Fighting The Last War: Democratic Obsession With Swiftboating

John O'Neill, as far as I know, has crawled back under a rock in Houston and except for the infrequent guest shot on Fox News, will stay there. He may still be milking his thirty plus year side career of lying about being in Vietnam with John Kerry, but no one is paying attention.

No one that is, except the Democrats.

Democrats remain obsessed with stopping 'swiftboating' and ending the smears. They are lining up to fight the last war in droves, no one will get swiftboated this time, they cry.

Well, that part is right, no one will get swiftboated because the Republicans aren't going to use the same tactic twice. Yes, swiftboating is a tactic not a strategy.

The core reason that won't be used again as a tactic is that the swiftboating on John Kerry, and I was there on the campaign, with John's family and friends and fellow veterans, was a once-in-our-lifetime occurrence -- more about that later.

This issue of tactic not strategy is the one thing all those Democrats are falling over themselves to not understand.

The strategy is to use the money of extremely wealthy Republicans, T. Boone Pickens, Bob Perry, men who invest in projects created by right wing consultants and strategists. Invest I say because the payout that they receive from winning the election is a tremendous return on investment. This is why Sam Fox, our nation's Ambassador to Belgium can truthfully claim that he didn't know he was funding veteran attacks on John Kerry. He was committing money to the strategy, the tactics and the execution? He had no idea.

The strategy then is to use the money to attack and destroy and ridicule the Democratic opposition in a race. With the Swift Boat Veterans, it was attacking John Kerry's military record. With Democrats last cycle and the Economic Freedom Fund, funded with $5,000,000 of Bob Perry's money, it was to go off the "Democrats will raise taxes" mantra.

The strategy is to lie and diminish and attack Democrats, always has been, always will be. Jimmy Carter, Walter Mondale, Al Gore, Hillary Clinton, all greatly impacted by this strategy, none swiftboated.

John Kerry, of course, was swiftboated.

Here are just a quick list of some of the absolutely unique factors that created the Swift Boat success that will not be repeated in 2004.

John Kerry's service in Vietnam, opposition to the war and 30+ years of Republican push-back to that opposition.

Here is a picture of John O'Neill with Richard Nixon in the White House from 1972 when Charles Colson first set up O'Neill as a front to deflect attention from John Kerry's efforts. Charles Colson went to jail, Richard Nixon resigned, John O'Neill made a career out of being a 'counter-foil' -- Colson's words, to John Kerry.

The timing of the convention.

August 2004 was when the Kerry Campaign had to conserve money for the general election. The Republicans knew this and timed the attack perfectly.

The failure of John Kerry to respond, personally and with full force.

Politicians and their advisors have learned this lesson, perhaps too well. Now, Democrats overreact and fight back too hard and too fast ironically.

The emerging status of new media in 2004.

New media was emerging but was not yet the more fully-formed political movement that it is now. Lies were rapidly spread then, but not as rapidly debunked as they are now.

There is much, much more, the war in Iraq, George Bush's own military record, 9/11, and so on.

But that was then, a moment in time when a real war hero was running against an incumbent president with a questionable record, and the Republicans put together an incredibly-brilliant, once-in-a-lifetime, plan and executed it.

It will never happen again.

And just as Democrats in 2004 poured money into Florida only to lose Ohio as well, so now, we seem obsessed with beating the swiftboaters.

They won.

Now, we need to look forward, not back.

Let me repeat that, they won. They won in August 2004 and as much as we want to keep fighting them, it's over, done. John Kerry is not President. And all of the groups, focus, lamenting and 20/20 hindsight, mine including, will not, change this core fact.

They won.

Now there is a different battle, the strategy has not changed but the tactics will.

We, collectively, we have 90 days to game plan and create a fight back group that will fight the next war, not the last one.

We can all do this by thinking about the future not the past. How will they attack Hillary or Barack? And how will you defend and fight back that attack? Will they go to Barack's strength -- his oratorical skills where he has already exposed himself? I'm sure they will.

Will there be blatant racism we need to shine the light on? Yes.

