Oh no, a Dem with a Smear vet minded hubby

[LittleClarkie]

I should wade in there and offer a rebuttal, but I'm having trouble.

Over on one of the other boards, I described my progression from unenthusiasm to intense loyalty for John Kerry. Enter wife of vet. Oye. I can't stand it. I just can't stand it. Not the "why didn't he sign over his medical records" again. Not the "hate him for what he said about Vietnam veterans" again.

To me, he and Joseph Darby, the whistleblower from Abu Ghraib, are just alike. They did their duty. And the kind of treatment that Kerry described the veterans as getting when they got home reminds me of how we've treated the soldiers of Abu Ghraib, which is to say they were acting alone and thereby cut them loose in space. Nevermind the accountability of their officers. So much of that situation illustrates for me what Kerry was saying so long ago. I wish more could see the connection.

[angrydemocrat]

1. These People Make Me Sick!

They need to get a damn life and get the hell over. Because the same sorry ass people that run their mouth about Kerry sure as hell sit back and enjoy all the damn benefits that he has fought for to make sure even asswipes like themselves are not left out or forgotten about. This man has helped these people in more ways than one and more times than one and the sit on their asses and get the benefits and yet they still run their damn mouth and say nasty remarks about him. Hell he's a better man than ant of them will ever be for the simple reasons he thinks of others not only himself, he fights for other veterans to make sure they get the best of everything, and he sure as hell don't sit back and smear another man for his service to his country. So I say fuck these people may they all rot in hell!

[TayTay]

2. Funny how some people react to this

I pass by monuments everyday to people who said they weren't going to take it anymore and did something about it. Course, those were the Founding Fathers of our nation and authors of our Bill of Rights and Constitution, but I digress.

There is no more American a thing to do than to stand up and say something is wrong. Citizen protest founded this nation, that is why we have the rights we have today. Somebody got good and pissed off at what they saw as an invasion of their liberties by a foreign and unresponsive government and did something about it. The feint about records is a ridiculous lie, as is the notion that you can't protest a war while it is going on. (Exactly when do you protest an action you perceive as wrong, after it's over?)

Bullshit, stated multiple times, is just that much more bullshit. Thanks for sticking up for us LittleClarkie, you are truly standing in the light.

[angrydemocrat]

4. What Is Sad Is We Have Another

Vietnam happening in Iraq right now. I wonder if these assholes are going to treat our veterans from this war the way they have those from Vietnam like Kerry. Because sooner or later I believe you will see this war become protested by veterans and their families just as we seen then. I honestly believe this is truly going to be a rerun of what happen then, and are these asswipes going to treat our current men and women in uniform as they did and still do those that were in Vietnam? Like I said these people that sit back and criticize men and women who serve their country make me sick. Because was it not for people like them fighting for our rights in this country assholes like them wouldn't have a pot to piss in.

[TayTay]

6. Already happening

I am a nut about tracking this. There is an organization called Iraq Veterans Against the War. Check them out here: http://www.ivaw.net/

Also, check out Operation Truth (as mentioned frequently on AAR)
http://www.optruth.org/main.cfm

These guys will have it even harder than Kerry did. (If that doesn't freeze your blood I don't know what will.) Kerry did the Dewey Canyon III march when Dems firmly controlled Congress and he could get an invite to speak. (As shown in Going UPRiver.) These guys face nothing but hostility from all branches of government. They need support, media attention and prayers. I believe these brave people will be represented at the CounterInaugurals in DC on Jan 20th.

[angrydemocrat]

7. It Is Just Sad That Anyone That Is Willing To Put There Life

On the line for their country would ever have to face any of this shit. I pisses me off so bad to see people put others down or slander them when they served their country to protect the rights they enjoy everyday. I get so damn mad I could scream. I feel for these men but I will bet you one thing Kerry will stand up for them. I know he would. He knows what the hell these men are going through.

[JohnKleeb]

9. Yeah Senator Fulbright invited John to speak as I remember reading

I hope a Kerry like figure emerges from Iraq to tell the public the truth. These people in Iraq are my brothers and sisters, around my age and the like. God, I hope they have someone like Kerry among them, and I think they probably will. I am going to the Counter-Inagural on Jan 20th.

[Withywindle]

3. Why are so many alleged Democrats

..so susceptible to right-wing smearing, lying BULLSHIT when it comes to Kerry?

Why do I hear the same old crap showing up HERE of all places, again and again? It's not that I think everyone should agree with Kerry and think everything he does is great all the time. But I don't want to hear people claiming to be with us repeating this vicious shit.

Especially when Iraq's new generation of Winter Soldiers are going to be needing all the support they can get as they tell their truths. Buying into the lies about a brave man who stood up 30+ years ago sends a message to THEM that their stories don't count either, and will be used against them too. It makes me FURIOUS, but I expect it from the RW. I expect better from Dems.

[angrydemocrat]

5. I With You On That One

You expect garbage like that from freeptards but when someone claims to be a democrat and says shit like that it as Tom Harkin said "MAKES MY BLOOD BOIL!" I find it hard to believe that they are true democrats when they talk this shit. Because a true democrat doesn't talk that way.

[TayTay]

8. This is what Dems are up against

This is where the Deaniacs fall down in their argument that Dean would have run a better General Election. So much of the Republican Noise Machine is geared to smearing with outright lies anyone that stands up to oppose them. RW thugs know that these are lies. Doesn't matter to them. Only the length of the smear and how much media attention it gets matter. Ethics are a quaintness they regard as laughable.

This type of unethical nastiness can be fought, but we have to recognize it, organize against it (as web people organized against Sinclair showing the Kerry lies-fest on their wholly-owned subsidiary stations.) We are, obviously, not there yet. When a smear hapens, it must be fought. We need unified talking points so that everyone who responds is singing the same song. This repetition is what drives home the point to casual viewers. Without a concerted, smart effort, the casual viewer sees the lie, doesn't see the rebuttal and believes the lies (almost subliminally.)

We have work to do as Democrats. We cannot allow good people to be smeared by unethical bastards who regard truth, service to country and decency as vulnerabilities. This is why I am still interested in Dems and politics and listening to other people's opinions on DU and so forth. We have to find a way to rebutt these despicable falsehoods and learn to defend. (Another post, another day, we have to learn good offense too. We tend to be a little wonky in that regard and we need a stronger offense.)

[LittleClarkie]

11. Well, I managed to eke out a reply to her

Never thought I'd still be doing this after the election, and to a Dem, no less...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=132&topic_id=1465938&mesg_id=1468999

There she be. Not my best work, but I don't think I'm going to sway her anyway.

[CBHagman]

10. My new mantra.

They did it to McCain in 2000, they did it to Kerry in 2004, and they'll do it to Hagel in 2008.

"They" being the Karl Rove type of Republican who glories in choosing a candidate's strong points and then repeatedly smears the guy over precisely that aspect of his life. Charlie Peters talked about this.

I don't buy the David Broder notion about fighting the Vietnam War all over again. What was done to Kerry was about winning Bush a second term, not about sincere disagreements.

Yes, I know many people DID sincerely disagree over the Vietnam War. That doesn't change the fact that John O'Neill was recruited by the Nixon White House for the same purpose he served this last time.

May these people deserve what they get and get what they deserve.