Swiftboating January 6, 2008
Posted by Conrad Hubbard in : The Chip , trackbackOn January 3rd, the state of Iowa held its presidential caucuses. Senator Barack Obama won 38% of the Democratic caucus votes, with John Edwards coming in at 30% and Hillary Clinton at 29%. Early polls for the upcoming New Hampshire primary suggest that Obama is in a similarly leading position. As the proud owner of an Obama for 2008 t-shirt, I have a fairly specific hope for the future of my country. However, I have a fairly specific fear, as well. I imagine the dirty tricks machines waiting in the wings, ready to manufacture whatever garbage they think might stick in the media.
In the prior election, the Swift Boat Veterans “for Truth” ran advertisements which falsely demeaned the military service of presidential candidate John Kerry. Kerry served in Viet Nam, but returned home to protest against the continuation of the war. Whether you agree with his protest against the war or not, it is a fact that peaceful protest is his right as an American. Whether you agree with his protest against the war or not, the decision by a tiny handful of “conservative” veterans to issue fraudulent statements for the purpose of smearing Kerry for Republican political gain is a matter of moral failure. George W. Bush never was man enough to denounce the false attacks, either, despite the fact that Republican John McCain did so.
Evidence suggests that the SBVT group misrepresented Kerry and his service in Viet Nam in order to create a negative ad campaign designed to destroy his political career. I am not a fan of the overuse of our military, and I think that trying to destroy a patriot for having humane feelings is bullshit.
If you are interested in the subject of negative political ads, you might be able to catch a rerun of the recent CNN documentary, “Campaign Killers,” but don’t be surprised if it is one of those stories about which you cannot help but form a strong opinion (one way or the other) once you have watched it. What bothers me most, however, is the fact that dirty trick operators are willing and able to fraudulently manipulate national elections without consequence.
Given that these people are using publicly sanctioned airwaves, it seems to me that they should be bound to the same “truth in advertising” laws which bind commercial entities. In fact, I don’t see how political groups can even vaguely argue that they shouldn’t be bound to the same rules as the rest of us. We should be punishing these false advertisers every time they use our public airwaves to propagate their lies and tricks. Whether you share my hope that Obama wins, or you have some other candidate in mind, I hope you share my belief that advertisers should not be allowed to lie on public airwaves. Better yet, I hope something will be done about it.
Comments»
Politics is often a sad thing. I’m sure there are some good politicians, but the trick is separating them from the others…. Personally, I don’t know if Obama is a good guy or not, but from what I do know, I think he’s a heck of a lot better than most of the other democratic candidates. As for the republican candidates…well, most of them are pretty darn lousy currently, but I do appreciate McCain’s forthrightness. I’d love to see McCain vs Obama in the end. Then, perhaps for the first time, I could vote FOR the candidate I like best rather than voting AGAINST the candidate I dislike more.
As for the private smear groups, they suck. They come from all corners and are virtually impossible to get rid of. They’re like roaches. Maybe we should spray for ‘em. It’s worth a try.
Cool. I got an email with John Kerry’s thoughts about this very subject, via the BarackObama.com website:
Swiftboating
John Kerry [info@barackobama.com]
Sent: Tuesday, January 22, 2008 7:38 PM
To: Conrad Hubbard
Dear Conrad,
I support Barack Obama because he doesn’t seek to perfect the politics of Swiftboating – he seeks to end it.
This is personal for me, and for a whole lot of Americans who lived through the 2004 election.
As a veteran, it disgusts me that the Swift Boats we loved while we were in uniform on the Mekong Delta have been rendered, in Karl Rove’s twisted politics, an ugly verb meaning to lie about someone’s character just to win an election. But as someone who cares about winning this election and changing the country I love, I know it’s not enough to complain about a past we can’t change when our challenge is to win the future – which is why we must stop the Swiftboating, stop the push-polling, stop the front groups, and stop the email chain smears.
The truth matters, but how you fight the lies matters even more. We must be determined never again to lose any election to a lie.
This year, the attacks are already starting. Some of you may have heard about the disgusting lies about Barack Obama that are being circulated by email. These attacks smear Barack’s Christian faith and deep patriotism, and they distort his record of more than two decades of public service. They are nothing short of “Swiftboat” style anonymous attacks.
These are the same tactics the right has used again and again, and as we’ve learned, these attacks, no matter how bogus, can spread and take root if they go unchecked.
But not this time – we’re fighting back.
And when I say “we,” I mean that literally. I know Barack is committed to fighting every smear every time. He’ll fight hard and stand up for the truth. But he can’t do it alone.
We need you to email the truth to your address books. Print it out and post it at work. Talk to your neighbors. Call your local radio station. Write a letter to the editor. If lies can be spread virally, let’s prove to the cynics that the truth can be every bit as persuasive as it is powerful.
The Obama campaign has created a place where you can find the truth you’ll need to push back on these smears and a way to spread the truth to all of your address book.
Take action here:
http://my.barackobama.com/factcheckaction
So when your inbox fills up with trash and the emails of smear and fear, find the facts, and help defeat the lies.
Barack Obama is committed to bringing our country together to meet the challenges we face, but he knows that power gives up nothing without a struggle – and to win the chance to change America, we must first defeat the hateful tactics that have been used to tear us apart for too long.
With your help, we can turn the page on an era of small, divisive politics – but only if next time you hear these attacks on Barack, you take action immediately:
http://my.barackobama.com/factcheckaction
The fight is just heating up – we won’t let them steal this election with lies and distortions.
Thank you,
John Kerry