Will there be blatant sexism we need to shine the light on? Yes

Will they go after Hillary's White House years and the Vince Foster rumors? Absolutely.

But none of that is swiftboating. None of that will be organized by the right, but there is something that appears like it will be.

Here's where I think it goes.

Freedom's Watch is a 'charity' with $250 million committed. They use troops and the families of troops to create an emotional bond between the war in Iraq and our men and women in uniform, especially ones who have died there, that is very powerful -- that connection must be broken. Supporting the troops means ending the war, not continuing it.

Unfortunately, the Democrats have not been spending the last year making that point and they may not be able to catch up on that. The Democrats have made themselves known as being, universally, for withdrawal, but they have not made the case FOR withdrawal from Iraq.

They have not tied the economic troubles, hundred dollar barrels of oil, a resurgent Al Qaeda to the failure in Iraq. They have not.

$250 million will go a long way to support John McCain -- and this is the perfect storm for the Democrats. John McCain is a real war hero, and his son is serving in Iraq.

His sacrifice will be equated with the sacrifice of the troops in Iraq and, if things move in Iraq, either for better for worse, they will be able to hold the states they won in 2004 with this messaging. I'm dead serious.

So what Dave Johnson and I, with the help of many others, have been doing, is working to expose and diminish the impact that this group will have. We launched FreedomsWatch NewsLadder and we will be launching a Watching Freedoms Watch web site.

We have been looking for a sponsor for these activities among political circles, asking for as little as $1,500 a month and guess what? No money for future wars, plenty of money for fighting the last one again.

But we're going to keep on with this one, I have a feeling about Freedom's Watch.

About the same feeling that my friend Peter Daou had about the Swiftboaters in April 2004, yep, April. When he brought up what he saw forming, a direct attack on JK's record, from the right, using John O'Neill.

No one listened.

They were too busy worrying about how to win Florida.

P.S. The other possibility I see right now is a coordinated campaign on the economy led by Mitt Romney, as VP?, blaming the recession on the Democrats, I am sure there are more.

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Comments

[Boboday555]

T. Boone Pickens is fixin' elections!
Why he sounds so American...how could that be?
Oh that’s right, this vile administration and the party that controls it are waging a second Civil War against America!
Don't think for a second these 'men' love America!
On the contrary...they HATE America and Americans.
They despise the United States Constitution and the rights it gives to you and me!
The right they hate the most has to be the Free Speech one!
They want this nation to stop its forward progress (and they've done a bang up job with the Decider at the helm haven't they?) and not only stop America's progress but to actually turn it around.
These neo-con 'men' want the good old antebellum South restored.
That they lost to real Americans in 1865 still sticks in their craws.
So in 2008, lets vote these robber barons out and let’s put an American back in the White House!!!

[abroadabroad]

I think the reason Democrats keep bringing up swift-boating is because they have come to see that the mere accusation is an effective tactic all its own to mobilize Democratic voters.

John Kerry's implied accusation of Clinton-perpetrated swift-boating introduced a new phenomenon into campaign strategy: Meta-swift-boating, which I would describe as recklessly accusing someone of swift-boating.

Swift-boating is something so despicable that the mere mention of it gives the accused a distinct aura of unsavoriness. Now, politics is a nasty business, and I doubt any engage in it very successfully without selling off little pieces of their souls, but I agree that no one has really been swift-boated, with all of the sliminess it implies, since John Kerry was swift-boated.

I wonder how carefully Mr. Kerry considered how that particular accusation would resound with Democratic voters when he, of all people, made it.

[Boboday555]

I always forget;
How long were George W. AWOL's, Dick ‘War Deferments’ Cheney's, Karl ‘War Deferments’ Rove's, Rudy ‘War Deferments’ Giuliani's, Fred ‘War Deferments’ Thompson's and Mitt ‘War Deferments’ Romney's tours of duty in Vietnam?
Really?
Makes you wonder why these republicans act so big and bad all the live long day doesn’t it?
And McCain wants to side with these maggots?
So much for honor!!!

