Questions for Vets for Kerry
Published August 19, 2004
Folks, let me start out and say that I am a partisan Bush supporter. Not a rabid Bush supporter, and not a dumb one, either.
I have a few questions to ask my fellow vets who are supporting Kerry:
Did you know a) That the Texas ANG had one of the highest deployment to Vietnam rate in the entire ANG?
b) That Bush served over 3 years on Active Duty (for training) - actual service time?
c) That Bush volunteered to deploy to Vietnam, but was turned down?
Is it maybe plausible that Bush took the best route to be able to fly fighters like his old man?
Were you so antagonistic to Clinton's lack of service when running against the fighter pilot (Bush I) or ground-pounder (Dole)?
What do you think of Kerry's decidedly anti-military activities that he has pursued without fail daily since his return from Vietnam?
Are you supportive of his alliance with Hanoi Jane? Are you supportive of his meetings - while still in uniform - with the north Vietnamese?
Are you supportive of his votes against the M1 tank, the Patriot Missile, the Apache, Tomahawk, and so forth?
Do the words of fellows that served in his unit mean so little? You were in the military: the two guys that support him were figuratively in his squad, while the rest of the platoon and company think he's a pile of sand. Does that count for nothing?
Kerry is the one who is running on his war record. He's the one who brings it up in his speeches and ads. If he brings it up, is it beyond scrutiny? If so, why?
Have you read any of the Swift Boat stuff in the original, or just as it has been filtered by the mainstream (read: pro-Kerry) press? Go read it.
If you care so much about the military record - or "draft dodging" - read the record.
- Questions for Vets for Kerry
- Published: August 19, 2004
- Type:
- Section: Politics
- Writer: Paulie at the Commons
- Paulie at the Commons's BC Writer page
- Paulie at the Commons's personal site
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Comments on this articleComments
well Hal, which questions do you question?
Most of the list is simply assertions of facts rather than real questions.
And I don't believe all those assertions, not having seen any facts to support them.
It's an effective way to make a pitch, but that's largely whaat it is.
Do you think that Kerry's participation in the Senate Intelligence Committee should have any bearing in the discussion? It's no wonder he's pimping his 4.33 months in Viet Nam / Cambodia.
I'm not a vet, but I've seen most of these claims before. It's fair to ask vets if they're comfortable with his anti-war position from the 1970s, but it's not a surprise. The surprise may be how many vets are OK with a well-thought out, principled opposition to a war that Kerry volunteered to fight and for which he was awarded medals for heroic actions under fire.
Bush claims to have volunteered for a program that would have ended up with some possibility of his serving in Viet Nam. However, he was, he said, told that the program was closed a mere week before he requested it.
That's the story as he tells it. There is no evidence either way for it or against it. Sorta like Alabama.
The connection with 'Hanoi Jane" may be a rehash of the old attempt to tag Kerry with her based on one photo where there were at the same event. It's never made much of a splash.
I've known a number of soldiers who want politicians who are careful to send them to war only when it really matters. And more soldier's wives who feel that way.
So, let me get this straight, you folks choose your el presidente by how close in resemblance he is to the generalissimo of a military dictatorship?
Si?
I just glanced out Blogcritics front window and noticed a bus from the Heritage Foundation parked in the drive.
Sumbitch was empty, but the motor was running.
?
Good post, Paulie, but don't expect a straight answer from the Kerrians here. You've stepped into Bush-Is-Hitlerland.
Video of John Kerry raping a preteen Vietnamese girl with a smile on his face could surface tomorrow, and a lot of these people would still pull the lever for him come November.
...and a video of Bush anywhere near Vietnam has yet to show up.
He once visited a Chinese restaurant in Alabama, tho!
all I ask is the actual truth truth, as unspun as possible, on them both. Since this was so long ago, we are dependent upon recollections and a paper trail, and I wonder if it is possible for these slices of "history" to be presented in a balanced, neutral manner
Eric,
I concur, about being polite. And memories are notoriously selective.
i think this is the most brilliant bit of marketing since madonna release "like a prayer" and did a pepsi commercial.
if you yell loud enough, long enough and sound crazy...they will come..they will listen and they will buy it.
jack
I DON'T KNOW WHAT KIND OF ATTROCITIES
QCCURRED WHEN JOHN KERRY SERVED IN
VIET NAM BUT ICAN TELL YOU A LOT OF THINGS HAPPENED THAT WOULD NOT PASS THE
RULES OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION. I SERVED IN65'-66 & 67-68 AND I CAN TELL
YOU I SAW A LOT OF THINGS A CIVILIAN
WOUOLD CALL AN ATTROCITIE. WHEN YOU SEE
AN AMERICAN SOLDIER MUTILATED AND YOU
COME UPON THE ENEMY WHETHER COMBAT READY OR WOUNDED YOU ACT INSTICTIVELY.
