Text 1763, 583 rader
Skriven 2006-07-18 19:15:00 av ROSS SAUER (1:123/140)
Ärende: "Swift Boating"
=======================
Face it, the GOP can't run on any of their accomplishments, so all they 
can do is smear.

July 17, 2006
Dave Johnson: The Swiftboaters Are Back in the Water

"Swiftboating" is defined in the Wikipedia as:

"an ad hominem attack against a public figure, coordinated by an 
independent or pseudo-independent group, usually resulting in a benefit 
to an established political force. Specifically, this form of attack is 
controversial, easily repeatable, and difficult to verify or disprove 
because it is generally based on personal feelings or recollections." 

If you thought the tactic of "swiftboating" ended when John Kerry 
conceded the 2004 election, or perhaps when report after report and 
article after article after article refuted the "facts" or discredited 
those involved, you were wrong.

The professional Republican PR and campaign consultants who created, 
funded, and coordinated the attacks on John Kerry continue to spread 
their poison. And now, with the 2006 campaign season upon us they are 
ready to attack again, creating false stories and spreading doubt and 
mistrust about the more than fifty veterans running for Congress this 
fall. We can expect that candidates like former Navy Secretary Jim Webb, 
Admiral Joe Sestak, Lt. Colonel Charlie Brown and Captain Patrick Murphy 
will be targets for attack. So it’s a good idea to look back and 
understand what is happening here, how they have perfected the politics 
of political destruction since the strategy emerged, where some of them 
are now, and examine some ways to fight back.

Let's start with some background. In 2004, the Swiftboat Veterans for 
Truth claimed that Kerry was "unfit to serve" because, among other 
accusations, his wounds were "self-inflicted," and that he was guilty of 
"withholding and/or distortion of material facts" about his service in 
Vietnam. The accusations were later proven to be categorically false, 
and the funding and political team behind the group was shown to be 
closely associated with the Bush/Cheney campaign. Media Matters' 
compilation of evidence includes a link to this graphic from the August 
25, 2004 New York Times article, Bush Campaign's Top Outside Lawyer 
Advised Veterans Group (and the chart and article only begin to touch on 
the connections). 

But, even though false, the tactic worked. Public opinion shifted 
dramatically following the August 2004 attacks on Kerry. The Guardian 
story, Why America is still fighting the battles of Mekong Delta 
describes this shift beginning soon after the story began to hit the 
corporate media: 

"A recent University of Pennsylvania poll showed that its attack ad 
questioning whether Kerry deserved his medals had been seen or heard of 
by half the voters questioned. 

It also revealed that 44 per cent of independent voters found the advert 
at least somewhat believable. Meanwhile a CBS poll showed the number of 
veterans who supported Kerry had dropped from 46 per cent to 37 per 
cent." [emphasis added]

By the time of the "Swiftboat" attack on Kerry, the tactic of attacking 
and spreading doubts about the quality of a person’s service to the 
country had already been used successfully and refined. For example, in 
the 2000 South Carolina primary battle between George W. Bush and John 
McCain, Bush surrogates (several later involved in the Kerry 
swiftboating effort) skillfully turned McCain's service record against 
him (thereby deflecting questions about Bush's own service record.) They 
planted stories that the torture McCain suffered as a POW had brought 
about mental instability, including rumors that he had been programmed 
as a "Manchurian candidate" who "collaborated with the enemy." No longer 
could McCain use the fact that he had endured torture as evidence of 
dedication to serving his country. 

The tactic was then used on Max Cleland in his 2002 Georgia Senate race 
against Saxby Chambliss. Chambliss attacked Cleland’s patriotism, "for 
breaking his oath to protect and defend the Constitution." Surrogates 
more recently accused Cleland, who lost 3 limbs in Vietnam and received 
the Bronze and Silver Star, of being injured from "dropping a grenade" 
when drunk. 

Richard Clarke, President Bush's counter-terrorism advisor, was attacked 
after revealing that he had tried unsuccessfully to get the Bush 
administration to take al-Queda seriously as a threat before the 9/11 
attack. Columnist Paul Krugman summarized "a campaign of character 
assassination" against Clarke, in which un-named administration 
officials were saying Clarke "wants to make a few bucks, and that [in] 
his own personal life, they're also suggesting that there are some weird 
aspects in his life as well." Other surrogates called him a "fraud." 

Even Bush's own Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill was attacked with intent 
to humiliate and discredit him, with inside sources alleging "no one 
listened to him," accused of misusing classified documents, and forced 
to recant after he revealed that the Bush administration had been 
planning to invade Iraq even before the 9/11 attacks. 

And the tactic has continued since the 2004 swiftboating of Kerry. 
Ambassador Joe Wilson was famously attacked after revealing that the 
Bush administration had misled the public about Iraqi attempts to 
purchase "yellowcake" in Niger. His wife's undercover CIA status was 
"outed," ending her career, and he was accused of committing "treason," 
and being a "nutcase" and "liar."

In Ohio's 2005 special Congressional election, candidate Paul Hackett 
was smeared when the Jean Schmidt campaign questioned his service, 
asking if he "saw combat" and saying "I understand that Hackett did not 
participate in combat at all."

So why does swiftboating work? First, because it is simple, and lays 
down a clear good vs. evil, black-and-white narrative that is easily 
understood by regular people who lead busy lives and don't have the time 
and energy it takes to closely follow the news and track the real facts. 
And it is smart, professionally crafted, with tons of money available to 
do the necessary psychological, polling and focus group work that goes 
into developing messaging that resonates with the public, and getting 
that messaging into targeted channels with reach. 

Another reason it works is because it is (excuse the pun) offensive. 
They say that the best defense is a good offense, and considering their 
candidates, the Republicans certainly needed a defense. The Republicans 
have for some time been riding a public perception that they are somehow 
"better" on defense issues than Democrats. But this certainly isn't 
true, and they know it. (After all, it wasn’t Democrats who went on 
vacation, ignoring the intelligence briefing titled "bin Laden 
Determined to Attack Inside the US.") This perception gap has placed 
them in terrible fear that the voting public might come to see that the 
reality is very different from the conventional wisdom.  There is also 
the fear that the pubic might realize that most of the Republican 
leadership actually had poor or nonexistent service records (see also 
"chickenhawks"), while many in the Democratic leadership served with 
honor.  

And in a race between John Kerry and George W. Bush we had a clear 
contrast when it came to the question of serving with honor. Kerry 
graduated college and, in the heat of the Vietnam War, signed up for the 
military. He volunteered for Swift Boat duty in Vietnam. After college 
Bush managed to move to the head of the line to get into what was called 
a "champagne unit" of the Texas Air National Guard, while checking the 
box on his "Application for Extended Active Duty with the United States 
Air Force" that read "Do not volunteer for overseas." It was clear that 
any fair debate on who had the courage and desire to serve his country 
during wartime and who didn’t was going to go one way and only one way. 
So yes, the Republicans needed an offensive, distracting defense, and 
they found one. 

So the Republicans decided to take the offense, and as us bloggers like 
to complain, the Democrats just seemed to take it. In the sixth century 
BC, Sun Tzu wrote in The Art of War, "Generally, he who occupies the 
field of battle first and awaits the enemy is at ease; he who comes 
later to the scene and rushes into the fight is weary." And in his 
widely-distributed Republican strategy book, The Art of Political War, 
David Horowitz advises candidates to "provide a shield from attack." He 
advises candidates to "lead with" a posture emulating an opponent's 
expected strength, writing, "...working away from the negative image 
your opponent wants to pin on you. If you know you are going to be 
attacked as morally imperious, it is a good idea to lead with a position 
that is inclusive and tolerant." So following Horowitz's advice (and 
they do), if you know that you're "weak on defense," you "inoculate" 
yourself by claiming that you are strong on defense, and attacking your 
opponent first as being weak on defense. (FYI - Republicans accusing 
others of what they are themselves doing is formally named "The STF 
Rule.") 

And finally, in the landmark book Marketing Warfare, authors Trout and 
Ries talk about the tactic of turning a competitor's strength into a 
weakness. The idea is to find a way to use that strength against your 
competitor, so repelling your attack requires them to work against their 
own strong point. For example, since Hertz is number one, Avis 
advertises that their lines are shorter. It is hard for Hertz to counter 
that – what would they say, that they aren't popular? Similarly, by 
turning a record of honorable service against a campaign opponent, the 
opponent reminds the voters of the smear with every mention of that 
service. 

Building on this, Bush adds an "audacity" approach. But don't take my 
word for it – see the Variety story, 'Swift-boat' pros in demand in D.C. 
Spinmeisters go negative:  

"If you can construct believable stories with enough truth in them to 
smear somebody royally, boy, is there a pot of gold waiting for you in 
D.C. Spin doctors are nothing new in politics, but a certain type -- 
equal parts scriptwriter, opposition researcher and ruthless street 
fighter -- is increasingly in demand, and for good reason. Just ask John 
Kerry, the former Democratic presidential candidate who became the 
target object of a new verb: "swift-boating."

[. . .] "Modern communication isn't about truth, it's about a resonant 
narrative," says Eric Dezenhall, a former Reagan administration aide and 
now president of his own crisis management firm. "The myth of PR is that 
you will educate and inform people. No. The public wants to be told in a 
story who to like and who to hate."

Already suspected by blue-collar America as an elite and effete New 
Englander, Kerry -- one of the handful of Ivy Leaguers who volunteered 
to go to Vietnam -- was red meat for the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" 
ad that cast him as a Yale snot who'd come back from Vietnam to trash 
his largely working-class troops.

If that sounds audacious, it's because, as Dezenhall says, "We're living 
in an age of audacity," another fact GOP spinmeisters understand and 
exploit superbly.

"George Bush communicates in terms of audacity," Dezenhall says. Bush's 
response to questions about the wiretapping was to say that he's just 
trying to catch terrorists. Bold motivation, easily understood.

"Democrats communicate in terms of complexity," Dezenhall says, 
referring to their windy explications of a need to pursue enemies within 
the rule of law as spelled out in various court ..." (snorrrrrrrrrrre).  
[Emphasis added]

So with swiftboating you spread a smear to raise questions with the 
public about the opponent's patriotism or service. It doesn't have to be 
true (how quaint) it just has to raise questions. This "neutralizes" the 
honorable record of or otherwise "discredits" the advantages that 
opponent has against a Republican with a poor (like George W. Bush's) or 
no (like Saxby Chambliss or any number of other "chickenhawks") record. 

And, finally, the Republicans have the money and organizational 
connections to overwhelmingly implement their strategy. According to 
Open Secrets, in 2004 the Swift Boat Veterans spent $22.5 million, 
Progress for America $35.6 million and the Bush campaign $345.2 million. 
This is on top of the huge amount of long-term money spent outside the 
election cycle by the network of conservative think tanks and business 
groups promoting conservative ideology and issues, repeating to the 
public in a thousand different ways and through a thousand different 
channels that conservatives are good and liberals are bad. (Have you 
heard that?) 

Partially shown in the chart above, the anti-Kerry Swiftboat operation 
involved the interlocking efforts of "closely associated" Republican 
Party adjuncts like the Progress For America 527 organization, utilizing 
Party-affiliated consultants like Chris LaCivita, Merrie Spaeth, Keith 
Appell, Benjamin Ginsberg, Susan Arcaneaux, and companies like Political 
Compliance Services, Creative Response Concepts (CRC), DCI Group, 
Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm (SRCP) and The Pinkston Group. Also 
involved are conservative movement-affiliated media outlets like Media 
Research Center’s Cybercast News Service (CNS) WorldNetDaily or NewsMax, 
with Drudge Report, The Washington Times and Fox News operating as 
echoes and amplifiers to entice the major corporate media to pick up and 
repeat the smears. 

