Rollingstone says Democrats have been afraid to stand up against swiftboating!

[ray of light]

and that's exactly what we've been saying for years!

In an interview with Obama, they question Obama about being swiftboated. And Rollingstone says (approximately), "In the past the Democratic Party has been afraid to stand up for the person being swiftboated." And they comment on how the DNC WAS NOT there for John Kerry to protect him because they were afraid to be smeared by Rove and because they're afraid of being called "unpatriotic" (etc.) And remember the way the media and Republicans smeared Al Gore in 2000?...(I heard this quote on CNN Reliable Sources just a few minutes ago.)

Could Rollingstone be right?

In 2000, Did you see Terry McAuliffe (the head of the DNC), Bill Clinton, or the DNC standing up to defend Al Gore against those smears? (You know which ones I mean!)

They are exactly right about this!

Right now, John Kerry has been the one CONSISTENTLY defending ALL DEMOCRATIC CANDIDATES against swiftboating!

He's defended Obama against swiftboating.

Sen. John Kerry reached out to veterans here on Barack Obama's behalf Saturday, saying he believes Obama is more prepared to be commander in chief than Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were when they took office.

Kerry told the crowd he did not think Obama would be victimized by GOP attacks the way he was in 2004 by the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." Kerry took responsibility for not fighting the Swift Boat assaults more effectively, but he said advisors, including Bill Clinton, suggested he not defend himself aggressively.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/04/05/john-kerry-obama-wont-be_n_95261.html

He defended Hillary Clinton

At first blush they seemed like a surprising couple: Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton and Senator John Kerry, teaming up last month to defend Mrs. Clinton from Pentagon criticism over the Iraq war – criticism that had a Swift-Boat-style ring to it, her campaign believed, of questioning her patriotism.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/20148970/

He defended John Murtha in 2005 when Murtha came out against the war.

...coming to the aid of fellow Democrats who find themselves in similar predicaments.

In the fall of 2005, for example, Kerry was among the first to defend Murtha, a Pennsylvania Democrat and decorated former Marine Corps officer, against right-wing attacks following Murtha's vociferous opposition to the Iraq war. Kerry took the Senate floor to defend Murtha, a fellow Vietnam veteran, and took part in grass-roots efforts to highlight Murtha's courageous military service.

A year later, Kerry stood up for Patrick Murphy, an Iraq war veteran trying to unseat Representative Michael Fitzpatrick in the Philadelphia suburbs. Fitzpatrick had enlisted military veterans to attack Murphy's service record; Murphy won the election.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/01/24/swift_boated_once_kerry_now_helms_democrats_armada/

He defended Patrick Murphy against swiftboating.

I won’t stand for the “swift boating” of Patrick Murphy. It disgusts me that a congressman who has never worn the uniform of our country stands there in silence as a veteran home from Iraq has his service disparaged. . . . What is it these Republicans who never served have against Democrats who did? . . . .

You know why Mike Fitzpatrick is engaged in the lowest form of smear and fear politics? Because he’s afraid of actually debating Patrick Murphy about the disastrous war in Iraq. He’s afraid to debate a veteran who lives and breathes the concerns of our troops, not the empty slogans of an Administration that sent our brave troops to war without body armor. He’s terrified of actually leveling with the American people about the way the administration misled America into war, and admitting their stay the course slogans just guarantee more Americans die for a stand still and lose strategy. http://liberalvaluesblog.com/?m=200610

He's defended Joe Sestack

On Thursday, former Vice Admiral Joe Sestak, the Democratic candidate in Pennsylvania’s 7th Congressional District, and Senator John Kerry, a fellow Navy veteran and Democratic Presidential candidate, joined fellow veterans to denounce shameless swiftboat attacks from Curt Weldon.

He's defended Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi, Tammy Duckworth, and more.

Yesterday, I sent out an email to Barack Obama's email community urging people to fight against the vicious smears from the modern conservative movement (they began in a right wing magazine) that have been bouncing around the Internet for months. I'll reprint it below, but first I want to mention one thing.

