SwiftVets.com

[NYCnative]

I had voted for Clinton and then Gore. I didn't follow politics as much back then and didn't know much about Bush. I always felt containment was a disaster waiting to happen. I felt daddy Bush should have taken Saddam out back then. During the Clinton years he and his entire party spoke about the threats of Saddam. They are the ones who signed into US policy the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998.

In 1993 I helped in the evacuation of the 1st WTC bombing. At first we thought it was a transformer explosion, until the Feds showed up. That's when I knew we were working under the assumption a secondary device going off was a reality. I felt my country was doing everything it could to keep us safe. After 9-11 I found out how wrong I was. You can't blame one person, many people dropped the ball. It was known at the time one of the operatives had gone back to live in Baghdad, but we all went on with our lives living under a false sense of security.

When the Clinton Admin passed the Iraq Liberation Act, in it lists all the reasons why "regime change" was necessary in Iraq. The one thing I can never forgive the Liberal Democrat Leadership for was the way they seperated the Iraq war from the war on terror. It was at that point I lost any respect I had for any of them.. It was their party that recognized the threat, it was their party that when "stockpiles" of WMD weren't found turned it into an unjust war.. It hurt the country in our efforts in fighting the war in the Middle East. It gave aid and comfort to the enemy. It's one thing when the public accuses the President of being illegitimate and like Hitler, but when our elected officials decide to go down that road, it borders on treason.. With all we know about how France and Germany undermined our efforts and was on the take, how could Kerry want to be a part of that crowd? He wanted to build his own coalition, and called the one we have "the bribed and coherced". What the hell is wrong with that Party? I will never give them my support again. Even though I do not agree with everything Bush is about, I will not vote Democrat until that day real patriots take it back. I agree with Bush on 3 things. The war on Terror, is the biggest. The Patriot Act and lower taxes...

I'm happy Kerry didn't win, not only for what he did in the past but what he did today. Do you realize if he won, not only the Kerry supporters would be celebrating, our enemies would be handing out candy to their children and giving praise to Allah for Bush's defeat. It is much bigger than Kerry that he lose.. We all would have lost in bigger ways than we could even imagine today...

Thank you Vets, and thank you America..
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"From time to time, the tree of liberty must be watered with the blood of tyrants and patriots." -- Thomas Jefferson

"Proclaim Liberty throughout All the land unto All the Inhabitants Thereof." -Inscription on the Liberty Bell

[MACVJOE]

We as Vets always put country first. As a Vet who has suffered since that day in DC, 3 days after the metal toss, when I was spit on and called a Fxxking Baby Killer while in uniform. I felt disgraced wearing my uniform. For years I tried to overcome the shame of being a Vietnam Vet. Although our military achieved success under Regean and Bush one and two. We as Vietnam Vets were always accociated with the description of us from the 1971 Kerry testominty to the Senate. Over the years I 'blocked' out that time of my life. Then come Kerry, and all those bad feeling started again. Then hot on his heals the Swift Boat Vets. In the SBV I found the courage to open up and start some old healing. I was able for the FIRST time to visit the WALL. It was amazing the strength I received from that visit. For that THANK YOU.
While I am a Bush supporter, I understood the mission of this group, and knew mission comes first. As a former Southern Democrat, I hope those Democrat SBV can help their party come back to where it belongs.
Because of what all of us and thousands of others have done, I know feel pround of being a Viet Nam Vet. NOW.
I can say that at 1400 hrs today when Kerry spoke, I felt the same strength I did on my visit to the WALL.
This Mission Accomplished.
_________________
Retired 86 Army
MACV Upper Delta 68-69

[Mary Ann Parker]

There has been so much research, opinion, supposition, advocacy, venting, worrying, opining, bloviating,preaching and praying in our forums.

Diverse dialogue is healthy. Civil and passoniate disagreement is also healthy.

Adversity has its place, cooperation has its place.

All of it has been made possible by the Grace of God and the precious blood, sweat and tears of our soldiers.

Some paid the ultimate price. Almost all of them would have. They have
gifted us with a debt that we cannot repay!

It is called freedom! Freedom to disagree, to fail, to try again, to grasp the very best that a free society has to offer.

We are our brother's keeper. We are the keepers of the flame of hope and freedom; of love and compassion. We should be fearless in our pursuit of good thoughts and good deeds.

Ultimately we can absorb the mistakes, miscues, misplaced motives etc.
But we can never compensate for failing to protect, value and appreciate what is priceless. The gift of our freedom by our warrriors.

Let us never forget. Whatever our political persuasion we can keep the things of value. Most people realize the price these wonderful men and women have paid, but many miss the value of their priceless gift.

My biggest complaint against John F. Kerry is that he does NOT!!!

My grandmother always said, "when two people are exactly alike, one of them is unecessary"!

You can only love in direct proportion of your ability to forgive.

Let's move forward toward our goal in lock step with each other in order to honor the pain and price that was paid for the privilege to do so.
Thank you again Swiftees for putting us first again!!

I love you all.
Mary Ann Parker

[MJB]

I am a staunch Repblican, and knew I would be voting for Bush. But, when I first heard about the Swift Vets, and started doing some research, I was appalled.

