I am beginning to think we lost something valuable when we ended dueling as a way to deal with this sort of thing.

Murtha’s already being Swift Boated, though so far only by the B team.

Oh, and there was also this little item from CNSNews.

2 x 4.

Neocon.

Some assembly required.

Jesus Hog-calling Christ.

I believe Rep. Murtha should take a page from the campaign strategy of Sen. Kerry’s fellow Bay Stater, James Michael Curley. Get some of his own supporters…the ones who wear Sluggo hats and overalls…to fan out in the “Veterans for the Truth” crowd and engage in some persuasionary tactics..

Taylor Marsh has a detailed story about the Murtha smearboating.

i wish to god politicians had the balls to just come out and say, “look. you’re lying. you’ve been paid lots of money by rich people to lie. you don’t have an honest bone in your bodies, and you take the american people for idiots. it’s despicable, and you’ll rot in hell for it.”

either that, or just clock the lying SOBs in the face with baseball bats.

liberalsouth- ironically, I think Imus of all people had the best way to deal with these guys: call them a bunch of crazy old drunks. Dig through their personal histories, see what nasty shit you can find- whether they’re wife-beaters, have histories of drunk-driving, etc.

Is it nasty? Sure. But they’re out there lying about your war record. It’s only fair.

Liberalsounth and Brad, can’t we do all three things?? They deserve it.

I think this is a tactical mistake for the Right. Back in 2004, these jackasses were actual swift boat vets, which gave them enough traction (“we just want to tell the truth about a former member of our little club”) to divert public and media attention away from issues and toward Kerry’s credibility. (Kerry, of course, failed to see the threat in the proper light and to respond appropriately, but that is water under the bridge.)

But now, they are expanding their scope, and I think it makes it clear that the impetus for their 2004 antics was not to “get out the truth,” but to destroy a candidate. I don’t see how they can credibly claim the same sort of special relationship/inside knowledge that they did regarding Kerry’s swift boat experiences with regard to other candidates with military backgrounds. The response has to be, in part at least, to point out that this “transformation” into a broad-brush anti-candidate organization puts the lie to their entire 2004 raison d’etre.

Like a year or two ago I saw an interview with Bill Clinton on CSPAN. He was talking about the whole Rove-Smearing Tactics thing and he said that every single time the Right hit him on anything he fired back – hard and fast. He’s absolutely convinced that there is no percentage in taking the high road. The American people may well see through to tactic, but the message can still stick. Remember, we know they are commercials and we still are influenced by them. Clinton’s political success to me is enough reason to take him seriously. Murtha needs to step up to the plate and call it. Straight out and harsh. Really challenge the smear merchants. To his credit, he has shown a willingness to do that already. Didn’t he nail some other congresscritter a few months ago about “sitting on his fat ass in washington” or something? Yeah, I think Jack will be just fine..

mikey

> I think this is a tactical mistake for the Right.

Surely the Right has gone too far this time, and the electorate will make them suffer the consequences.

(sound of crickets chirping)

Don’t get me wrong, Dreamweasel, I have no fantasies that this will be the straw that brings the whole house of camels tumbling down.

But.

There is going to be a discussion as the campaign season heats up about how best to respond to these scumsuckers. Camp A will say “Stick to the issues. Don’t let them derail the campaign into irrelevancies.” Camp B will say “No, we have to hit back at them hard and show them up for the lying sacks of shit they really are.”

Both camps are right, but Camp A’s “right” will doom the good candidates, because this kind of bullshit will always get more airplay and attention than issues. (After all, issues are hard. Speculation about who is lying more or louder, that’s easy.) So since the irrelevancies are going to carry the day, the right answer has to be steer them in a direction favorable to us. Taking the high road will not work; nor will a weak-ass response and a complaint that the campaign has been derailed. The Rovians revel in this chaos, and it is time to throw the chaos back in their fat, smug faces.

Dan, I agree wholeheartedly with your response. Sorry for the snark.

I’d love to see Murtha invite the Veterans for Truth over to Iraq to talk to the soldiers there. See how many of them take him up on it.

I’d love to see Murtha invite the Veterans for Truth over to Iraq to talk to the soldiers there. See how many of them take him up on it.

It wouldn’t even have to be Iraq. I wonder how many of these so-called ‘Veterans for Truth’ regularly visit VA hospitals full of wounded and disabled vets, as Murtha does?

I think there will be blowback on this, I agree with those who think this is an error on Rove’s part.

Murtha has never impressed me as someone who wouldn’t stand up for himself. I’m sure he will call these guys out on it. I just hope he has enough money to do it. So far as I know, he hasn’t had a serious challenger for his seat in a while, he may not have much of a war chest or campaign staff.

Next they’re going to give us all the dirt on those firefighters in Montana!

Could this be the one they hang themselves with?

We see it coming, we got the time, and they are ducks in barrels.

All it will take is a series of veterans, from several wars, stating “I have been in combat, and I love John Murtha as my brother”

You cannot beat that with a stick.

Hey Swiftboaters…you better bring a real army with you for security purposes, or you’ll never get out of this theatre alive.

And watch out for the Operation Yellow Elephant recruiters. Make sure all your ground forces are over 42.

Clinton has the right idea. High road or no, Americans in general don’t respect ‘turn the other cheek’ mentality- Dukakis is a good example.

Murhta, though, is a different animal, isn’t he?

I mean, a former DI, and battle veteran, non-com, doesn’t seem to me to be one to shrink from the kind of back-stabbing, cowardly bastards who author this kind of tripe.

Ideally, he’d even forego the legal response, and just visit these guys at their offices – with a tv crew in tow.

Let’s introduces ‘Veterans for the “Truth”‘ to Soldiers For The Truth. I’d back Zombie Hackworth to fuck the lot of them over.