Swift Boat Veterans for Truth

"Sellout"
:60 second ad run starting August 24, 2004. "Advertising buy will be more than $600,000 and the spots will be broadcast in three states where Kerry has touted his military service."

Stevens, Reed, Curcio and Potham

 

John Kerry:  “They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads. . .”

Joe Ponder: “The accusations that John Kerry made against the veterans who served in Vietnam was just devastating.”

John Kerry: “. . . randomly shot at civilians. . .”

Joe Ponder: “It hurt me more than any physical wounds I had.”

John Kerry: “. . . cut off limbs, blown up bodies. . .”

Ken Cordier: “That was part of the torture, was, uh, to sign a statement that you had committed war crimes.”

John Kerry: “. . . razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Ghengis Khan. . .”

Paul Gallanti: “John Kerry gave the enemy for free what I, and many of my, uh, comrades in North Vietnam, in the prison camps, uh, took torture to avoid saying.  It demoralized us.”

John Kerry: “. . . crimes committed on a day to day basis. . . ”

Ken Cordier: “He betrayed us in the past, how could we be loyal to him now?”

John Kerry: “. . . ravaged the countryside of South Vietnam.”

Paul Gallanti: “He dishonored his country, and, uh, more, more importantly the people he served with.  He just sold them out.”

Announcer:  “Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is responsible for the content of this advertisement.”

 

 
On the Screen:  B&W photos of Kerry testifying with excerpts from his testimony run in white text on top alternate with clips of veterans commenting.  Disclaimer.
Notes and Observations

> The ad was announced on Aug. 20; the Kerry campaign issued a statement on what it termed the "Swift Boat Veterans for Bush Ad":

Kerry Campaign Statement on New Swift Boat Veterans for Bush Ad

Washington, DC – Kerry-Edwards campaign spokesman Chad Clanton released the following statement today about the new Swift Boat Veterans for Bush ad:

"This is another ad from a front group funded by Bush allies that is trying to smear John Kerry.  The newest ad takes Kerry’s testimony out of context, editing what he said to distort the facts.  He testified as a 27 year-old Vietnam veteran.  He opposed a war that, at that point, cost over 44,000 lives of the 58,245 names that are on the Vietnam Memorial wall.  It says a lot that the President refuses to condemn this smear.  The American people want to hear how we're going to cut health care costs and strengthen the economy, not smears."


> Soon after the release of this ad Col. Ken Cordier  (USAF, ret.) was revealed to be a member of the Bush-Cheney '04 National Veterans Steering Committee; the campaign asked him to resign from that position.