“Smear Boat” Veterans File Publicity Stunt Lawsuit

[kerrygoddess]

Okay Kerrycrats... here it is. There's links in the post on Dem Daily backing everything up. I'm posting this in GDP...

“Smear Boat” Veterans File Publicity Stunt Lawsuit
October 6th, 2005

They are at it again… those “Smear Boat” Veterans who are shills for the Republican Party. One would think that the Republican Party is in enough hot water right now (corruption, cronyism, scandals) and these fools would know better than to start dredging around for more publicity for their lost cause. But NO… Carlton Sherwood and his band of twisted cohorts who defamed John Kerry, are suing John Kerry and a former campaign staffer, claiming that they defamed him.

David Wade a Kerry spokesperson told AP News yesterday, “This is simply more of the same smears and sleaze against a decorated Vietnam veteran from more of the same serial liars who disgraced themselves in 2004. It’s too bad the truth doesn’t matter to the right wing when there’s a chance to fund-raise based on outright falsehood and slander.”

Carlton Sherwood claims that “the film was funded only by Vietnam veterans from Pennsylvania.” Sherwood, himself is resident of Harrisburg, PA. The group fronting for Carlton Sherwood in the filing of this lawsuit is the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation, who weren’t even in existence during the 2004 campaign. Their website states they were launched on “05/05/2005.”

This lawsuit is nothing more than another pathetic attempt by the people who masterminded the Swift Boat attacks and their allies to get publicity and raise funds for their bizarre and divisive right wing cause, not to mention their defense in a lawsuit pending against Carlton Sherwood by someone depicted in the film. This is the classic MO of these Swifties — to make false and wild accusations in a desperate attempt to get media attention and raise money.

No doubt Nixon dirty trickster and Bush ally John O’Neill is wrapped up in this latest invention to keep himself and his twisted right wing cause in the news and smear any veteran who dares to speak truth to power. In fact, sources tell me that recently O’Neill sent out a fundraising email to gin up the right wing by once again exploiting the Vietnam tragedy and the politics of smear and fear, all in the name of cash.

But it won’t work. John O’Neil and the “Smear Boat” veterans were discredited by every major media outlet for their false and baseless attacks in 2004. The film Stolen Honor was also widely criticized in 2004 for its baseless accusations and a slanted viewpoint. Media outlets across the country refused to air it. In fact, the movie was SO FAR out of the mainstream, that even right wing Sinclair Broadcasting had to give up their plans to air it. Stolen Honor’s producer, Carlton Sherwood, is known to be a “highly partisan right wing activist”, a former Bush advisor, who is a “discredited” journalist.

As I mentioned, there is a lawsuit pending against the producers of Stolen Honor by someone depicted in the film, and in fact there are multiple lawsuits against Carlton Sherwood, et al. These lawsuits are still pending in court and this new lawsuit by this new Swift Boat front group clearly looks like an attempt to try to muddy the waters.

The Swift Boat attack team truly represents the very worst in American politics — the smear and fear tactics so prevalent from the right wing. But, we are on to their tricks and tactics and we will not tolerate them. The truth is America is sick of them too.

Americans have seen too many times, how the right wing tries to destroy anyone with the courage to stand up to them — whether it was John McCain in South Carolina in ‘00, Max Cleland in ‘02, John Kerry in ‘04, or even the mother of a soldier killed in Iraq in ‘05.

They will stoop to record lows to squash dissent and hold onto their power… Why? Because they hate John Kerry for his courage 35 years ago for standing up to Richard Nixon. And because, they fear John Kerry today because he still has the courage to hold Washington Republicans accountable. John Kerry has been on the the most hated list of every Republican president since Nixon. Think Iran Contra, think BCCI. He is their worst enemy.

So now we see, once again, that the right wing has gone right back to their disgraceful dirty tricks. The idea that these proven serial liars would sue John Kerry for libel is laughable… it is like an arsonist suing the guy who called 911 to get the firefighters before the building burned down. There was indeed lying, slander, and libel in 2004 and, it was done by these very same extreme right wing partisans.

John Kerry spoke the truth to power when he came home from Vietnam and he still continues to do so every day. Democrats need to stand with John Kerry and let him know “we’ve got your back.”

Democrats need to fight back. Because, this isn’t just about John Kerry. This is about every veteran who dares to dissent, this is about every man or woman in this country who has dared to speak the truth to power and been slimed by the partisan right wing hacks fronting for those who wrongly hold power in this country.

The culture of corruption is rampant in the Republican Party and this is just another sign of that corruption. It’s time to make a stand. We’ve recently seen attempts to “Swift Boat” Cindy Sheehan and Paul Hackett. We can not allow this to continue.

SEE LINKS - http://blog.thedemocraticdaily.com/?p=773

[TayTay]

1. Thank you for this KG.

And I fully agree, we need to stand and fight things like this. Those liars thrive off of stuff like this and it must be fought.