I'm supporting Barack Obama because I think he's the right person for this moment, but I have -- and I will -- condemn and fight against these kinds of smears no matter who is the target.

In the last few years, I've defended Jack Murtha, Patrick Murphy, Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid, and others (including a candidate in a state house race in New Jersey) from the smears of the right-wing, and I'll defend many more patriots in the months ahead.

I'll defend the nominee of our party, no matter who it is, and I'll defend people like Mark Udall in a Senate race in Colorado, or Jon Powers in a House race in central New York, or state house candidates across the country.

The right-wing has nothing to offer but fear and smears, and they are gearing up to deliver plenty of it. Already we hear of a conservative group with ties to the Bush White House -- Freedom's Watch -- that plans to spend a quarter of a billion dollars on this election. I think we all know enough about how the right-wing operates to know that this money won't go to helping voters make informed choices. That money will go to smearing candidates across America, up and down the ballot.

And right now, the most egregious right-wing smears are being spread about Barack Obama. Make no mistake, they'll spread them about any candidate we have, but they have some catch-up to do on Barack, so they are pushing out the most despicable lies. I couldn't stand by while that happened...

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/john-kerry/swiftboating_b_82928.html
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/ari-melber/kerry-bashes-swiftboating_b_82756.html

Thank you John Kerry for taking a stand against swiftboating for the benefit of our Democratic candidates. Thank you for your strong leadership against the rampant swiftboating of our candidates. And thank you for taking care of us by taking care of those ugly-evil liars out there!

Clearly the neoCONS are gearing up to spread more lies via email, more lies via the blogs, and more lies, spin, and innuendo via the complicit media.

Thank you John Kerry for your strong leadership. I hope that all Democrats will join you in fighting the smears! Because we need ALL HANDS ON DECK!

[elizfeelinggreat]

1. k & r

[ray of light]

27. thanks for the early k and r!

[globalvillage]

2. Important post, Ray of Light

We need ALL Dems to speak out when one of our own is swiftboated.
In unison. All together now!

[ray of light]

14. All dems should be on board!

[Warpy]

3. Kerry is still playing defense when he needs to start playing offense

If he had gone after those bastards for libel when their book came out, they would not be a problem today.

At least Obama is smart enough to answer them quickly instead of running everything past a DLC focus group to make sure his sentences are parsed to be as inoffensive as possible.

Obama seems to know you have to hit back immediately, not just hope they get bored and go away. They won't.

[ray of light]

5. Actually, Obama has Kerry protecting him. It's been very clear that John Kerry has influenced how

Obama has responded. And John Kerry has clearly made a huge postive difference for Obama, Sestack, Murphy, Murtha, Reid etc.

Personally, I think Kerry deserves credit for acting upon knew knowledge and by using that knowledge to help the party at large.

[politicasista]

19. Nah. The bashers never like...

giving him credit or kudos. It ruins their "he didn't fight back, played nice" talk :sarcasm: never mind the effective surrogate work Kerry is doing for Obama.


edit to say excellent thread and post. :hi:

[0rganism]

13. you do understand that libel of a "public figure" is nearly impossible to prove, right?

With an ordinary libel case against a private citizen, yes, it would have been a viable response. You just have to show real damages from an incorrect source.

For a public figure, of which presidential candidates tend to be prime examples, Kerry'd have to prove malicious intent to harm through deception. That's much harder when the SBVFT could just point fingers around in a circle, claiming it was their obligation to inform the public of something they'd heard from the next guy over, or even an anonymous internet rumor. All they have to do is claim, "We believed it at the time," and the whole case dissolves like a snowflake in summer.

[Warpy]

15. I understand that malice has to be proven

which is a piece of cake, given O'Neill's many public statements. I also understand it's easier to prove in the UK, where Regenery also released that pile of rubbish.

Still, it's the suit that makes the difference, not winning it. It's costing the opposition enough money to force them to reconsider the next time.

That's really what it's all about. Winning the suit would have iced the cake. However, just bringing it would have put the not so Swifties out of business.

