Bring. It. On.
Those were the words of John Forbes Kerry, the junior Democrat Senator from Massachusetts, challenging President Bush to a debate on Vietnam and military service.
Well, in the words of a certain horrible cheerleader movie, it’s already been broughten.
Ever since Kerry centered his campaign on his abbreviated four-month tour of Vietnam, outcry has come up not from the President’s campaign, but from groups of veterans. The most famous of these groups, Swift Boat Veterans for Truth, has laid into Kerry with both a best-selling book (“Unfit for Command”) and a televised commercial which can be seen from the SBVfT website. The President has come forth and called for the end to all 527 ads, yet Kerry’s campaign has insisted that the President must specifically condemn the Swift Vets.
Wait, hang on John. I thought you said ‘Bring it on’?
Without going into any great detail about the Swift Vets commercial, it’s quite easy to expose the hypocrisy of Kerry. Bush has already claimed that he does not like 527 groups, nor does he like their advertisements. Kerry, on the other hand, has essentially allowed the far-left group MoveOn.org to launch repeated volleys against Bush. From equating the President to good ol’ Fuhrer Adolf Hitler of Nazi Germany to decrying his service in the Air Force National Guard, these far-left groups have done their best to discredit and destroy the President’s reputation.
From this not-so-humble writer’s perspective, however, all that Kerry and his far-left surrogates have done is offend and scoff at those who choose to serve in uniform in the Guard. Sure, President Bush could have gone to Vietnam. Fact of the matter is, though, he didn’t want to. Rather than completely opt out of military service, however, he chose to join the Air Force National Guard as a fighter pilot. The ever-so-popular “Wah! He used his daddy to get into the Guard! Wah!” battle-cry from the left rings everywhere from the Left Coast of the United States to the Peoples’ Republic of New England. However, I don’t hear any complaining from these same leftists who used family connections to get into their Ivy League universities. Yeesh, who cares if he used connections to get into the National Guard? At least he served his country in uniform in some way, shape, or form. Just as with the President, I do not call Kerry’s service into question. In his four months in Vietnam, he served his country quite honorably. Once he got home, however, is when things started to get a little shifty.
I learned today that Kerry was to report for 40 drills per year for two years as part of his required reservist service, with 16 days of active duty per year. There are, of course, no records of John Kerry’s service in the reserves. Kerry testified in front of the Senate as the leader of the Vietnam Veterans Against the War. Upon his return, Kerry chose to condemn every serviceman overseas as a war criminal, essentially claiming that the United States Armed Forces consists of nothing other than thugs, murderers, and rapists. Great, John, I’m sure your fellow veterans appreciate that one. In fact, I’m astonished at any veteran or serviceman who could even stomach to punch their ballot for Kerry.
Of course, John Kerry could easily answer any of the questions regarding his medals, service, or post-tour service. He could trot down to his closest naval base, fill out a simple form, and all would be revealed. Of course, he cannot do that because it would be simply damning. The Swift Vets would be proven correct, and his candidacy would collapse faster than Teddy Kennedy after drinking a fifth of vodka.
I have to give my kudos to the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth – they’ve done a hell of a job exposing Kerry, the Shadow Candidate, for what he really is. Naturally, the Leftstream Media and the DNC have been working overtime to discredit Paul O’Neill and his fellow veterans. They’ve been unflinching, however, in the face of all this adversity, and I’d like to take this time to congratulate them for their courage and continued service to this country.
And to the esteemed Senator from Massachusetts, I pose this question:
Bush’s National Guard service records can be downloaded by anyone on the internet, Senator Kerry. When do I get to see yours?