SwiftVets.com

[FlyLow]

by Kenneth Baer
http://www.tnr.com/docprint.mhtml?i=express&s=baer081104
Only at TNR Online
Post date: 08.11.04

Thirty-five years ago when his swift boat on patrol in Vietnam was under heavy fire from the shore, John Kerry turned his craft right into the fire, beached the boat, chased down the enemy, and killed him.

Now, Kerry--and his record on that swift boat--is under a different kind of attack. In what may be the most hard-hitting ad to be run in a presidential race since the infamous Willie Horton ad in 1988, a group calling itself Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) has taken to the airwaves in three battleground states with an ad claiming that Kerry lied to get his first Purple Heart and his Bronze Star. In the words of these veterans, Kerry "dishonored this country" and "cannot be trusted."

These ads, along with next week's publication of Unfit to Command, an anti-Kerry book by the senator's longtime nemesis John O'Neil, mark the opening salvo in the right's assault on Kerry's character. In response, the Kerry campaign should do the political equivalent of steering a swift boat into enemy fire: sue SBVT for libel.

Now, any political consultant worth his retainer would say that for any candidate--much less a presidential candidate with a trial lawyer running-mate--to sue his opponents is political suicide. Doing so would magnify the impact of the charges made in the ads, which as of now are only playing in seven small media markets, and keep them in the news for the duration of the campaign. It would also derail the campaign from its message, underscore the litigious history of his vice presidential pick, and open the candidate up to a possibly invasive subpoena.

All of this might happen, and are serious risks to consider. But the Kerry campaign--and a potential Kerry presidency--may not be able to afford to keep silent and allow the right to practice this kind of character assassination with impunity.

To these eyes mercifully saved from law school, it appears that Kerry would have a fairly strong case. As the Supreme Court ruled in New York Times v. Sullivan and in subsequent cases, to prove libel a public figure must show that what was written or said about him was false and that those who said it had "actual malice;" that is that they knew it was false and had reckless disregard for that fact. At this point, we only can assume that the SBVT knew what it was saying was false: One member of the group has already called his participation in the ad a "terrible mistake;" that same veteran and another one in the ad actually defended Kerry from similar charges in his 1996 Senate race; another gave Kerry exemplary ratings as an officer; and none of them have ever initiated official proceedings to challenge the Navy's decision to award Kerry these medals.

More critical to going forward with a case, from what we know about the two central factual claims made in the ad, we can say more definitively that they are false.

First, Medical Officer Lewis Letson states that: "I know John Kerry is lying about his first Purple Heart because I treated him for that injury." Letson offers no proof for his assertion, just details about the dates and places surrounding the injury that are readily available. More damning is that according to official Navy records, Kerry was treated by another medical officer; Letson was not the medical professional who signed Kerry's "sick call sheet."

Second, Gunner's Mate Van O'Dell says that: "John Kerry lied to get his Bronze Star. I know, I was there, I saw what happened." O'Dell did not serve on Kerry's boat, but was on another boat in his division. O'Dell claims to have witnessed the entire incident in which Kerry won his Bronze Star. Yet, his account does not show up in any official Naval documents--from the spot reports filed immediately after the incident that detail damage to two boats, including Kerry's, and Kerry's injury report to the eyewitness accounts of Jim Rassman, the man who Kerry pulled out of the river. Either O'Dell is right, and Rassman, Kerry, and the US Navy are wrong--or O'Dell has a big legal problem on his hands.

But even if Kerry is right, why should he dignify their charges with a lawsuit, and give SBVT a platform from which to repeat its charges over and over again?

The answer is: If Kerry does not pull these right-wing weeds now, they may choke his candidacy--and overrun his presidency.

The SBVT and their allies on the right won't relent in attacking Kerry's character. "You're damn right we're going to keep advertising," Admiral Roy Hoffman, who appeared in the ad, told the Dallas Morning News. And they will keep advertising these attacks because impugning the qualifications of the challenger to be commander-in-chief is the only available strategy for an embattled incumbent. Jimmy Carter did it in 1980, and George H.W. Bush did it in 1992.

Since then, the political atmosphere has gotten only more toxic, and the attacks more ferocious (it still amazes me that President Bush mocks and derides his opponent by name and from a podium with the presidential seal on it). In an environment where the president and his allies believe that he is on a divine mission, the right will stop at nothing to win this race.