[EFerrari]

17. John Kerry has been walking point for Obama and doing a damn fine job. n/t

[electropop]

32. I think Obama is now in bed with the DLC.

One of his main surrogates is Rahm Emmanuel - saw him yesterday on George Snuffleuppagus's show. And look at his apalling FISA/Telco cave-in.

[Mass]

4. Sad reality, even if some prefer to ignore it because it does not fit with the meme they swallowed

from the mass media.

Also, it may not be a surprise that Democrats are more responsive with Dean at the head of the DNC. He was one of the few Dems who actually defended Kerry rather than criticizing him during the campaign.

[ray of light]

11. True. And John Kerry helped Dean get off on the right foot when he took over the DNC by

donating money to the DNC so that they could start the 2006 election year in the black instead of in the red.

Many people don't know that.

[blm]

29. All the primary candidates in 2003-4 saw firsthand how much party infrastructure had collapsed

in so many states all over the country. It was no surprise to me that Kerry jumped to help Dean start a new DNC strategy fight to rebuild the party in those states long neglected by previous Dem party stewards.

[tom_paine]

6. K & R for Kerry. n/t

[ray of light]

7. K and R for fighting those swiftboat lies too AND hoping that ALL Dems take the hint from Kerry

We MUST UNIFY and FIGHT THE SMEARS!

[tom_paine]

8. Goddamned straight!

:toast:

[ray of light]

12. yep!

[Triana]

9. YES. Thanks to John Kerry...

..for admitting he'd made a costly mistake and for doing all he can to make sure our other candidates don't make the same one - and for standing up for them against the lies and smears! It takes integrity and courage to admit a mistake - and further, to make sure others don't make the same one you did.

:patriot: Kerry took care of his compatriots in 'Nam, and he's taking care of them now, too.

[ray of light]

10. His compatriots still stick with him. That tells something about Kerry's integrity.

And I wonder how many people from Bush's Yale-coke addicted days would say and do the same?

[justgamma]

23. When Shrub's service was being questioned

look at all the people who served with him that came out to defend him.

:sarcasm:

Seems nobody remembered the SOB that wasn't there. :rofl:

[ray of light]

25. Exactly!

[blm]

33. When Bush's service was questioned corpmedia targeted Dan Rather for a takedown

because their priority was protecting Bush for the favorable FCC rulings they expected from Bush's second term.

[EFerrari]

16. John Kerry has been excellent, the very best of them all.

And this is what I mean by saying too bad John Kerry didn't have a John Kerry to watch his back. My respect for him just grows every day.

[ray of light]

21. "Too bad John Kerry didn't have a John Kerry to watch his back"

Said just perfectly! Our own country has been hurt by that simple statement.

[McCamy Taylor]

18. All true. Dems are afraid of the voters so they run from scandal.

That is why we recently let one of our own be taken down over a consensual sex scandal and yet the GOP still has a man who assaulted another man in a public restroom in the Senate.

[ray of light]

24. GOP doesn't care about WHO they hurt. BUT they're bullies and we need dems who will

stand up to those bullies!

[RB TexLa]

20. It's long past time we stop whining and start swiftboating our opponents

Thankfully some of it has begun against McCain.

[ray of light]

22. I hope that all Democrats will join you in fighting the smears! Because we need ALL HANDS ON DECK!

Um...yep. Looks like we agree!

[BlueManDude]

26. Thank you RG - you don't defend against this stuff - you swiftboat your foe.

[blm]

28. You assume that corpmedia would let a Dem get away with deliberate lie campaigns the way

they did with the swifts for Bush. Do you not recall that Dan Rather has stated clearly in his interviews about his lawsuit last year that corporate media needed to protect Bush during that time for the favorable FCC rulings they needed and expected from a Bush second term.

Go to DU's research forum and read the data on the swifts AS IT HAPPENED and the complicity of the media is blatant.

What makes you believe that corporate media would enable any Democratic campaign to launch a campaign lie that big against any Republican?

[ray of light]

30. Excellent point!

[BlueManDude]

31. This is true, particulalrly with St John McCain as the target.

[ray of light]

34. It's the "Protect McBush Club" n/t