None of us believe that you are even remotely "independent". If we were to create a checklist of topics (or idealogical positions), there is no possible way that you stray too far from the left. I find it hard to believe that someone of your advanced years could still be so delusional...
Fiorina Hits the Ball out of the park on this one
- Thread starter wildchild
- Start date
None of us believe that you are even remotely "independent". If we were to create a checklist of topics (or idealogical positions), there is no possible way that you stray too far from the left. I find it hard to believe that someone of your advanced years could still be so delusional...
"The email and Benghazi stuff is pure politics, not substantive, and won't stick if Hillary counterattacks with facts and vigor. [I Think Kerry on the other hand has been a brilliant secretary of State, despite a few early gaffs. The reason the Swift boaters were able to damage him, despite his commendable service record, is because it's against his nature to dirty his hands. He has always wanted to stay above the fray, and that cost him the election. It's not against Hillary's nature, however, to mud wrestle."
No, the reason the Swift Boat attacks hurt him is they had the ring of truth to them. People could see that Kerry was a gigolo who had married two women for money. it was easy to believe he put in for Purple Hearts for scratches that normal soldiers would have ignored, particulalry when guys who served in his unit said so. You gloss over the fact he returned from the war and immediately became a high profile mouthpiece for Hanoi, accusing troops still in harm's way of war crimes.
His performance as Secretary of State is far from great, perhaps not as gargantuan a disaster as hillary's tenure, but short of starting WW III, that would be hard to top. He negotiated a foolish and short-sighted deal when we had enormous leverage, no doubt motivated by the vision of receiving a Nobel prize. The Iranians are not fools, and could see that Obama and Kerry were racing the clock.
No, the reason the Swift Boat attacks hurt him is they had the ring of truth to them. People could see that Kerry was a gigolo who had married two women for money. it was easy to believe he put in for Purple Hearts for scratches that normal soldiers would have ignored, particulalry when guys who served in his unit said so. You gloss over the fact he returned from the war and immediately became a high profile mouthpiece for Hanoi, accusing troops still in harm's way of war crimes.
His performance as Secretary of State is far from great, perhaps not as gargantuan a disaster as hillary's tenure, but short of starting WW III, that would be hard to top. He negotiated a foolish and short-sighted deal when we had enormous leverage, no doubt motivated by the vision of receiving a Nobel prize. The Iranians are not fools, and could see that Obama and Kerry were racing the clock.
That ringing was from the blows you righties took to your heads.
Swiftboating
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
"Swiftboat" redirects here. For the naval vessel, see Fast Patrol Craft.
The term swiftboating (also spelled swift-boating or swift boating) is an American neologism used pejoratively to describe an unfair or untrue political attack. The term is derived from the name of the organization "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" (SBVT, later the Swift Vets and POWs for Truth) because of their widely publicized—and then discredited—campaign against 2004 U.S. Presidential candidate John Kerry.[1][2][3][4]
Since the political smear campaign[2][5][6][7][8] conducted by the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth against John Kerry, the term "swiftboating" has come into common use to refer to a harsh attack by a political opponent that is dishonest, personal, and unfair.[9][10] The Swift Boat Veterans and media pundits objected to this use of the term to define a smear campaign.[11][12]
Contents
Origin and general usage
The term "Swift Boat" itself refers to a class of U.S. Navy vessel used during the Vietnam War. During the 2004 presidential campaign, John Kerry's heroism under fire as a Swift Boat commander in Vietnam was a centerpiece of his campaign.[13] A number of Vietnam veterans who had served on Swift Boats formed a 527 organization called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later renamed Swift Vets and POWs for Truth or SVPT) with the intent of discrediting his military record and attacking his subsequent antiwar activities as a member of Vietnam Veterans Against the War.[9] The group produced a series of television ads and a bestselling book, Unfit for Command.[14] The unsubstantiated charges against Kerry by the SVPT gave rise to the term "swiftboating" as a synonym for "the nastiest of campaign smears",[6] "a slimy political attack",[15] and, for many, "ugly, unprincipled slander".[16][17][18][19][20] As the purpose of a tax-exempt 527 organization is "to focus on the issues" rather than "attack or defend a specific candidate", the SBVT was fined by the Federal Election Commission in 2004 for specifically attacking Kerry instead of focusing on political issues.[11]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Swiftboating
The Clintons are centrist Democrats, which means there will always be some discontent with them in the Dem left wing. Now they're visibly rich centrist Democrats, hooked up with Wall Street, and that doesn't help them either.
Hillary is intelligent and has been around the block for a few decades. She probably has a lot of substance, and might make a good President. However, I don't think she has the politician's gift of making you feel important while looking over your shoulder for the next person to talk to, or the teflon qualities of her husband.
