NY Daily News Publishes Misleading Swift Boat Vets Headline

By P.J. Gladnick (Bio | Archive)
July 9, 2008 - 18:03 ET

The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have formally disbanded and ceased all operations as of May 31, 2008. I repeat. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth no longer exists. Somebody need to send that message to the New York Daily News because they are creating the false impression that 527 group is still out there as you can see in their completely misleading headline, "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth gear up for 2008 White House race." The strangest thing is that the Daily News article contradicts its own headline (emphasis mine):

The swift boats are coming.

They'll go by different names this year, but the largely unregulated interest groups like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - which in 2004 torpedoed Democrat John Kerry with allegations he'd inflated his war record - are gearing up for the 2008 White House race like never before.

So far this year, so-called 527 groups - named for a section of the IRS tax code - have raised a staggering $210 million, up from $182 million at this point in 2004.

But here's the ideological bottom line - roughly two-thirds of that $210 million has been raised by Democratic-friendly groups, according to 527 tax filings compiled by the nonpartisan Center for Responsive Politics.

"Conservative groups like Swift Boat Veterans got all the attention in 2004, but groups on the left have always raised and spent far more," said Massie Ritsch, the center's communications chief.

So after raising the specter of the big bad Swift Boat Veterans for Truth that no longer even exists, the Daily News admits that the Democrat-friendly 527s have received most of the money that has been raised. In addition, the Daily News claims that the toughest of the 527 ads run so far have been by those same liberal groups:

But most outside money - and most of the toughest ads - has come from liberal groups.

That includes a recent spot depicting a small boy sitting in the lap of his mother, who asks McCain if he is counting on her son to help fight an endless war in Iraq. "Because if you were, you can't have him," the mother says.

The ad was paid for by the political action committee of MoveOn.org, the Democratic activist group, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, one of the largest unions in the nation.

However, the Daily News does conclude on a laughably ominous note. Apparently some guy in Gilbert, Arizona with no phone number who seems to have an impish sense of humor has started a 527 group just recently with a name that haunts both liberals and the Daily News:

It's also true that, while Democratic-leaning 527s have raised more, GOP-friendly 527s are growing at a faster rate this year. Their ranks include a new outfit ominously named Swift Boat Obama.

The group's IRS filing traces to a Gilbert, Ariz., address with no working phone number.

Mighty thin gruel there, Daily News. Mighty thin gruel.

—P.J. Gladnick is a freelance writer and creator of the DUmmie FUnnies blog.


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Boogity-boogity!

July 9, 2008 - 18:38 ET by heldmyw

Let the Swifties and the Dark Lord Rove manifest their evil and smite the Obamessiah!  Call up the Rumsfeld brigades and Darth Cheney's minions and prepare them for battle!

Prime the Diebolds, load the Fox News cannon and we attack at dawn!

Bwah-hah-hah-hah!

All Your Possums Are Belong To Us!

 

 

P.J. Swift Boat warnings. Question

July 9, 2008 - 18:51 ET by Gary Hall

P.J. NB has documented a number of instances where the MSM, in print and on cable and network TV, has raised the flag of fear; "that the Swift Boaters, or that the negative Republican attack, ads are coming."  On rare occassion, they will insert some loose reference, such as, "Well the Democrats did one also," but of course the focus is on the conservative side. Understanding, that as in previous years, most of the ads are by the Democrats, has any mainstream media outlet ever put out a spot that actually lead a story with, and/or focused on the "leader of the negative ad pack" here? I mean, "ever"?

Secondly, I wonder if NB or the MRC somewhere is compiling a summary of such media bias?

Super catch, by the way. Very informative - and that's why most voters, unfortunately, won't learn the facts here. (;~> gary 

 

One Million Dollars reward.

July 9, 2008 - 18:58 ET by Scrapiron

There is still a million dollar reward for anyone who can prove the Swift Boat Vets lied in any of their ads. Come on media hypes, you can use the million since you have been caught in so many lies you are going down the flusher at a fast pace.

Hanoi John Kerry was proven a liar but not the Swift Boat Vets. I wonder what he did with his magic hat and the brief case with the special compartment to carry it in. Maybe he'll leave it in Iran when he spends a Christmas there, ordered by someone who is not president.

Time for the media to put the Hanoi John turkey in the freezer, it's long dead and beginning to stink.

 

Old, Retired and glad of it.

Interesting you should bring that up, Scrapiron

July 9, 2008 - 21:51 ET by Scout Finch

The print edition of this week's Newsweek claims that the guy who offered a million dollar reward to anyone who could prove the Swiftboat Vets wrong is "down" in the "Conventional Wisdom" column because he failed to back up that offer to someone--but no other details.

When I went to Newsweek's "Conventional Wisdom" column in their on-line version, that comment is no where to be found. Apparently whomever it was that "disproved" the Swifties turned out to be less than truthful. No further comment or correction from Newsweek, of course.

Scrap

July 9, 2008 - 23:35 ET by Blonde

When I first read your post (misread, actually), I thought you'd typed "Hanoi Jane Kerry".

I like it....so I'm keeping it.  I'd be happy to share, though. 

David Gregory, do you know which damn network you lie for? ~ Uncle Jimbo, @Blackfive

 

Convoluted, and twisted; the truth is a lie, help a term needed

July 9, 2008 - 19:20 ET by upcountrywater

Neologism

The wiki examples are lefty ones...

I tell you what.. Swiftboating is the truth.. that's why it was so effective.

 

Liberals62%


IranianUranium

More SPIN against swift boat vets.

July 9, 2008 - 19:28 ET by BD

They'll go by different names this year, but the largely unregulated interest groups like Swift Boat Veterans for Truth - which in 2004 torpedoed Democrat John Kerry with allegations he'd inflated his war record - are gearing up for the 2008 White House race like never before.

The thing that irritates me the most is how a small cohort of people in the press can manipualte the news and change the perceptions of what actually happened.

The perfect examples are the statements above such as - "which in 2004 torpedoed Democrat John Kerry with allegations he'd inflated his war record - "

and the assertion that the war in Iraq was all about WMD.    If the press says them long enough, the public begins to accept them.

For instance, the overwhelming majority of the swift boat veterans said absolutely NOTHING about John Kerry and his actions in Vietnam since many of them did not know him.  However ALL of them were against him for his actions upon returning to the states.   Most spent the bulk of the time committed tot he issue covering Kerry's traitorous comments at the falsified "Winter Soldier Hearings" and actions such as meeting with the enemy in time of war in Paris.

So how come the story was not about the Swiftees torpedoeing Kerry for his traitorous actions upon return from Vietnam?  Because the press does not wish it to reflect upon that. They would rather the story looked like a petty jealousy .

For the record, the US posited many more rationale for the war in iraq than just "WMD."  But it is likely the only rationale the press could understand.  So thereofre it is what the story became.

Let's see;  in a few months

July 9, 2008 - 23:28 ET by cocodrie

Let's see;  in a few months time the swift boat veterans reminded us that navy people accomplish great things, they made liberals very mad, and they exposed the lies and deceit of a traitor. Pretty good record I say.

It was the 527's.

July 10, 2008 - 01:25 ET by JWF

  Couldn't be that the democrats nominated a man that went before congress (under oath) and passed along 3rd hand lies masquarading as truth about fellow veterans who were still in harm's way halfway around the world.

 Couldn'ta been that, must have been the 527's.