The February, 2005 New York Times story, A New Target for Advisers to 
Swift Vets, provides an example of how this kind of interlocking smear 
operation continues, this time supporting the Social Security 
privatization efforts of the Bush-affiliated organization USA Next: 

"To help set USA Next's strategy, the group has hired Chris LaCivita, an 
enthusiastic former marine who advised Swift Vets and P.O.W.'s for 
Truth, formerly known as Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, on its media 
campaign and helped write its potent commercials. He earned more than 
$30,000 for his work, campaign finance filings show. 

Officials said the group is also seeking to hire Rick Reed, a partner at 
Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm, a firm that was hired by Swift Vets and 
was paid more than $276,000 to do media production, records show. 

For public relations, USA Next has turned to Creative Response Concepts, 
a Virginia firm that represented both Swift Vets - the company was paid 
more than $165,000 - and Regnery Publishing, the publisher of "Unfit for 
Command," a book about Senator John Kerry's military service whose co-
author was John E. O'Neill, one of the primary leaders of Swift Vets."

You might remember this anti-AARP attack ad, which was one result of 
this effort. Simple, good vs bad, literally using black-and-white: 

Just recently the tactic was used against the "9/11 widows" who came 
under attack because they had demanded Congressional oversight of the 
Bush Administration. In return for asking that Congress do its job they 
were smeared as "enjoying their husbands' deaths." Note how the attack 
neutralizes their "strength," the credibility and sympathy they receive 
from the public because they lost their husbands. This is ongoing, it 
followed similar attacks by Rush Limbaugh in 2004.

And now there are attempts to do the same with Congressman John Murtha. 
In a duplication of the Swift Boat attacks, even including similarly-
named websites (since moved to bootmurtha.com), some of the very same 
people involved1 have regrouped to attack Murtha for coming out in 
opposition to President Bush's Iraq strategy (or lack thereof). 
Previously, Rep. Jean Schmidt, the same Republican member of Congress 
who used swiftboating tactics on candidate Paul Hackett, had called 
Murtha a "coward" on the floor of the House.   

There is some good "fighting back" news on the Murtha front, saved for 
later. 

And now there is an election coming, with lots of "Fighting Dems" 
running for office, and the swiftboaters are back in the water. Here are 
some examples of the most recent crop of swiftboatings from the same 
scoundrels. Expect more, watch for it so you’re not surprised, and learn 
how to FIGHT BACK! 


Christopher A. LaCivita is an example of a professional Republican 
operative working with the swiftboaters. LaCivita served as the Swift 
Boat Veterans for Truth media strategy advisor.  Previously LaCivita 
served as the political director for the Republican Senatorial Campaign 
Committee, and Executive Director for the Bush-campaign-associated 
Progress For America organization (founded by 2000 Bush campaign 
political director Tony Feather). He was an employee of DCI Group when 
he went to work for the Swiftboat Vets.   

There are conflicting stories about how the group connected with Party 
professionals like LaCivita. A Richmond Times-Dispatch article (referred 
to here)2 says: 

"Retired Rear Adm. Roy Francis Hoffmann, chairman of the swift-boat 
group and a virtual neighbor of LaCivita in Chesterfield County ... said 
CRC (Creative Response Concepts), a public-relations firm in Arlington, 
put the group in touch with LaCivita. CRC is involved in a number of 
conservative causes." 

But a Knight Ridder story, Anti-Kerry Veterans' group now political 
machine with big budget3, reports that major Bush-connected Republican 
funders enabled the connections, 

"O'Neill said he researched how to form and run [a 527] and got help 
from Political Compliance Strategies, a suburban Washington 
organization. Political Compliance Strategies is led by Susan Arceneaux, 
who was the treasurer of a political action committee associated with 
former House Majority Leader Dick Armey, a Texas Republican. [...] Texan 
Harlan Crow, a trustee of the George Bush Presidential Library Fund, 
which honors the current president's father, gave $25,000 [note, post-
election records show the Crow donations as $100-125,000]. Bob J. Perry, 
a major GOP donor in Texas and a friend of Karl Rove, Bush's top 
political adviser, gave $100,000 on June 30, according to a financial 
report. [Note, according to John O’Neill Perry ultimately gave a total 
of $7 million.]