[foreffectivegovernment]

So, T. Boone Pickens and Swiftboating have gone away. Don't believe this shit, people.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stop_Her_Now

http://www.stophernow.com/site/PageServer

It will be used very effectively on Senator Obama too. Just like "Strategic Voting" has been. Read the following.

"With McCain’s GOP nomination virtually assured, rumors say some Texas Republicans are apparently planning to vote in the Democratic primary, hoping to affect the outcome of that tight presidential race. It’s referred to as “Strategic Voting”."

"One rumor is that Texas Republicans will jump over and vote for Obama, perceived by some Republicans as the “weak sister” – the candidate who Republicans feel McCain could beat in November. Another rumor has it they will cross over and vote for Clinton to keep the race tight, which in turn could exhaust more Democratic funds and possibly cause a split within the party." Guess which plan they are using? Obama has been winning in the Red States, hasn't he?

They won't even have to use Swiftboating on Obama when all the Republicans who got him nominated vote for McCain in November and the college kids don't vote, as they are famous for.

[backhandpath]

James, Noble Mon. You and your NewsLadders...if you don't watch it you might change the world.
Your analysis is right on the money and just what we have been looking for: the next swiftboat that won't look like the last swiftboat.
I don't know what the Dems are t'inking but am glad you're thinking ahead.
The Burma News Ladder is rockin'right along too.
Thanks...

[ndolomar]

democrats also are known to swiftboat their own, you know. as of late, hillary clinton has employed the same "red phone" tactic mondale used against hart in the primary: "I want you to think, 'Who do you want to have in the White House answering the phone at 3 o'clock in the morning when some crisis breaks out around the world?'" Clinton asked a heavily Hispanic crowd at a rally in downtown Laredo.

oh, joy -- using fear to scare us latinos into voting for her. i thought she decries this practice when the bush 2 administration does it. and to think some people don't believe she's retained her republican roots. p'shaw...

[AZDave]

McCain's service has many skeletons in the closet.

There has actually been much worry in Republican circles that some of it may come out.

Notice I said Republican. Real conservatives like myself are hoping he loses.

However, it doesn't change the fact that John Kerry is a fraud from the minute he wakes up in the morning to the time he goes to bed.

My candidate is Obama. I wish Kerry wouldn't have endorsed him... it'll do him more harm than good.

[WAdem]

Oh, yeah. Obama is really authentic. Not!

[Kermugeon]

The swiftboating of Kerry was successful because people already had doubts about his Vietnam experience. People had no way to know if what the Swifters were saying was true, but they sure did see the way the young, smug Kerry pissed on his fellow Vets when he got back. What Kerry said then was pure BS and he has never atoned for it. It makes a lot of sense that folks would buy into the Swiftboat stuff. Lies made from whole cloth never work, but addeding another layer to the garbage that's already there is easy. I despised Kerry then and despise him to this day for the charletan that he is.

[oafishcad]

Drank the Kool aid did ya?

[Berettasskeeter]

I agree completely with you. Kerry has proven his disgust with the US military time and again, and thus his disgust with the US. He was attacked by the Swiftboat group on his lies and half-truths. Anyone else who comes along in this way should be so attacked.
Supporting withdrawal of the troops is not supporting the troops. Celebrating their sacrifices, their individual acts of heroism, their good works in Iraq and Afghanistan, proper equipment and weapons... That is supporting the troops.
Semper fi

[oafishcad]

God, what a twisted crock.

[BillZBubb]

Actually, "swiftboating" has become a generic term. It is part of the overall RepubliCLOWN strategy. The central premise of the smear campaign may change, but the methodology does not.

What the RepubliCLOWNS love to do is go after what is perceived to be their opponent's greatest strength of character. They use lies, innuendo, and ridicule in an orchestrated manner to negate that strength--and make the opponent appear a buffoon.

That is "swiftboating". They did it to Gore in 2000, Kerry in 2004, and they'll do it to Obama in 2008. You just watch.

[Beelzebufo]

You are panic struck!

