SwiftVets.com

[fortdixlover]

I am not sure about the veracity of this story, but here it is:

The Official John Kerry Blog - Archives
Congratulations to Veteran Blogger Bobby Hanafin
http://blog.johnkerry.com/blog/archives/001772.html

[excerpts] This Sunday's New York Times Magazine features a story on John Kerry, "Vet Wars," that includes an interview with our intrepid blogger and forum moderator, Bobby Hanafin. Bobby was an early participant on the blog last fall, and when we opened our Internet Town Meeting forum, Bobby took on the demanding task of moderating the veterans' area of the forum ...

One of the most ardent veterans for Kerry is Bobby Hanafin, whom I visited not long ago at his home in the shadow of Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio. A military man through and through, Hanafin enlisted in the Army when he was just 17 and later spent 17 years as a military intelligence officer in the Air Force, finishing his career with a stint in the Pentagon ...

He suffers from a disability -- ''I'd rather not go into the details,'' he said, ''but suffice it to say it's service-related'' -- that requires him to take 10 medications a day, some of which prevent him from driving. To get to Iowa, he had to have his wife accompany him -- and even then it was a struggle. But for Hanafin, Kerry's surprise victory made the trip well worth the effort. ''When we pulled out of the driveway to go to Iowa, I had a premonition that a miracle was going to happen,'' Hanafin said. ''And I saw one.''

After Iowa, Hanafin decided that he didn't have it in him to make many more campaign trips, so these days he volunteers for Kerry from the comfort of his home. There, using a D.S.L. line the campaign pays for, he moderates the veterans' section of Kerry's Internet forum and ''infiltrates'' other veterans' sites to post pro-Kerry messages. ''You could say I'm John Kerry's secret weapon,'' Hanafin said.

[fortdixlover]

Found story below on the web.

Posters: let's ask Mr. Hanafin if he has "infiltrated" SwiftVets. Email: blhanafin@msn.com .

I suggest cc's to opinionjournal@wsj.com, rush@eibnet.com and other conservative media outlets.


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BOBBY HANAFIN blhanafin@msn.com Message posted on: Sunday, December 28, 2003

LETTER TO VETERANS OF AMES, IOWA AND SURROUNDING AREAS Though intended for Veterans this letter applies to all voters in the Ames area, for it says a lot about the integrity of candidates asking for your vote for President of the United States. My name is Bobby Hanafin, and I am a VETERAN who served six years in the Army and 17 years in the Air Force. I’m driving to Iowa in mid - January to help Veterans for John Kerry - Iowa rally you to our cause. In addition to folks in Iowa who support Kerry, hundreds of us from across the nation are coming. That is how much we back this Vets’ Vet. Why? I will only speak for myself. I am a former Republican who voted party from 1980 until 2000 when I supported George W. Bush. In November 2002, I voted Democrat for the first time since voting for Jimmy Carter in 1976. Also around 2002, I began looking at candidates who could replace Bush in 2004. My main reason for leaving the Republican party was that the Bush administration and Republican leaders in Congress did not keep faith with America’s Veterans. They opposed adequate mandatory funding of the VA system and full Repeal of the Disabled Veterans Tax hoping and praying the American people wouldn’t find out about it nor care. How hypocritical at a time we are at war! So I was looking for information on what any candidate has done and will do for America’s 26+million Veterans. It wasn’t until March 2003 that I found anything on a candidate’s stand on Veterans benefits and related issues or what they had done for Veterans in order to EARN our vote. From March until November 2003 ONLY ONE candidate had a clear record on what he’s done for Vets and a clear plan on what he proposed doing once elected, and that was and has been Senator JOHN KERRY of Massachusetts! This was months BEFORE Senator Kerry even declared he was a candidate. As a Republican turned Independent supporting a Democrat for President, I wasn’t just going to support ANY Democrat, because I was upset with the Bush administration. I had to support one I could respect and believe in. Can you imagine being a Republican in a neighborhood of Republicans, heck in a county of Republicans, who decides to switch parties and passionately support a Democrat? No folks, if I’m going to risk friendships and relations with neighbors - it’s going to be for someone I feel is worth it. Not one candidate including General Wesley Clark had the term VETERAN even listed in their campaign platforms let alone have a record supporting or position on what they would do for our votes compared to John Kerry until around Veterans Day 2003. What does that tell you about their sincerity? In fact, having closely followed each campaign I can honestly say that beginning with General Clark’s, followed by Howard Dean's, each campaign was not only Johnny Come Lately in thinking about us Veterans as an AFTERTHOUGHT. They plagiarized and took John Kerry’s position on Veterans benefits almost word for word. They couldn’t even be original! To you folks out there who are not Vets, what does that tell you about the integrity, sincerity, and reliability of candidates and campaigns who will pander to voters like that in such an insincere manner just to get your vote? If they treat Veteran's benefit issues as an AFTERTHOUGHT then how can WE expect them to have seriously considered the other issues? In my opinion John Kerry is the real deal who has been thinking about the issues - all the issues - important to all Americans way before running for President NOT on the eve of pandering to any voting group. In closing I can only speak for what I believe with all my heart John Kerry will do for America’s 26+million Veterans, and their families. He has fought hard for us in Congress. Don’t believe me just go to the Congressional Record and see how many Veterans Bills Kerry has sponsored and sponsors TODAY! Most important, John Kerry already fights to make funding for the VA system adequate and mandatory based on input from leaders of national Veterans Service Organizations, and he has joined others in Congress in circulating petitions to Repeal the Disabled Veterans Tax for Military Retirees . If John Kerry will go to these lengths for America’s Veterans imagine what good he will do for all the American PEOPLE! Robert L. Hanafin Major, USAF-Retired Veterans for John Kerry - Ohio 3220 Felton Drive Beavercreek, Ohio 45431 (937) 431-8154 (Home & FAX) email: blhanafin@msn.com