The Right Wingnuts' kamikaze strategy
USA Today further rehashes Kerry's pathetic...er...heroism in Vietnam (weird headline typo).
But the story also raises the specter of a Rightwing push to discredit Kerry's character, his service, even his three Purple Hearts.
"...But a few other Vietnam veterans have spread stories -- some of which Thurlow admits are 'hearsay' -- on conservative Web sites.
"Kerry says his war record has become 'a target of right-wing revisionism.' His campaign is considering legal action against what officials call lies and slander spread on the Internet. The accusations range from calling him a 'baby killer' to questioning whether he legitimately earned his Purple Hearts. 'I'm not going to suffer someone on the Internet playing games,' Kerry says. 'They weren't there and don't know what the hell they're talking about.'
"Tedd Peck, who skippered PCF-94 before being wounded and giving way to Kerry, says he 'had a dislike for the man as soon as I met him. He was not a genuine type of guy.' Peck, 60, never went on a mission with Kerry; PCF-94's enlisted sailors compare his leadership style unfavorably to Kerry's. But Peck charges that Kerry 'politicked' for his first Purple Heart after being wounded Dec. 2, 1968."
That's the kind of smart, forward-thinking strategerizin' by conservatives that has us where we are today in Afghanistan and Iraq. Go in and smash up the place, worry about your exposed flank later on.
Raising Kerry's service in Vietnam -- saying he wasn't decisive, that he was a "self-promoter" who left early with just token wounds, that he didn't hang out with the other PCF commanders -- only reminds us that his opponent was using family connections to put him in place to defend Texas against the Mexican airforce.
To quote Mr. Kerry quoting Mr. Bush, "Bring it on."
But the story also raises the specter of a Rightwing push to discredit Kerry's character, his service, even his three Purple Hearts.
"...But a few other Vietnam veterans have spread stories -- some of which Thurlow admits are 'hearsay' -- on conservative Web sites.
"Kerry says his war record has become 'a target of right-wing revisionism.' His campaign is considering legal action against what officials call lies and slander spread on the Internet. The accusations range from calling him a 'baby killer' to questioning whether he legitimately earned his Purple Hearts. 'I'm not going to suffer someone on the Internet playing games,' Kerry says. 'They weren't there and don't know what the hell they're talking about.'
"Tedd Peck, who skippered PCF-94 before being wounded and giving way to Kerry, says he 'had a dislike for the man as soon as I met him. He was not a genuine type of guy.' Peck, 60, never went on a mission with Kerry; PCF-94's enlisted sailors compare his leadership style unfavorably to Kerry's. But Peck charges that Kerry 'politicked' for his first Purple Heart after being wounded Dec. 2, 1968."
That's the kind of smart, forward-thinking strategerizin' by conservatives that has us where we are today in Afghanistan and Iraq. Go in and smash up the place, worry about your exposed flank later on.
Raising Kerry's service in Vietnam -- saying he wasn't decisive, that he was a "self-promoter" who left early with just token wounds, that he didn't hang out with the other PCF commanders -- only reminds us that his opponent was using family connections to put him in place to defend Texas against the Mexican airforce.
To quote Mr. Kerry quoting Mr. Bush, "Bring it on."
posted by John at 5:51 PM
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