Instahonky links to this ABC News story called “PR Machine Behind Cindy Sheehan?” He adds, “I bet that if a GOP group were to send servicemen’s families to picket Democrats it would be getting more play. And more negative play.”

Ah, but Glenn, GOP groups already did them one better by recruiting actual former servicemen! Do you remember a little 527 called The Swift Boat Veterans for the Truth?

A group funded by the biggest Republican campaign donor in Texas began running an attack ad Aug. 5 in which former Swift Boat veterans claim Kerry lied to get one of his two decorations for bravery and two of his three purple hearts.

And let’s recall how you, the ever-responsible and wise Lord of the New Media reacted:

August 4, 2004:

LORIE BYRD writes that this ad by “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth” is “the most devastating political ad I have ever seen – bar none.” Yeah, I’d say that’s right. And Kerry played right into this with all the stuff about Vietnam and medals.

August 8, 2004:

THE SWIFTBOAT VETS are responding to the Kerry campaign with some lawyering of their own — as well as talking about the facts, something the Kerry campaign seems less interested in doing. Ed Morrissey is convinced.

August 25, 2004:

THIS SEEMS LIKE NEWS:

John Kerry’s own wartime journal is raising questions about whether he deserved the first of three Purple Hearts, which permitted him to go home after 4? months of combat. . .

(This “news” came from the ever-reliable Moonie Times.)

August 26, 2004:

A MAJOR UNCORRECTED ERROR AT THE LOS ANGELES TIMES: It just gets worse.

UPDATE: The error is repeated in The New Republic. (“The veterans featured in the organization’s TV ad claim to have ‘served with Kerry,’ but none actually served on the same boat.”) The “same boat” claim is dumb — but forget Clintonian parsing of what “served with” means, it’s also not true. I thought weeklies were supposed to have the time to get stuff like this right.

ANOTHER UPDATE: Refuting this error is this new ad from the Swiftboat Vets featuring Steve Gardner who says that he spent more time on Kerry’s boat than any other veteran, and that the Christmas in Cambodia story is false. It’s going to be hard for the Kerry campaign to argue with that, since they’ve already admitted it.

August 27, 2004:

“KERRY REQUESTED A PURPLE HEART,” says Admiral Schachte. The wound was accidentally self-inflicted, he says. (“‘Kerry nicked himself with a M-79 (grenade launcher),’ Schachte said in a telephone interview from his home in Charleston, S.C. He said, ‘Kerry requested a Purple Heart.'”)

That’s not malfeasance or anything, but it certainly plays to his image as an opportunist who worked the system to get out of combat as soon as possible. (“John Kerry, reporting for duty — until I can finagle a way out of here!”)

And:

SEAN HACKBARTH NOTES that there’s a new documentary coming out, called Stolen Honor featuring former P.O.W.s speaking about John Kerry.

Let’s have a round of applause for Instapundit, everybody!