New evidence from Swift Ship Veterans For Truth: was altered; Greedo didn’t shoot first!
And I always wondered what the hell Solo was talking about when he used “parsec” as a measure of time…
Day: August 22, 2004
Glenn’s Alternate Kerry
Glenn offers instructive view into a parallel universe.
It’s not really an alternate universe, though: just an alternate Kerry. And that’s the problem. The Kerry that Glenn envisions is no more real than the Easter Bunny. Imagining Kerry behaving boldly and honestly is interesting, but only as a study in contrast to reality. Glenn’s tale isn’t one of what-might-be; it isn’t even what-could-have-been. It’s not imagining what if Lincoln had lived past that night at the theatre — it’s imagining what would have happened if he sprouted wings, tipped his hat to the missus, and flew off to the moon.
Like Glenn, I’d love to see a Democratic candidate genuinely challenge Bush with an alternative vision for the future. But that’s not what Kerry wants: he has no such vision, and even if he did, he’d never have the courage to proclaim it for fear of alienating one slice or another of the precarious jumble of interest groups and activists known as the Democratic Party. There is only one line on his r
Kerry’s FEC Complaint
I’ve been trying to find the actual text / PDF of Kerry’s FEC complaint against Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, but so far no luck — it doesn’t appear to be online yet.
But on a similar note, it is worthwhile to review a very similar complaint filed in March by the GOP against the Kerry campaign for illegal coordination with 527’s . The GOP has kindly all their documents online (yet another reason why GOP=good, Dems=bad, I guess), including a PDF of the actual, 67-page complaint itself. It has tons of information, including sections like “Individual Participants in the Soft Money Conspiracy”, which lists names of people like Harold Ickes, Steve Rosenthal, and Bill Richardson as key points-of-connection between Kerry and the 527’s.
527’s in Perspective
“They’re funded by hundreds of thousands of dollars from a Republican contributor out of Texas. They’re a front for the Bush campaign. And the fact that the president won’t denounce what they’re up to tells you everything you need to know — he wants them to do his dirty work.”
— Kerry on Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
Perhaps the indispensible OpenSecrets.org might show us some perspective on the Swift Boat Veteran’s “527”:
Swift Boat Veterans for Truth
Receipts: $ 158,750
OpenSecrets.org Description: “SBVT represents Vietnam Swift boat veterans who are critical of Democrat John Kerry’s decision to make his military service a major part of his campaign for president. The group questions Kerry’s record in Vietnam and denounces his anti-war activities following his military service. The group’s donors include some major Republican contributors.”
It sure is a good thing that Kerry doesn’t have any 527’s doing his dirty work. Except these, of course:
Media Fund
Receipts: $ 28,127,488
OpenSecrets.org Description: “One of the leading Democratic interest groups dedicated to defeating President Bush in November. Plans to raise close to $100 million for a massive issue-ad campaign to support the Democratic presidential nominee. The ads will air in 17 battleground states.”
America Coming Together
Receipts: $26,905,450
OpenSecrets.org Description: “One of the leading Democratic interest groups dedicated to defeating President Bush in November. Run by longtime Democratic operatives and financed in part by wealthy Democratic donors, the group plans a massive voter mobilization effort in 17 battleground states.”
MoveOn.org
Receipts: $9,086,102
OpenSecrets.org Description: “Begun in 1998 to protest the impeachment of President Clinton, the group has become a powerful political force since then. Its political action committee, the MoveOn PAC, spends millions of dollars to support the election of Democratic candidates. The MoveOn.org Voter Fund is raising soft money, which may be contributed in unlimited amounts, for TV ads in key battleground states that are critical of President Bush.”
(Emphasis mine)
And oh yeah, these too:
Service Employees International Union: $ 16,652,296
American Fedn of St/Cnty/Munic Employees: $ 13,658,207
New Democrat Network: $ 7,172,693
Voices For Working Families: $ 3,668,280
Partnership for America’s Families: $ 3,071,211
For a little visual perspective on a few of the top Democratic 527’s compared to SBVT, click ‘MORE…’ below for the full entry.
More on 527’s from other fine bloggers:
Mudville Gazette
Alpha Patriot
Baldilocks
Blogs for Bush
Little Green Footballs