That is why if Bush should lose this November, there won't be any honeymoon for Kerry His first few months in office will look like the last years of the Clinton presidency: congressional inquiries, constant talk radio trash-talking, and book deals for anyone with a charge to make. Simply, Kerry can't afford to let the SBVT charges go unanswered if he wants to govern effectively.

I understand that if Kerry does sue SBVT, the case will not be heard, much less completed, before Election Day (William Westmoreland's libel suit against CBS, for example, lasted three years before being settled). But, the lawsuit will send a message that there will be serious repercussions for anyone who wants to fund or appear in an ad that is patently false. Discovery procedures could lift the curtain of anonymity on those funding these ads, potentially compelling them to disclose their financial and political interests and connections. In addition, a lawsuit will have an equally chilling effect on the political consultants who make these ads. Even the largest political ad-makers can't afford costly litigation; from a financial perspective, getting involved with groups like SBVT would be too big a risk no matter a consultant's politics.

Of course, the last thing we need in our political discourse is a chilling of free speech, and I believe deeply that the SBVT or any other organization can call Kerry a big tree-hugging peacenik or claim that he is dishonorable or unfit to be president. Those are opinions--and no matter how inflammatory they may sound or how off-base they may be--they deserve to be heard and debated.

But lies are different, and those that tell them with the intent to distort our politics should be held accountable. In a perfect world, the media would do the job, and the political establishment of both parties would draw some lines. Since President Bush refuses to condemn the SBVT ad and call off these attacks, Kerry may have to take the battle directly to his foes. The risks are huge, but as Kerry discovered more than three decades ago, sometimes the only way to survive an attack is to steer straight into enemy fire.



Kenneth Baer , former Senior Speechwriter to Vice President Al Gore and author of Reinventing Democrats: The Politics of Liberalism from Reagan to Clinton, runs Baer Communications, a Democratic consulting firm.
_________________
EX-Helicopter driver & accomplished liar.
Wars fought, revolutions started, uprisings quelled, revivals organized,
assassinations plotted, governments overthrown, lead gospel singing,
tigers tamed, bars emptied, virgins converted, orgies organized.

[You GottaBeKidding]

1. Look at the source.

2. How do these people expect to have the background to all the things they object to in a 60-second commercial? The documentation, which was provided to the stations, answers those questions.

[Me#1You#10]

[Navy_Navy_Navy]

They're sticking with that sick call sheet pretty tight.

Bet there's a treatment record with Dr. Letson's stamp on it somewhere in the records that Kerry refuses to release.
_________________
~ Echo Juliet ~
Altering course to starboard - On Fire, Keep Clear
Navy woman, Navy wife, Navy mother

[You GottaBeKidding]

Letson was on Hannity this afternoon and explained the whole medical treatment thing.

[BenJaxBchFL]

Yeah these guys infuriate the hell out of me. They keep saying that Elliot made a mistake then fail to say he insists he was misquoted. The left is famous for leaving out key pieces of information.

However, you will never change a person's mind that thinks like that. To them lying is a tool and not a character flaw.

We must stay focused on the people that may have thought Kerry would make a good president but might reconsider after listening to 60 witnesses provide testimony and sworn affidavits that might convince them otherwise.
_________________
The war against terrorism is not that Americans might die rather that we would alter our way of living. If we get to a point where we choose not to go out because of fear, our economy will sink and in the end so will our nation. Vote Bush.

[hanna]

I don't understand what the difference is, in terms of saying things that discredit someone else, between what the swifties are saying about Kerry and what moveon has said about President Bush. Someone enlighten me please.

[You GottaBeKidding]

Hanna,

You're kidding, aren't you?

What the Swifties are saying about Kerry is backed up by documentation.

What moveon.org (and Michael Moore) have said about Bush are lies and innuendoes, backed up by NOTHING.

[sdonions]

The main difference is that the Lamestream media is ignoring and out right saying that the Swifties are liars but they are praising the likes of MoveON and MM. Same ol' Liberal bias that has been going on for a lot of years.

[LewWaters]

I believe what Hanna is getting at is that both sides are firing salvos at each other. Bush has been under attack since he took office. Kerry has been the sweetheart and personally, if not for the war on terrorism right now, I seriously don't believe he would have gotten the nomination.

I laugh when I hear Kerry's pundits screaming for Bush to denounce the SBVT ad, who is screaming for Kerry to denounce Farenheit 911?
_________________
Clark County Conservative

[vet2004]

barf!!

[IMAGE REMOVED BY MODERATOR]

[FireBoss59]

[Scott]

Here's a beautiful response to Baer's article from Beldar: