An old Kerry foe, Houston lawyer back in spotlight

[Judi Lynn]

March 30, 2004, 11:49PM

An old Kerry foe, Houston lawyer back in spotlight
By BENNETT ROTH
Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau


WASHINGTON -- As President Bush plunges into his race against Democrat John Kerry, he might want to get some debating tips from Houston attorney John E. O'Neill.

In 1971, O'Neill squared off against Kerry on the Dick Cavett Show in a 90-minute, televised forum in which the two Vietnam War veterans sparred over the U.S. role in Southeast Asia.

President Nixon and top aide Charles Colson had taken a keen interest in O'Neill as part of their effort to discredit Kerry and the anti-war movement, according to memos and tapes in the National Archives. A clean-cut Naval Academy graduate, O'Neill was viewed by Nixon's team as an effective messenger against Kerry, who was causing the administration headaches as the leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War.
(snip)

But now, O'Neill's past role as a Kerry adversary is in the public spotlight as the news media and others look to the Massachusetts senator's past to gain insight into how he might perform as president. And O'Neill, recovering from an operation in which he donated a kidney to his wife, is preparing for an onslaught of interviews with newspapers and TV networks eager for his impressions of Kerry.
(snip/...)

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/front/2476454
(This may be a free registration required site.)

[Maccagirl]

1. Does he still have his white suit (Dick Cavett Show)?

:evilgrin:

[Dogmudgeon]

2. The old "Political Independent" trick

Prominently highlighted is the talking point that John O'Neill is a "political independent".

Damn! If I meet one more right-wing Republican Neo-Con toady who calls himself a "political independent", I'll have to seriously think about going on an insane killing spree.

The claim of being a "political independent" usually comes right before the offer of "evidence", which usually means opposing the War on Drugs, or having an interest in the Blues.

Fundamentalists have a similar trick. "I'm not religious -- I'm a Christian!" Which means, they are religious, and fanatically so.

If O'Neill wants to tell the truth, he could start with owning up to being a hand-picked and lovingly cultivated mudslinging Special Slime Operative for the CREEP -- the Committee to RE-Elect the President.

So John E. O'Neill has a special appeal to the Neo-Con Hate Machine -- they love cheap irony, and resurrecting the ghosts of the 1960s (and 1970s) will give them the most sublime of all conservative thrills. They get to fight Vietnam and "them dirty Hippies" all over again in an acid-free trip down Memory Lane.

It can only be a matter of days now, before we hear how hippie spittle ran ankle-deep in the streets of America as our surviving Vietnam soldiers returned to mass contempt from the "longhairs".

Except that the Spitting Hippie is a genuine Urban Legend -- just like the Urban Legend of John Kerry's disservice to a generation of returning soldiers who faced far less hippie spit than official Defense Department abuse and neglect.

--bkl
Meanwhile, hard at work defending the State of Texas against the Hoftile Defigns of the Viet Cong Air Force ...

[Judi Lynn]

4. Are you sure the Spitting Hippie is an urban legend?

I've been on message boards, maybe even this one, and read posts from guys SWEARING they are still so steamed because some people SPIT on them, and didn't show any gratitude whatsoever for their sacrifice. I'm sure they were all telling the truth!

Oh, by the way, don't forget Spiro T. Agnew wouldn't want anyone being an "effete snob" around here!

[Dogmudgeon]

5. It's been well-researched

An entire book was written about it, and the author literally could not find a single case of somebody being spat on which was witnessed. If hundreds of returning vets had been spat on, you'd think that at least one or two might have have been spat on in front of their buddies, or have had the disgraceful act photographed. Nope -- not one. The book (I can't recall the name now, but I am pretty sure that Salon covered it, too) came out in the late 1990s, and got a lot of praise for being well-researched.

However, there are literally dozens of photographs of "longhairs" and hippies being spat on.

I grew up in an Army household, and I still feel very protective of soldiers. But the "Spitting Hippy" UL seems to have originated not from returning Vietnam vets, but from armchair generals and proto-Freepers. Most of the Viet vets were abused -- by the VFW, by the Department of Defense, and by the rest of the right-winger power structure which was ashamed of them. Every major proactive organization advocating for returning soldiers was based in the counterculture, especially Viet Vets Against The War, one of John Kerry's organizations.

The area where I grew up was within 10 miles of four military installations; VVAW was very active and helped a lot of returning soldiers when their own military neglected them.

The Right is trying to revise history to hide the fact that they treated Vietnam vets like subhumans, but there are a lot of vets around who remember otherwise. Unfortunately, they tend not to have contacts with high-circulation political talk sheets like Washington Times or National Review.

--bkl

[Judi Lynn]

7. Great posts on this thread, BareKnuckledLiberal

Spitting hippies just never sounded quite right, did it? Another contrivance employed to help fuel the fires of rage against "libruls," or anyone else who would suggest moderation, and forethought as national policy.

[keithyboy]

3. Heard the Nixon tapes on Kerry

Kerry was dangerous because he looked and sounded too much like a "Kennedy."

[mobuto]

6. Debating tips from O'Neill? Oh yes, please

O'Neill accused John Kerry of being a liar, a coward and compared him to Lieutenant Calley, who had been responsible for the massacre at My Lai.

I'd like to see George Bush do that. Accuse Kerry of being a coward. That'll play real well.