As a former military officer, the concept that Kerry's entire chain of command was against was quite damming - as was the disdain of most of his fellow junior officers.

He's unfit to hold any postion of responsibility, and the American public needs to know the broader impact of his actions in shaping the common perceptions of Vietnam Vets.

Having said that, the Democratic Party needs to take a long, hard, sober look in the mirror. We need a strong 2-party system to help govern our country, and the Dems are an integral part of that system. I thought they would take important steps of self-reflection after the Clinton debacle - but clearly not.

Perhaps liberal-leaning members of this board may be able to make a difference in their local and state races, working to support more centrist Democratic candidates and political activities.

We have found common ground with each other on this board - may our country's larger political life start to reflect that respect, courtesy and dedication to larger interests over personal concerns we've found here.
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MJB
USAF '85-'92

[RMalloy]

Am an Independent, not a perfectionist nor party loyalist. Am loyal
to the United States of America, not the United Nations. Am proud
to be an American. When I first starting hearing whispers from the
left about the 2000 election being stolen, that Bush was Hitler, that
we would be better off under the UN I started paying attention.

When the DNC chose John Kerry, for whatever reason, it doesn't matter,
I was incredulous. You may not like Bush, but the man loves this
country and the men and women who fight to keep us going. John
Kerry has never, ever, sat down and spoke to the men who served
in Vietnam. No apologies, no regrets. John Kerry should have been
arrested in 1970 for meeting with the enemy.

If the Democratic Party wants to get my vote they need to establish
some guidelines as to what constitutes a person of charactor and
a record of doing something, anything, that shows they would be
able to lead our country. I am pro-choice, I wouldn't stand in the
way of gay marriage. But when our country and it's citizen's are
under the very real threat of terrorists who want us dead, I look
for a leader who is firm, a leader that sends the message to those
thugs that we are not going to cave but come and get them, where ever
they are.

Swiftvets, God Bless You and the other Veterans who served in
Vietnam. Thank you for standing up to John Kerry and his vicious
attack minions and the disgusting MSM. You never wavered, you
are my heroes, for now, and forever..........

[shadowy]

I happily voted for Clinton in '92. By '96 I couldn't bring myself to do it again. That man lied under oath in court, then looked me right in the eye on national television and lied some more, telling me to believe him. I took that personally. My president lied to my face, and worse, perjured himself under oath. Why the Democrats in general made excuses for that, and why they preferred to sweep that under an already lumpy rug, was beyond me. But gradually it has become apparent that for too many, clinging to power is something they will do at all, and I mean all, cost.

So it's not too surprising that things went quickly downhill for the Dems once they made the decision that power trumps honor and integrity. It is still shocking to me how their candidate this year was such a clear invitation to confirm the decision to sell the soul of the Democratic party, and how they still couldn't resist. I don't see a future for the party as it has devolved. Hatred isn't a foundation for anything but self-destruction. There will have to be a housecleaning and reorganization, as I see it. They need to detatch the loony left, and when they do, they will have to offer something better to attract sane people. But the Democratic party we've known in recent years is as good as dead.

[Wing Wiper]

A lot of the people here may not "like" Bush, but the one thing we have in common is that we like him better than Kerry. If the Democrats had run an actual human being, they may have gotten my vote, too. It's very dangerous to see someone like John Kerry make it that far in our political system, it brings up the future spectre of Stalin vs. Hitler. We must be very careful, the ******** seem to have a way to rise to the top now.

[Anker-Klanker]

Democracy and politics are kind of like the receipe for lemonade. Lemonade has fundamentally three ingredients: tasteless water, sugar and lemon juice. Get the sugar and lemon juice out of proportion and - yuck - it's no longer a delicious, refreshing drink. But we can tolerate imbalances within some reason.

But then drop a frog (Kerry), or worse, in the mix, and the whole thing is spoiled.

I know, that's kind of corn-pone hokey, but it might help to explain things to the kids.

[fb274]

[quote="NYCnative"]I had voted for Clinton and then Gore. I didn't follow politics as much back then and didn't know much about Bush. I always felt containment was a disaster waiting to happen. I felt daddy Bush should have taken Saddam out back then. During the Clinton years he and his entire party spoke about the threats of Saddam. They are the ones who signed into US policy the Iraq Liberation Act in 1998. .........

I recall hearing the reason Saddam was not removed in 1991 was that the coalition and UN did not want his capture or killing and was only to drive him out of Kuwait (sp?).........even tho the US wanted more......info from nephew who was sq. commander of warthogs flying over the Kurdish area after the end of war.

[tiptie]

I could be dead wrong but looking from my perspective, the parties moved and I stayed pretty constant in my core beliefs.

I was raised in a very old Democratic family. I was really young and therefore behind Stevenson in 1956 but I was too young to vote. My first vote went to Kennedy. Then Johnson. But, things seemed to change with Eugene McCarthy.

He was very anti-war and I thought we were doing what needed to be done over there in Vietnam. The party was moving left and I voted for Nixon. I voted again for Nixon because McGovern was too far left.