[kerrygoddess]

3. I hope others get that point! N/T

[kerrygoddess]

2. Can anyone here post on DKos? N/T

[TayTay]

4. This is priceless. Smear boat guys respond (OMG! Funny)

Vietnam Vets/Former POWs Respond to Slurs From Sen. Kerry’s Staff
Source: PR Newswire
Date: October 06, 2005

PHILADELPHIA, Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is being issued by the Vietnam Veterans Legacy Foundation:

“I am irritated to be called a liar by the spokesman for someone who spent less time in Vietnam than I spent being tortured. I would like to know what was false when I said that I was interrogated in 1971, told about the ‘Winter Soldier Hearings,’ told that someone had recruited my mother to be associated with these people, and told that John Kerry organized it. Was Boris (my interrogator) lying about Winter Soldier? Did these hearings not take place? Was John Kerry not involved? And while the Kerry people are tossing around frivolous lawsuits claiming defamation, isn’t it defamatory to say that someone is lying if you can’t prove it?”
· The Hon. James Warner, VVLF Board member and former US Marine Corps Captain held captive in Vietnam for over 5 years

“Who is this pipsqueak press boy Wade to question the honor, statements or credibility of veterans who took real fire and POWs who took real torture? How dare he! How dare Kerry allow his taxpayer-funded office to malign decorated veterans and call them liars. Of course, this is nothing new for Kerry—his public life stems from vilifying vets.”
· Mary Jane McManus, VVLF Board member and wife of former POW Lt. Col Kevin McManus

“John Kerry, through his spokesman, David Wade, has brazenly labeled a group of POWs who dared to speak out with the truth about his testimony to the US Senate and his crusade to brand American combatants as war criminals. I read the statement that referred to us as ‘serial liars’ and claimed that the truth doesn’t matter to us. On the contrary, this is all about the truth, and it seems the only chance we have of letting the American people know the truth about the Vietnam War and the honorable men who fought it is in a Federal court of law.
· Col. Ken Cordier, USAF (ret), VVLF Board member and POW for over 6 years

Pipsqueak? Somebody drew some blood with their response to the liars. These are priceless. Especially the first one, if I could figure out what it meant.

[karynnj]

6. What's clear is that this is just a new smear campaign

So hecalled POWs liars (just because what they say deviates from reality) they brazenly called an esteemed US Senator, choosen as Presidential nominee by his party a names worse than liar.

[kerrygoddess]

10. Hysterical!

The pipsqueak comment is priceless.

[TayTay]

12. I agree. Give David Wade a raise.

He earned it. He really drew some blood from these bastards.

My next donation to Sen. Kerry, I will make mention of how much I like David Wade and his effective remarks. LOL! Pipsqueak indeed.

[Mass]

5. They really need money \nt

[karynnj]

7. Thanks, KG

I love that they got together in 05/05 to fund a defamatory film to be shown in Oct, 2004. That's pretty believable. They would have been better off not even forming a group.

[Mass]

8. Media Matters debunks the lawsuit and their reporting by the MSM

http://mediamatters.org/items/200510060006

News reports failed to mention Stolen Honor filmmaker's "defamatory" right-wing activism

In reporting that filmmaker Carlton Sherwood has filed a defamation lawsuit against Sen. John Kerry (D-MA), alleging that Kerry directed people to call Sherwood an "extreme right-wing activist," the Associated Press, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Philadelphia Daily News all described Sherwood as a journalist and a veteran. But all three curiously omitted any mention of Sherwood's career as a right-wing activist -- seemingly an important detail, given that the crux of Sherwood's lawsuit is his claim that referring to him as an "extreme right-wing activist" is defamatory.

Sherwood is the producer of the discredited film Stolen Honor: Wounds That Never Heal, an attack on Kerry unleashed shortly before the 2004 presidential election that was widely criticized as an inaccurate partisan hit. The Boston Globe said it "indubitably qualifies as a slur against John Kerry" and described it as "an anti-Kerry attack ad masquerading as a documentary." Sinclair Broadcast Group, the largest owner/operator of TV stations in the United States, had announced its intention to air Stolen Honor on its stations a few weeks before the election; after organizations and individuals, including Media Matters for America, raised concerns and launched actions including an advertiser boycott and shareholder litigation, Sinclair backed down and instead aired a program that showed only a few minutes of the film. The weekend before the November 2004 election, the conservative website NewsMax.com purchased airtime on TV stations across the country to show Stolen Honor.

...

[kerrygoddess]

9. Glad they did something too.

I sent them mine this morning.

[kerrygoddess]

11. DKos

I didn't see if anyone had posted this on DKos, so I did. Could use some love - so far so good - http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/10/6/192215/121#7