"I'm certain some of the people giving us money are doing it because 
they think this will help their side of the campaign," O'Neill said. 
"It's probably fair to say the people more likely to help us are 
Republicans." 
 
With money in hand, the group was able to bring on advisers led by Chris 
LaCivita, a political strategist and an expert in TV ads. LaCivita had 
worked for the National Republican Senatorial Committee in 2002. Last 
year, he became the executive director of PFA (Progress for America), a 
Republican-affiliated tax-exempt organization founded by Tony Feather, 
the political director of Bush's campaign in 2000."

Following the Swift-Boat episode, LaCivita went to work for USA Next, 
shown above attacking the AARP. 

LaCivita now advises George Allen's Virginia Senate campaign against Jim 
Webb. And it didn't take long for the swiftboating to begin. But that is 
also saved for later. 

"Finance reports filed with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service show Swift 
Boat contributed $100,000 on February 8, 2006 to an outfit called the 
Admiral Roy F. Hoffman Foundation in Fairfax, Virginia.  In 2005, the 
group donated $10,000 to Hoffmans foundation, $100,000 to the Vietnam 
Veterans Legacy Foundation and spent $132,087 on meeting expenses at the 
Walt Disney World Resort in Florida.") 

The Republican firm that employed LaCivita, Feather Larson Synhorst-DCI 
(FLS-DCI), comes out of the tobacco industry and does work for such 
clients as the NRA, (helping them after Columbine,) Pharmaceutical 
Research & Manufacturers of America (PhRMA), the National Pork Producers 
Council (no comment). For others, see Unsavory DCI Clients:


DCI seems willing to work with some of the most controversial clients in 
the world. In 2002, it received $340,000 for eight months of work for 
the Union of Myanmar (Burma) State Peace & Development Council. The 
Washington Post’s Al Kamen wrote, "DCI's filings with the Justice 
Department offer an unusual glimpse into the efforts by the Rangoon 
junta. DCI lobbyists, featuring Charles Francis, a longtime family 
friend of the Bushes, ran a sophisticated campaign to improve the 
regime's image, and steer the conversation away from its rampant human 
rights abuses and such."

FLS-DCI is currently running phony "Astroturf" campaigns against net 
neutrality, using fronts like Responsible Electronic Communications 
Alliance and Hands Off the Internet. 

And DCI isn’t just using the tactics in politics! They're also using it 
for corporate clients. (If it works, do it again and again,) From this 
story, HM GETS PR HELP WITH ATTACKS: 

"Houghton Mifflin, publisher of a best-selling children's book critical 
of the fast-food industry, has brought in Dan Klores Communications to 
help rebut what it sees as "Swift Boat-Style campaign" attacks on the 
tome. ... HM sees a "cloud of disinformation" working against the book 
and orchestrated by the PR firm DCI Group at the behest of the fast-food 
industry. It has brought in DKC to guide PR for its defense. SVP Ed 
Tagliaferri heads the work at DKC."

Incidentally, DCI's James Tobin was recently convicted as part of the 
2002 New Hampshire phone-jamming operation. From Talking Points Memo:

"Tobin was the ranking Republican official involved in the New Hampshire 
phone-jamming operation. An employee of DCI Group at the time of 
sentencing, he had reported to Chris LaCivita, the NRSC's National 
Political Director, and to Sen. Bill Frist (R-TN), the Senate Majority 
Leader." 

Keith Appell is an employee of Swift Boat media consultants Creative 
Response Concepts, former Club for Growth spokesperson and former John 
Ashcroft campaign consultant. Also, according to the Washington Post: 

"But Keith Appell, a well-known Republican media adviser in Washington, 
said same-sex marriage is issue number one now for social conservatives. 
He has close ties to people like Focus on the Family founder James 
Dobson and Concerned Women for America president Sandy Rios -- the sort 
of people who can pick up the phone and get Karl Rove at the White 
House."