Then came Ford/Carter. At first I liked Carter, he seemed like a good man. However, I voted for Ford. Carter was a big disappointment for me.

The Democratic Party never came back to the center for me. While I disagreed, and still do, with some of the agendas of the Republicans, I found them more in my basic position, which I feel I have not changed since 1960.

There are parts of my party, I now call it my party, which I am 180 degrees out of step with, but the opposite leftist extreme in the Democratic Party, that has hijacked the party for the time being, has kept me in the Republican camp.

The Democrats must be brought back into the mainstream so that we can have two great parties where our national interest is not the main issue….. the main problem we had/have with Kerry.

We have found a common ground in this forum and this should be used as a model for the entire USA.

We all love our country and understand what needs to be done to protect it…….from enemies both foreign and domestic.
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"A lie can travel halfway around the world before the truth can put on his shoes." Mark Twain

USCG
61-69

[NYCnative]

[quote="fb274"]

[CINC-House]

My father and I had a discussion yesterday about the Dems today vs. the real Dem party. He is a Vietnam Era NATIONAL GUARD member (retired a few years ago after 38 years of full-time ANG service). He was none too happy with the accusations that Bush's service didn't count because it was with the national guard and not one of the active services. But that's another story. My parents and my parents parents were Dems. I was a Dem. In fact, I was somewhat a democratic political activist during my earlier years. But the Democratic party was hijacked by those with the liberal/socialist agenda. Yesterday my Dad, a very wise southern gentleman, said, "They came in here with their liberal, Hollywood ideas and stole my party from me. Well, they can have it! And they can figure out what to do with it. I ain't no socialist and they're not gonna make me one." There are thousands upon thousands of Dems in the South that never, ever vote Dem on a national level anymore. My parents are 2 of them. The Dem party was once based on Civil Rights and traditional values. In my political science studies as of late, I know that the foundation of both parties has changed numerous times over the decades since their inception. However, the Demo party that many in the south supported and actively participated in no longer exists. Many have either become disenfanchised with the entire political system and no longer vote at all...or have become Republicans, if only at the polls. The heart of the power base of the Dem party now support socialistic ideals. That is NOT what the democrats I grew up around believe in. IMO, the monikors Democrat/Republican are no longer accurate because neither truly represents the vision of their respective parties at their inception. Titles such as Conservative and Liberal are more applicable...but they still don't tell the tale. I believe, and often shout for the world to hear, that are country is NOT divided. I believe that by and large our country supports the same general ideals and differ on a few issues. Those issues tend to be social issues...abortion, prayer in school, gay rights, etc. Neither party truly serves the needs of the country because both parties are so busy trying to differentiate themselves from each other that they don't see that the majority of their supporters on both sides agree with each other on most issues. We all, basically, want the same things but are being forced to choose from extremes. The Republican party of today is essentially the Democratic party I grew up with. Traditional value oriented. The wise people in the dem party are realizing that they need to make some changes. Unfortunately, they are using Clinton as an example of what they need to go back to. That's a mistake...but if it's one they want to make, go right ahead.
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Jill
A lie packaged as the truth is a lie nonethess

[joe_madeup]

Count me among those who are NOT Republicans, not pro-Bush....but who just take terrorism seriously, and who believed the 250+ Swift Vets' message when it came out.

[llano]

I would love to see John O'Neill say something to the press in the near future about him never being a Bush supporter and that he is still not. This would help diminish the MSM's strength.

Better yet, I wouldn't mind seeing him run, as a democrat, for House Majority Leader Tom DeLay's (Sugar Land, Tx by Houston) seat. I am a moderate republican but despise what DeLay did to redistrict Texas. My congressional district kept Randy Neugebauer (R-freshman) of Lubbock as the 19th Congressional district. But veteran Charlie Stenholm (D) of Abilene, a long time conservative democrat had to run against him, as his own congressional district no longer included him. Stenholm could have helped the district better, especially in the short term. Both are graduates & support Texas Tech University, home of the Vietnam Project.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/editorial/outlook/2862478
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Home in Lubbock Texas, home of the Vietnam Project at Texas Tech University. A place visited frequently by Navy Chief.

[Dimsdale]

I am an conservative Independent from Massachusetts.

Unlike most of the country, with the notable exception of the SVPT, I know Kerry for the political snake he is. Add to that what I have learned here about the hidden Kerry, there was nothing I would not do to defeat this man.

I implore all of you to continue to pursue him, because in the Senate, he can still harm the country and our military. Whether you like Bush or not, at least you can trust him to try to do the right thing for our soldiers and the country.

Now that the pressure of an election is off, and with a popular mandate, he can take the gloves off and really go after the terrorist menace and get the economy humming. I wouldn't mind if the borders were well regulated too!

After all the false claims of an affiliation between the SVPT and the RNC, the MSM has never bothered to look at our real cause, no more than they ever looked at the backgrounds and affiliations of Kerry's supporters.

It is amazing how the vets on this board were groundlessly denigrated by the MSM.

No matter what the outcome or cost, the American people need to know the full truth about John Kerry.
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Everytime he had a choice, Kerry chose to side with communists rather than the United States.