Kerry Files FEC Complaint Against Swift Vets, Bush
Matt Drudge and the Say Anything blog have noted this AFP story:
FORT MYERS, United States (AFP) - Democratic White House hopeful John Kerry's campaign formally alleged that a group attacking his Vietnam war record had illegal ties to US President George W. Bush's reelection bid.
In a statement released to reporters, Kerry's campaign announced it had "filed a legal complaint against Swift Boat Veterans for Truth (SBVT) before the Federal Election Commission (FEC) for violating the law with inaccurate ads that are illegally coordinated with the Bush-Cheney presidential campaign."
The move by the Kerry campaign came shortly after the Swift Boat group released a second ad attacking the Democratic presidential candidate, who was wounded three times while serving on a Swift Boat in Vietnam and decorated twice for valor.
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth have accused Kerry of lying about one of the wounds he suffered and of embellishing his acts of heroism during his four months in Vietnam, charges strongly rejected by the senator from Massachusetts.
Kerry on Thursday accused the Bush administration of using the Swift Boat veterans as a front group to do the "dirty work" of attacking his Vietnam War record.
The New York Times on Friday reported that there is a "web of connections" between the Swift Boat group and the "Bush family, high-profile Texas political figures and President Bush's chief political aide, Karl Rove."
At no point does the Kerry campaign appear to address issues of substance. Wouldn't that be refreshing?
Update: Fox News has picked up this story.
The unusual late-August maneuvering highlighted the closeness of the race for the White House and came as polls offered the first hint that the questioning of Kerry's medal-winning service in the Vietnam War—allegations that he strongly condemned this week as lies—were taking a political toll.
One poll found that more than half the voters questioned had seen or heard of an ad by Swift Boat Veterans For Truth that accuses Kerry of lying about events that earned him five medals in Vietnam a generation ago. The University of Pennsylvania's National Annenberg Election Survey also found that 44 percent of self-described independent voters found the ad very or somewhat believable.
Separately, a CBS poll found a sharp drop in Kerry's support among both veterans since the end of the Democratic Convention.
No wonder Kerry is unhappy. CBS tends to oversample Democrats.
Josh Poulson
Posted Friday, Aug 20 2004 04:13 PM
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