Swift boaters not too swift

You remember the Swift-boaters, those nasty assholes who plastered the country with advertising smearing John Kerry back during the 2004 elections. They're still around and we can expect more of the same between now and November.

The 2004 nasties did not include all of those who served in Vietnam on Swift boats. In fact, about 3,600 men served on about 110 Swift boats. It was fearsome work and very dangerous. "They conducted some of the most harrowing missions of the war."

The Swift boats, also called Patrol Craft Fast, were made of aluminum, and were 50 feet long. They carried one officer, five enlisted men and a Vietnamese interpreter. Because of their size, they could maneuver the shallow waters of the Vietnamese rivers and their job was to attack the North Vietnamese as they filled their own craft with arms and other supplies.

John Scholl, a Swift boat officer from May of 1968 to May of 1969, said "The bad guys shot you on the way up the river, and they knew you had to come back down."


Today because of the 200 who signed the letter that formed the basis for the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004 the rest of the Swift boat veterans feel they are being castigated for the actions of the few. William Miller served on a Swift boat and he's upset. "I'm proud of what I did, and all the guys I was with. Now somebody says 'Swift boat,' and it's a whole different meaning. They don't associate it with the guys we lost. That's a shame."

Well, it's also a shame that the 200 signed the letter, and fabricated lies about Senator Kerry! It's interesting to note that recently a group of vets who served with Kerry "took up the challenge by T. Boone Pickens, the billionaire Texas oilman who helped finance the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth in 2004, that he would give a million dollars to anyone who could disprove anything in the group's campaign against Kerry."

Almost all of the accusations against Kerry have been disproven by Navy documents. Swift boat veterans also amassed other materials and other records which disproved the lies of the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth. Not surprisingly, the snaky T. Boone Pickens has refused to pay.

What I would say to those 3,200 Swift boaters who were not directly involved in the smear of Kerry, is that it's too damn late to get your good name back. Where were you in 2004? How many of you stood up and denounced the 200 back-stabbers who should have been called "Swift Boat Liars for Bush"?


Enter John McCain, our "hero." It is reported that four years ago, McCain denounced the Swift Boaters for Truth and their sleazy ads. He called the ads "dishonest and dishonorable."

Now, McCain has accepted $70,000 in donations from the top backers of Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (later known as SwiftVets and POWS for Truth).

Well, why not? McCain, as we know, will do and say anything to get elected! A campaign spokesman for McCain wrote in an e-mail "that McCain accepted the money because the donors are 'interested in supporting (his) agenda of reform, prosperity and peace.'"

Wow, what logic! Let's extend that out. Let's say that Osama bin Laden, believing in McCain's "agenda of reform, prosperity and peace," sent old John a million dollars. That would be just fine! No problemo. Thanks Osama!

And who are these upstanding citizens who tried to destroy the reputation of a true Vietnam hero, Senator John Kerry?

One is an ultra-right Repugnican, a Texas builder by name of Bob Perry. In 2004, he gave almost $4.5 million buckaroos to the Swift boaters. Another is Sam Fox, named by Bush last year to be the U.S. ambassador to Belgium. Fox gave the Swift boat liars $50,000 in 2004. I guess the ambassadorship to Belgium is the least Bush could do for old foxy Fox. An interesting sidelight is that the Senate Foreign Relations Committee intended to reject Fox's appointment to Belgium, but Bush outfoxed the committee by naming Fox using a recess appointment.

Another of McCain's current donors is Aubrey McClendon, from Oklahoma City, an "energy" guy like Mr. Bush. He gave the Swift boaters a quarter of a million dollars in 2004. McClendon, even more foxy than Fox, donated $2,300 to McCain and Obama this year. And he says he doesn't know who he's going to support. I'll give you one guess.

And finally, McCain, not too swift and not too foxy, included a retired Air Force colonel by name of Bud Day in a conference call with reporters to defend McCain's military service. Day appeared in the 2004 Swift boat ads.

Oops!