[oafishcad]

Bush pulled the same crap with McCain when they were running for the same nomination. The problem is Democrats don't want to lie about the Republicans. It's the Democrats sense of morality that allows the immorality of the GOP to be victorious. I'm not suggesting we make up stories about McCain to beat him, I am saying you have to be aware of a problem to solve it. Most Republicans are cocksure their party is the "moral" party. All we need to do is point out that is a lie. Wars based on lies are immoral. Tax cuts while increasing spending are not tax cuts but payment deferrals to other times or other people. Again, immoral. No National Health plan is immoral, allowing poverty and homelessness in the richest nation on earth is immoral. Conservative policies are basically immoral, not because the people espousing them are, but because they don't do what the propaganda says.

[beachmom]

Why does it have to be either/or? In 2000, we had Florida and "Gore the bore". In 2004, we had Ohio ('04's FL), "Kerry the windsurfer who looks French", and Swiftboating (a wholesale smear of a candidate). I am sure in 2008, we will have the trio -- vote stealing, soft smears, and hard smears, plus new types of attacks. Freedoms Watch is definitely being watched, not just by you, but good that you set up that website. There may also be other attacks on the horizon that even you haven't foreseen. But just because new ones come along does not mean that the old GOP tricks go away. We need to be prepared for ALL OF IT, and ready for anything new. I see no problem being ready for Swiftboating 2.0, and think it is a mistake to think it won't happen again.

[poppaculture]

This is why Obama (or Clinton) cannot accept McCain's "challenge" to run purely on federal campaign funds.

The 527's will be out there -- waiting to ATTACK. --
And Democrats willneed every dollar to succeed (and overcome the lying, the false framing, the fear and negativity)

[rwe]

Swift Boat for truth ... Kerry still has not proved one iota false else he would be up a Million $ Also Kerry is pretty ticked at the way the Swiftboating term has demeaned his service... So still basically swiftboating is pointing out factual liberal democrat falsehoods and fabrications.

[wmfor]

Interesting re-definition of the word.

Now what word do you use for pointing out the willful lies of Republicans who value no-bid cost-plus billion-dollar contracts over the lives of thousands of human beings? Oh, you call that "hating 'Merica", right?

What do you call exposing the lies of those who think the suffering of legless and armless American soldiers is well worth their own huge profits? Uh, that's called "supporting terrists", isn't it?

[Berettasskeeter]

I'll try to think of a term for both of them, but first you have to provide proof that anyone as said or written either of those things.
Semper fi

[MilitaryBrat]

Oh please, these people have been proved liars many times over. For years.

http://homepage.mac.com/chinesemac/kerry_medals/truth.html

About that million dollars. How about you get your man Pickens to step up to the plate? Last we saw, he ran away and hid when Kerry accepted his challenge, asked him to keep his word instead of changing the terms, and offered to meet him anytime, anyplace to make his proof.

[gaila]

Based on O'Neill's history, how hard would it have been for Kerry's campaign, in the spring of 2004, to see the swiftboating thing coming, develop a comprehensive crisis management plan for it, get everybody on board with the plan, and keep it ready to launch as soon as the slime machine started running? Oh, I forgot, Bob Shrum decided that American voters had totally changed after 9/11 and wouldn't respond to negative attacks. I pray that the campaign leaders for Obama will be living in the real world. Maybe it will even cross their minds that it might be worth making a few ads showing video of McCain saying he thinks it will be just fine if we're in Iraq for 100 years. Or they could show the one where he says he doesn't understand the economy. Of course, that might help bring about a Democratic victory, so it may be an unrealistic thing to expect.

[petey64]

each side has there own money people, it's just the Republicans stay together on more issues even when things are going wrong for them they stick together, Kerry was a very weak candidate, he didn't need to be swift boated his poor record spoke for itself and the same is true with these two candidates, Hillary is well Hillary and Obama has no true experience to speak of, "but he is a very good speaker" and the Republicans are sending up to the plate John McCain he has a record, he has his name on laws that were co-authored with people from the other side of the aisle and most importently THE REPUBLICANS PLAY CHESS WHILE THE DEMS PLAY CHECKERS, it's going to be a McCain rout no matter how many names people call him or call the population at large, the Republicans have stuff in store for Obama you can bet on that.