Hillary is intelligent and has been around the block for a few decades. She probably has a lot of substance, and might make a good President. However, I don't think she has the politician's gift of making you feel important while looking over your shoulder for the next person to talk to, or the teflon qualities of her husband.
Or "centrist Democrats" when being a centrist made political sense. It's no longer the 1990's and moderate positions no longer make for good soundbites. If you've heard some of the recent rhetoric coming out of her mouth, it is certainly not "centrist". No, it's more of a perpetuation of the class warfare dynamic, the racial grievance dynamic and the "battle of the sexes".
I do agree that her cozy relationship with Wall Street and the "power structure" is quite an obstacle to overcome when throwing around platitudes and some "socialist slang"...The fact that she has a decent following is simply an indictment on the sorry state of politics and leadership in this country (also see Donald Trump)...
If you are interested in becoming knowledgeable about the Iran Nuclear Deal then may I respectfully suggest you start by listening to an hour long, detailed speech on the agreement by one of the insiders: You can access it here: http://www.c-span.org/video/?327464-2/president-obama-remarks-iran-nuclear-agreement
If you want detailed information about Kerry's military service in Vietnam, then I don't think there is anymore reliable source than the Kerry Biography published by a group of reporters from the Boston Globe who had known Kerry and many of his friends in the Boston Area and had followed his political career closely for many years.
You can access it here. http://www.amazon.com/John-F-Kerry-...39159503&sr=8-1&keywords=John+Kerry+Biography
When you finish that read this: http://www.amazon.com/Unfit-Command...39159503&sr=8-7&keywords=John+Kerry+Biography
Then read the following from one of the reviews of "Unfit for Command-Swift-Boat Veterans Speak out against John Kerry. "
This is Douglas Carpenter's Review of the Swift Boaters Book:
take it from someone who actually was there
By Douglas Carpenter on August 31, 2004
Since I wasn't there, let's take the word of a Republican and retired police officer who actually was. I print below the op-ed article from the Wall Street Journal's opinion page:
Shame on the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush
John Kerry saved my life. Now his heroism is being questioned.
BY JIM RASSMANN
Tuesday, August 10, 2004 12:01 a.m. EDT
I came to know Lt. John Kerry during the spring of 1969. He and his swift boat crew assisted in inserting our Special Forces team and our Chinese Nung soldiers into operational sites in the Cau Mau Peninsula of South Vietnam. I worked with him on many operations and saw firsthand his leadership, courage and decision-making ability under fire.
On March 13, 1969, John Kerry's courage and leadership saved my life.
While returning from a SEA LORDS operation along the Bay Hap River, a mine detonated under another swift boat. Machine-gun fire erupted from both banks of the river, and a second explosion followed moments later. The second blast blew me off John's swift boat, PCF-94, throwing me into the river. Fearing that the other boats would run me over, I swam to the bottom of the river and stayed there as long as I could hold my breath.
When I surfaced, all the swift boats had left, and I was alone taking fire from both banks. To avoid the incoming fire, I repeatedly swam under water as long as I could hold my breath, attempting to make it to the north bank of the river. I thought I would die right there. The odds were against me avoiding the incoming fire and, even if I made it out of the river, I thought I'd be captured and executed. Kerry must have seen me in the water and directed his driver, Del Sandusky, to turn the boat around. Kerry's boat ran up to me in the water, bow on, and I was able to climb up a cargo net to the lip of the deck. But, because I was nearly upside down, I couldn't make it over the edge of the deck. This left me hanging out in the open, a perfect target. John, already wounded by the explosion that threw me off his boat, came out onto the bow, exposing himself to the fire directed at us from the jungle, and pulled me aboard.
For his actions that day, I recommended John for the Silver Star, our country's third highest award for bravery under fire. I learned only this past January that the Navy awarded John the Bronze Star with Combat V for his valor. The citation for this award, signed by the Commander of U.S. Naval Forces, Vietnam, Vice Admiral Elmo Zumwalt, read, "Lieutenant (junior grade) Kerry's calmness, professionalism and great personal courage under fire were in keeping with the highest traditions of the United States Naval Service." To this day I am grateful to John Kerry for saving my life. And to this day I still believe that he deserved the Silver Star for his courage.
It has been many years since I served in Vietnam. I returned home, got married, and spent many years as a deputy sheriff for Los Angeles County. I retired in 1989 as a lieutenant. It has been a long time since I left Vietnam, but I think often of the men who did not come home with us.
I am neither a politician nor an organizer. I am a retired police officer with a passion for orchids. Until January of this year, the only public presentations I made were about my orchid hobby. But in this presidential election, I had to speak out; I had to tell the American people about John Kerry, about his wisdom and courage, about his vision and leadership. I would trust John Kerry with my life, and I would entrust John Kerry with the well-being of our country.
