The Republican agenda is obvious: to distract attention from the
contrast of Kerry having served in a war theater while Bush and Cheney
stayed home.
It seems to be a habit.
When Bush faces a Vietnam War hero in an election, a Vietnam veteran
perfectly happy to trash his opponent always turns up.
In the case of Ted Sampley, the same guy who did Bush's dirty work in
going after Sen. John McCain in the 2000 Republican primaries is doing
the job against Kerry this year.
Sampley dared compare McCain, who spent five years as a Vietnam POW,
with "the Manchurian Candidate."
Now, Sampley says that Kerry "is not truthful and is not worthy of the
support of U.S. veterans. . . . To us, he is 'Hanoi John.' " Is that
where Sam Johnson got his line?
One person who is outraged by the attacks on Kerry is McCain.
When I reached the Arizona Republican, I found him deeply troubled
over the reopening of wounds from the Vietnam era, "the most divisive
time since our Civil War."
He called Sampley "one of the most despicable characters I've ever
met."
McCain said he hoped that in the midst of a war in Iraq, politicians
"will confront the challenges facing us now, including the conflict
we're presently engaged in, rather than refighting the one we were
engaged in more than 30 years ago."
McCain recalled that he had worked with Kerry on "POW/MIA issues and
the normalization of relations with Vietnam" and wanted to stand up
for his war comrade because "you have to do what's right."
Speaking of Kerry, McCain said:
"He's my friend. He'll continue to be my friend. I know his service
was honorable. If that hurts me politically or with my party, that's a
very small price to pay."
Now that McCain has spoken, will Bush have the guts to endorse or
condemn the attacks on Kerry's service?
Or will he just sit by silently, hoping the assaults do their work
while he evades responsibility?
Once more, Welsh's words call out for an answer:
"Have you no sense of decency, sir?"
From The Washington Post, 4/27/04:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44999-2004Apr26.html
Stooping Low to Smear Kerry
By E. J. Dionne Jr.
"Have you no sense of decency, sir?"
It was the classic question posed by Joseph Welch to Sen. Joseph
McCarthy 50 years ago during the Red-hunter's hearings investigating
the Army for alleged communist influence.
With his query, Welch, the Army's special counsel, began the undoing
of McCarthy.
Unfortunately, the question needs to be asked again.
It needs to be posed to shamelessly partisan Republicans who can't
stand the fact that George W. Bush and ***** Cheney are facing off
against a Democrat who fought and was wounded in Vietnam.
Cheney said in 1989 that he didn't go to Vietnam because "I had other
priorities in the '60s than military service."
While Kerry risked his life, Bush got himself into the National Guard.
Funny, isn't it?
When Bill Clinton was running against Republican war veterans in 1992
and 1996, the most important thing to GOP propagandists and
politicians was that Clinton didn't fight in Vietnam.
Now that Republican candidates who didn't fight in Vietnam face a
Democrat who did -- and was awarded the Silver Star, the Bronze Star
and three Purple Hearts while he was there -- the Republican machine
wants to change the subject.
____________________________________________________________
As a student in the 1960s during the Vietnam War, Cheney received four
student deferments from the military draft.
What is intriguing about this utterly uncharismatic, efficient,
hawkish Vice President is the fact that he never served in the
armed forces.
He says that he was generally supportive of the Vietnam war and
opposed to the demonstrators.
But his hawkishness didn't lead him to volunteer; instead he accepted
student deferments which allowed him to avoid military service.
All Cheney will say is, "As did most other Americans, I watched the
war from afar."
There remains something odd about this hard-line Cold Warrior's
evasion of what would seem to be his patriotic duty.
Harry
The right-wing Chickenhawk Database can be found at;
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