From Crosswalk.com:
A veterans' group opposed to the re-election of anti-war critic Rep. John Murtha (D-Pa.) Thursday denied claims that their organization is the same one that ran television advertisements attacking Sen. John Kerry's military record during the 2004 presidential election, though a spokesman replied: "Thanks for the compliment."
The exchange took place during back-to-back events held outside the Johnstown, Pa., office of the Democratic congressman who has been hammered by conservatives for urging a U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq.
The first event was a rally supporting Murtha that was co-sponsored by the Patriot Project and Veterans' Alliance for Security and Democracy (VETPAC).
"As an organization dedicated to defending and supporting the rights of Americans to debate American foreign policy, we simply cannot stand by and allow someone like Rep. Murtha, a man who has served his country with distinction and courage in Vietnam, have his patriotism questioned by partisan political groups," said Mike Lyon, executive director of the Patriot Project's board of directors.
"Larry Bailey and his 'Swift Boat' buddies represent the lowest level of personal smear politics," Lyon told the 125 people attending the rally. "They should be ashamed."
In a press release accompanying their event, the organizations defending Murtha charged that Vets for the Truth (VFTT) is "the same group, which defamed Sen. John Kerry's military record during the 2004 presidential election," and "has launched a new smear campaign against Murtha."
However, Mark Parker of nearby Waynesburg, Pa., responded to the charge during a news conference held by VFTT immediately after the pro-Murtha rally.
"We're not the Swift Boat Veterans [for Truth]," Parker said. "They are an entirely separate group, but thanks for the compliment. We're local veterans, local guys."
The Bush administration must be really scared of Congressman Murtha to bring back the swiftboat liars. The good news is Murtha is the type of guy who will fight back unlike John Kerry. There's quite a lot of Democrats and even some Republicans who've made statements similar to Murtha's. Why not go after them? I'll tell you why. It's because Murtha has tons of credibility on military issues and the Bush administration fears his criticisms are hurting the spin they're trying to put on the Iraq war. The only way to marginalize him is to make him out to be unpatriotic. Murtha is speaking out on the Iraq war because he cares about our troops, not because he hates them. Murtha's record bears out his concern for those in the military. To accuse him of hating our soldiers or of trying to smear them is dispicable and i believe this is going to backfire on the Republicans as November gets closer. The american people are fed up with the Republicans being more concerned about politics than actually governing.
