1115.org

The question that the media hasn’t been asking enough is quite simple: “Why did 250 Vietnam veterans come out of the woodwork to malign John Kerry?”

After all, these vets can be split into 2 groups: Those who didn’t directly serve with Kerry, and those whose stories are directly contradicted by U.S. Navy records (and in many cases themselves). As each day passes, another of these men is shown to be nothing more than a liar.

So again, the question is: Why did they ruin their credibility over this?

As you have probably read, Kerry returned from Vietnam and joined an organization called Vietnam Veterans Against the War. In his capacity as their director, he testified before congress and appeared on television and radio. He spoke about the horrors of that war and the futility of this country’s engagement in it. For reasons that pass understanding, some Vietnam veterans couldn’t (or wouldn’t) see that Kerry wasn’t criticizing the troops in the field, rather he was pointing out the poor decisions and leadership in Washington. Readers of this site will know that this concept is still with us, making it nearly impossible to criticize failed wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq without being accused of not supporting the troops. It is literally the same as not being able to blame a CEO when a business plan fails because you might hurt the feelings of the workers chosen to implement the plan.

Kerry spoke out about the Vietnam war and was proven right by history. Our leaders failed the soldiers, the citizens, and the civilians killed there. They made bad choices based on flawed information, and valued their re-election over truth and lives. Seems like little has changed in the 30+ years since then. The same poor choices were made in Iraq and Afghanistan for political and economic reasons, lives were lost unnecessarily, and still, voicing dissent is met with the same bristling contempt even after much of the mismanagement has been exposed.

And now, Kerry is paying the price for being right 30 years ago much like (gasp!) Howard Dean paid the price earlier this year. Hired attackers paid to throw mud as they stand neck-deep in it have hijacked the campaign and turned the focus away from issues that matter to real people, and toward a cesspool of deception.

The media, an institution our founders expected would expose truth, has done nothing but repeat lies under the guise of “telling both sides of the story.”

The President, a man who carefully (or not so carefully, depending on your point of view) cultivates an image of the “Tough Guy - Straight Shooting Texan” allows others to lie about Kerry because it helps his cause without the dirt being left on his hands. Is this what we expect from our leader? But then again, it was this President who said (through his spokesman):

There are reminders to all Americans that they need to watch what they say, watch what they do, and this is not a time for remarks like that; there never is.

Only in a country whose leaders encourage suppressing dissent and lying about their opponents could the President even have a reasonable chance for reelection. Aren’t we lucky.

The choice couldn’t be clearer.