink.mil. If something is amiss in the data collection, please contact Michael Ewens.

Iraqi Civilian Count
We have not set up a database for these numbers, rather we direct you Iraq Body Count.
http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/

The Wounded can't even get proper care.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/06/28/AR2005062800545.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A2946-2004Oct2.html
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10842565/site/newsweek/


and don't even talk about the Widows! They've had it!
http://www.democrats.com/node/7832
http://www.house.gov/stupak/gi_bill.shtml
http://securingamerica.com/ccn/node/4479

[John_H]

13. Only in the alternative world of the Democratic Message Operation

does a response by the IAVA constitute "Fightin' Dems Fighton' Back." If we've learned anything from the swift boats, we'd realize that:

1:Our highest profile dems, in a coordinated effort on high profile venues, have to scream and yell about the funding for these ads as well as the politicization of the military by the bush admin. Yes, I know that this means that someone will have to write a cogent set of talking points, and that Dem surrogates will have to repeat them instead of promoting whatever personal hobby horse issue of the day is.

This, of course, will never happen since a number of our leaders and presidential aspirants want nothing to do with a conflict over the war; since democrats are incapable of conducting a coordinated message push; and since the prom queens and kings who run the party would find your dead-on analysis of Rove's strategy horribly troubling because oh-dear-oh-dear the party is "split" on the war and we all know that's it's better to not take over the house than it is to piss some of our caucus off. Better stick to those Kitchen Table Issues.


2. Someone has to get ads up with more heroic vets, responding directly to these ads. This might get done since we have a few well funded anti war groups to go up in a big way.

[FrenchieCat]

14. Well me, I gave a donation to IAVA so that they can do a

Counter Ad!

Fightin' Dems is their nickname.

But apart from your first sentence, yes, I agree with you!

[RazzleDazzle]

16. Wonder if Stephenson is a willing dupe or a duped dupe?

And how he feels (or would feel if he knew) being either a presstitute or a moran?

[FrenchieCat]

17. He has to know what he's doing......but remember

if you read that first article in the OP....at the end of it,

Stephenson saw no active combat duty.

[RazzleDazzle]

18. But you don't need active combat duty to know Iraq had nothing

but NOTHING to do with 9-11.

[FrenchieCat]

20. My point was that he didn't see the combat....so he can say really

say great things about Iraq and continue on with his Neo-con Bush loving ideology. Had he lost a leg or two, like some have, maybe he wouldn't think that Iraq's going so great!

Sometimes they have to come for you before you see that there is a problem. Seems like they missed his ass!

[Doctor_J]

19. Fightin' Dems need to start repeating some phrases

"Rove's paid liars", "chickenhawk administration", "Armchair warriors", "other priorities"

over and over again.

[TexasLawyer]

24. and Five Deferment Dick

who, sadly, had one of the worst day of his life when he accidentally shot a man. boo hoo. But he's not losing sleep over the crazy war he started.

[FreedomAngel82]

21. Whoo-hoo!

Now this is how you fight!! I love it!

[TexasLawyer]

23. Pretty Boys

I bet that all the servicemen who are doing the sales job for the Iraq War are completely intact physically-- that they still have their faces, legs and arms.

And of course, being alive in the first place is a pre-requisite for doing the ads.

[Festivito]

25. So, we go to a TV gun-fight with Op-ed knife fighting. What's worse...

Worse is that we are handed dirt and stones to throw.
Dirt: Look at who funded them.
Stones: "So this ad is simply not true."

At least use the knives: Answer the POINTS from the attack ad.
Better, use a TV ad gun: Answer the POINTS in a new ad.

Best, get the same troops on camera and ask them again.
That's a rocket fight when they've only brought guns.