Nobody asked me to join John's campaign. Why would they? I am a Republican, and for more than 30 years I have largely voted for Republicans. I volunteered for his campaign because I have seen John Kerry in the worst of conditions. I know his character. I've witnessed his bravery and leadership under fire. And I truly know he will be a great commander in chief.
Now, 35 years after the fact, some Republican-financed Swift Boat Veterans for Bush are suddenly lying about John Kerry's service in Vietnam; they are calling him a traitor because he spoke out against the Nixon administration's failed policies in Vietnam. Some of these Republican-sponsored veterans are the same ones who spoke out against John at the behest of the Nixon administration in 1971. But this time their attacks are more vicious, their lies cut deep and are directed not just at John Kerry, but at me and each of his crewmates as well. This hate-filled ad asserts that I was not under fire; it questions my words and Navy records. This smear campaign has been launched by people without decency, people who don't understand the bond of those who serve in combat.
As John McCain noted, the television ad aired by these veterans is "dishonest and dishonorable." Sen. McCain called on President Bush to condemn the Swift Boat Veterans for Bush ad. Regrettably, the president has ignored Sen. McCain's advice.
Does this strategy of attacking combat Vietnam veterans sound familiar? In 2000, a similar Republican smear campaign was launched against Sen. McCain. In fact, the very same communications group, Spaeth Communications, that placed ads against John McCain in 2000 is involved in these vicious attacks against John Kerry. Texas Republican donors with close ties to George W. Bush and Karl Rove crafted this "dishonest and dishonorable" ad. Their new charges are false; their stories are fabricated, made up by people who did not serve with Kerry in Vietnam. They insult and defame all of us who served in Vietnam.
But when the noise and fog of their distortions and lies have cleared, a man who volunteered to serve his country, a man who showed up for duty when his country called, a man to whom the United States Navy awarded a Silver Star, a Bronze Star and three Purple Hearts, will stand tall and proud. Ultimately, the American people will judge these Swift Boat Veterans for Bush and their accusations. Americans are tired of smear campaigns against those who volunteered to wear the uniform. Swift Boat Veterans for Bush should hang their heads in shame.
Now, once you have read all of the above material and listened to Obama's one hour speech on the Iran Nuclear Agreement, as I have, you may be entitled to consider yourself somewhat informed on these issues. Get back to us then, and I might pay attention to what you have to say.
Let me add that the above account is only one of several instances where Kerry put his own life on the line for the men serving with him on his Swift Boat.
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Pie, I do like you but your naivete takes my breath away sometimes. The Kerry bio by the Globe reporters was nothing but an extended campaign ad. No different form any of these politcla books that get released just as the subject declares for the presidency i suppose, but hardly serious scholarship.
Frankly, Kerry doesn't interest me. I have said before that he was in considerable danger. I knew a guy who was a Swift boat officer and he told me it was hair raising at times. I thnk what pissed off his detractors is he acted like he was a big hero for doing what they all did every day. Plus, there was his despicable anti-war activity after he returned home.
Frankly, Kerry doesn't interest me. I have said before that he was in considerable danger. I knew a guy who was a Swift boat officer and he told me it was hair raising at times. I thnk what pissed off his detractors is he acted like he was a big hero for doing what they all did every day. Plus, there was his despicable anti-war activity after he returned home.
During the gov't shutdown in 2013, Fiorina sided with Boehner and referred to the tea party as extremists.
http://iotwreport.com/carly-fiorina...ent-against-cruz-in-2013-government-shutdown/
In a candidate comparison of how conservative they are on the issues, she and Yeb Bush are the only two candidates that failed to receive a favorable rating on even one of the eleven issues. Even worse than lindsay graham, who got one favorable rating.
http://iotwreport.com/the-candidates-on-the-issues/
The woman is a rino and there is no getting around it unless you wish to be willfully ignorant about it. If she is president, it will be exactly like having John Boehner as president. Or worse.
http://iotwreport.com/carly-fiorina...ent-against-cruz-in-2013-government-shutdown/
In a candidate comparison of how conservative they are on the issues, she and Yeb Bush are the only two candidates that failed to receive a favorable rating on even one of the eleven issues. Even worse than lindsay graham, who got one favorable rating.
http://iotwreport.com/the-candidates-on-the-issues/
The woman is a rino and there is no getting around it unless you wish to be willfully ignorant about it. If she is president, it will be exactly like having John Boehner as president. Or worse.
This was the extended campaign:
"Swift Boats formed a 527 organization called Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later renamed Swift Vets and POWs for Truth or SVPT) with the intent of discrediting his military record and attacking his subsequent antiwar activities..."
They got fined for that.