Appell was involved with CRC in the Dan Rather Forgeries story. 
According to the PR Week story, TWO DC FIRMS RAMP UP EFFORTS OVER LATEST 
PRESIDENTIAL CONTROVERSIES4: 

"After the CBS story aired, [CNS] called typographical experts, got them 
on the record that these papers were fishy, and posted a story by 3pm 
Thursday," said CRC SVP Keith Appell. "We were immediately in contact 
with Matt Drudge, who loved the story." CRC worked with CNS and the 
Media Research Center, another media watchdog client, to push the story 
into the mainstream press." 

So where is Appell now? In May, 2006, Appell joined the John Raese 
campaign against Senator Robert Byrd. And how long did it take for the 
swiftboating to begin? Not long: June, 2006, John Raese Approves 
Dishonest Attack Ad "accusing Senator Robert Byrd of voting against the 
troops."

Merrie Spaeth, another Republican-connected consultant, was the original 
Swift Boat media consultant.  How Republican-connected is she? Her 
husband was George W Bush's Texas running mate in 1994. She had been a 
Reagan administration press officer, provided debate preparations to 
George HW Bush, was a volunteer consultant to Ken Starr, advised Wyly 
brothers Republicans for Clean Air attack on McCain in 2000, which, 
incidentally, was funded by some of the same supporters who funded the 
Swift Boaters.   

Following the Swift Boat episode she wrote the "WORDS MATTER" column 
distributed by the UPI wire service (owned and operated by the 
Unification Church, also known as the "Moonies" who also own The 
Washington Times, Insight Magazine and World & I Magazine, but that's a 
topic for a whole other article), and is listed for speaking engagements 
at Leading Authorities Speakers Bureau, asking $5-10,000 per event. She 
was also added as a commenter on public broadcasting in June of 2005.

Ms. Spaeth showed up in several news stories posing as a "friend" of 
Bush Supreme Court nominee Harriet Meirs, naturally without being 
identified as a long-time Republican PR professional.   

Rick Reed of Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm (SRCP) was hired by the Swift 
Boat Veterans for Truth. And what have they been up to, you ask? Working 
with LaCivita at USA Next, for one. From Maine Firm to Help "Dynamite" 
Opposition to Social Security Privatization:

"The Maine connection comes through Rick Reed, partner at the Maine firm 
Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm who USA Next is attempting to hire." 

And SRCP is continuing to otherwise stir up trouble. March 2005: 
American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Speak Out Against 
Misleading Driver’s License TV Ad:

"Recently, the Coalition for a Secure Driver's License, released a 
television advertisement [created by Stevens Reed Curcio & Potholm] 
regarding the issue of illegal immigrants' access to photo IDs and 
drivers' licenses. The advertisement incorrectly conflates the issues of 
immigration and national security while also inflaming fears about 
Arabs, Muslims, and Arab-Americans. In effect, the Coalition for a 
Secure Driver's License utilizes anti-terrorism rhetoric to push their 
anti-immigration agenda."

For 2006 campaign SRCP has signed up with two Ohio Republicans, Craig 
Foltin and Frank Guglielmi, and sending a media consultant with the Ray 
Meier campaign in New York. Swiftboating is sure to follow.

The Donateli Group reappeared with the Judicial Confirmation Network 
(JCN). Additionally, a Kos diary informs us that "JCN has also hired 
Creative Response Concepts (CRC), the public-relations firm that 
"advised Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" with, Hughes for America informs 
us: Ohio's notorious Ken Blackwell acting as spokeman.

Most recently, Donateli is connected with Vets for Freedom, a Bush 
support group that condemns Rep. John Murtha.

These are examples of some of the better-known Republican swiftboaters, 
how they work, what they’ve done and what they’re doing now. Meanwhile, 
of course, "conservative-movement" outlets like Media Research Center's 
Cybercast News Service and other echo outfits like NewsMax, Washington 
Times and WorldNetDaily will be ready to spread the poison as it's 
produced. 

So how DO we fight back? They'll keep doing this as long as it works. 
But maybe Jim Webb is showing us one way to make it stop working. 

