Swifties Not Done Yet

Erick Erickson told me today about an ad in the Washington Times regarding the swift boat veterans. Swift Boat Veterans for Truth will launch new ads attacking John Kerry's Vietnam war stance "starting Thursday in Pennsylvania and Ohio and in a few heavily military areas of Florida" according to the Times. This will deal a blow to Kerry in states which have strong military and patriotic populations but are teetering between Bush and Kerry. It is likely that these ads will have the same effect of previous Swift Boat ads by casting doubts about Kerry's fitness to be Commander-in-Chief.

The article is found here The Washington Times: Injured, angry, determined, Swiftees unite to fight Kerry -

The Swift Boat Vets were able to gather a large number of Veterans including many former POW's and even Bud Day, one of the most decorated veterans in American military history.

" These Swiftees, at times jocular (breaking into 'Row, row, row your boat') and at other times on the verge of tears, are angry and frustrated. Not only because they say Mr. Kerry has lied about his service and refuses to sign the form that releases his military records to the public, but because 30 years ago, the candidate threw away his medals and called his fellow servicemen murderers, rapists, baby killers and cowards. "

I must say that I am not a fan WWF-style politics: the type that finds personal problems of candidates and exploits them. The Swift Boat ads are, therefore, somewhat troublesome to me in the larger scheme of things. But I learned as a child that you'll reap what you sow. And John Kerry has brought this upon himself. Kerry stirred up the hornets' nest when he came back from Vietnam. And not Bush or any bystander can stop the swarm once the hornets have identified their enemy. Unfortunately, despite substantive debates, this campaign will be remembered less for substance and more for Swift boat claims just like 1998 is remembered for Willie Horton.