IF YOU SAY THESE TYPE OF THINGS NEVER HAPPENED THEN YOU TELL ME WHY OVER 1,000,000 VIET NAM VETERANS SUFFER FROM
PSTD WHETHER THEY HAVE GONE TO THE VA OR NOT. WHEN YOU HAVE TO WATCH YOUR COMRADS BURN ALI9VE OYU DO WHAT IS NATURL AND AFTER WORDS WHEN YOU FIND OUT THAT YOUR PRESIDENT LIED ABOUT THE WAR (JOHSON % NIXON) YOU FIND THAT THE ONLY SOLUTION IS TO GO OUT IN THE WOODS AND BLOW YOUR BRAINS OUT. I WAS ONLY AN ARTILLERY WEAPONS REPAIR MAN FIXING HOWITZERS AND BIG GUNS BUT I WAS ON MOST EVERY HILL AND KMC BASE IN VIET NAM AND I CAN TELL YOU THINGS HAPPENED WHETHER PEOPLE ADMIT OR NOT.
EX SGT U.S.M.C.
BY THE WAY I,M AN INDEPENDENT VOTER
AND I DON'T LISTEN TO ANYONE THAT I
KNOW IS LYING.
Your venomous hatred of veterans who refuse to play the Bush game just never goes away, does it, RJ?
Message
Subject: Fw: My Resume
NAME: John Kerry
RESIDENCE: 7 mansions, including one in Washington DC, worth
multi-millions. I served in Vietnam (four months).
EXPERIENCE:
Law Enforcement. In my career as a U.S. Senator, I've voted to cut
every
law enforcement, CIA, and Defense bill. I ordered the city of
Boston to
remove a fire hydrant in front of my mansion, thereby endangering my
neighbors in the event of fire. I served in Vietnam (four months).
MILITARY:
I served in Vietnam (four months). I used three minor injuries to get
an
early discharge from the military and service in Vietnam (as
documented by
the attending doctor). I served in Vietnam (four months). I then
returned
to the U.S., joined Jane Fonda in protesting the war, and insulted
returning
Vietnam vets, claiming they committed atrocities and were baby
killers. I
served in Vietnam (four months). I threw my medals, ribbons, or
something
away in protest. Or did I? My book " Vietnam Veterans Against
the War: The
New Soldier", shows how I truly feel about the military. I
served in
Vietnam (four months).
COLLEGE:
I graduated from Yale University with a low C average. Unlike my
counterpart
George Bush, I have no higher education and did not get admitted to
Harvard
nor graduate with an M.B.A
PAST WORK EXPERIENCE:
After College and Vietnam, I ran for the U.S. Congress and have been
there
ever since. I have no real world experience except marrying very
rich women
and running their companies vicariously through them. I served in
Vietnam
(four months).
ACCOMPLISHMENTS:
As a U.S. Senator I set the record for the most liberal voting record,
exceeding even Ted Kennedy and Hillary Clinton. I have consistently
failed
to support our military and CIA by voting against their budgets, thus
gutting our country's ability to defend itself. Although I voted for
the
Iraq War, now I am against it and refuse to admit that I voted for
it. I
voted for every liberal piece of legislation. I have no plan to help
this
country but I intend to raise taxes significantly if I am elected. I
served
in Vietnam (four months).
My wealth so far exceeds that of my counterpart, George Bush, that he
will
never catch up. I make little or no charitable contributions and
have never
agreed to pay any voluntary excess taxes in Massachusetts, despite
family
wealth in excess of $ 700 million. I served in Vietnam (four months).
I (we) own 28 manufacturing plants (Heinz) outside of the U.S. in
places
like Asia, Mexico and Europe. We can make more profit from the
cheaper cost
of labor in those Countries, although I blame George Bush for sending
all of
the other jobs out of Country. I served in Vietnam (four months).
Although I claim to be in favor of alternative energy sources, Ted
Kennedy
and I oppose windmills off Nantucket and Martha's Vineyard as it
might spoil
our view of the ocean as we cruise on our yachts. I served in
Vietnam (four
months).
RECORDS AND REFERENCES:
None. However, I served in Vietnam (four months)
PERSONAL I practice my Catholic faith whenever cameras are present. I
ride a
Serotta Bike. I love to ski/snowboard. I call my Gulfstream V Jet the
"Flying Squirrel". I call my $850,000 42-foot Hinckley twin
diesel yacht the
"Scarmouche".
I am fascinated by rap and hip-hop and feel it reflects our real
culture.
I own several "Large" SUVs including one parked at my
Nantucket summer
mansion, though I am against large, polluting, inefficient vehicles
and
blame George Bush for our energy problems. I served in Vietnam (four
months).
PLEASE CONSIDER MY EXPERIENCE WHEN VOTING IN 2004.
one more question. Why hasn't jFk released ALL his military records? What is he hiding, besides the fact that he didn't get an honorable discharge until about 30 years after he actually got out???
a question for rj elliott:
why are you responding here? paulie's question was "for my fellow vets who are supporting kerry", not for chickenhawk cyber-patriots who've never served.
Add your comment, speak your mind
(Or ping: http://blogcritics.org/mt/tb/18850)
I am almost totally aswim on all this and don't know what to make of it, but these are all excellent questions. Thanks and welcome, Paulie!