This is what was saved for later. These are examples of fighting back! 
With Chris LaCivita involved in Virginia’s George Allen Senate campaign, 
it didn't take long before the swiftboating began, with the campaign 
attacking Jim Webb’s patriotism. But the Webb campaign was ready. From 
Webb Rips into Allen over flag:

"George Felix Allen Jr. and his bush-league lapdog, Dick Wadhams, have 
not earned the right to challenge Jim Webb's position on free speech and 
flag burning," Webb spokesman Steve Jarding said in a press release. 
"Jim Webb served and fought for our flag and what it stands for, while 
George Felix Allen Jr. chose to cut and run. 
 
"When he and his disrespectful campaign puppets attack Jim Webb, they 
are attacking every man and woman who served. Their comments are nothing 
more than weak-kneed attacks by cowards." 
 
Webb was a Marine in Vietnam, serving as a rifle-platoon leader and 
company commander. He received the Navy Cross, the Silver Star, two 
Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts, Jarding noted. 

"This is straight out of the Republican playbook ... taking a 
candidate's strength and trying to turn it into a weakness," Denny Todd 
said. "It's what Chris LaCivita did with Swift Boats against John 
Kerry." 
 
LaCivita helped orchestrate the "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth" attacks 
during the 2004 Bush campaign. He now works for Allen. 
 
"It's been said that Democrats aren't willing to fight back in 
campaigns," Denny Todd said. "Well, we're willing. We're not letting 
them get away with it." 

"While Jim Webb and others of George Felix Allen Jr.'s generation were 
fighting for our freedoms and for our symbols of freedom in Vietnam, 
George Felix Allen Jr. was playing cowboy at a dude ranch in Nevada," 
Jarding said. "People who live in glass dude ranches should not question 
the patriotism of real soldiers who fought and bled for this country on 
a real battlefield."

[. . .] Stephen Farnsworth, a political scientist at the University of 
Mary Washington, agreed with Sabato. "It's said the best defense is a 
good offense and it's clear Webb isn't going to be bullied like John 
Kerry was two years ago," Farnsworth said." 

Now THAT is powerful. As discussed earlier, the swiftboating tactic is 
based on a strong offense, surprise, extreme audacity and a dependence 
on the media repeating the charges. With a very strong, fighting 
response, Jim Webb has found one answer. Webb was ready to fight back 
with a strategy in place. He fought back immediately with a strong 
counter-punch. He exposed the plot, describing the "playbook" strategy 
and naming the players. He exposed the weaknesses the Allen campaign was 
trying to distract people from. And he gave the media a simple, good vs. 
evil storyline about the swiftboating playbook and Democrats fighting 
back.

And, as Taylor Marsh wrote just a few days ago in The Swiftboating of 
John Murtha at Patriot Project, there is also an ongoing attempt to 
swiftboat Representative John Murtha for questioning the wisdom of 
President Bush's Iraq policies. But bloggers and others fought back, 
exposing the tactic and exposing that so many of the same people and 
organizations were involved. As discussed above, the Republicans 
desperately need distractions and misdirections to turn the public's and 
media’s eyes away from their own foreign policy and national security 
weaknesses. But this time we have been getting ready, and information 
about the swiftboaters is available. Because we have started fighting 
back and exposing the swiftboaters, the stealth and surprise of the 
tactic are blunted. As the bloggers and organizations like Patriot 
Project continue their work, exposing and fighting back, maybe, just 
maybe, we can beat this.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------
-------

[1] Richmond-Times Dispatch on LaCivita introduction to SBVFT available 
on Nexis, but is referred to here: 
http://www.augustafreepress.com/stories/storyReader$25489

[2] Knight Ridder, Sept 12, 2004, at 
http://www.highbeam.com/doc/1G1:121841720/Anti-
Kerry+Veterans+group+now+political+machine+with+big+budget.html?refid=SE
O

[3] DCI using swiftboating for a corporate client: HM GETS PR HELP WITH 
ATTACKS, Dyer’s PR Daily, June 2, 2006, members only: 
http://www.odwyepr.com/members/0602mifflin.htm.  Available on Nexis.

[4] PRWeek: can be seen at http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-
news/1219349/posts

© 2006, The Patriot Project, Inc.

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