csua.org/u/8hd -> www.dailykos.com/story/2004/8/5/162248/3128
DCBlues Thu Aug 5th, 2004 at 19:00:22 GMT (From the diaries -- kos) Just watched Inside Politics, and their story on the smear ad on Kerry's Vietnam service. Judy Woodruff interviewed Larry Thurlow and Jim Rassman. Thurlow was claiming that during Kerry's rescue of Rassman, there was no enemy fire at all, and hence Kerry didn't deserve a purple heart or a bronze star. Rassman held his ground, saying he that Thurlow must be telling this story for partisan reasons.
While Kerry was rescuing Rassman, "Thurlow was struggling to get PCF-3's wounded gunner out of his hole and onto the deck when the damaged Swift ran aground hard on a shoal on the right side of the river, sending Thurlow somersaulting into the water. At the same moment, the five Swifts came under fire from the right side again, and Kerry remembered thinking that was it -- they were going to get completely cut off and annihilated in a crossfire." Thurlow noted in the IP interview that he was thrown into the water that day, but didn't say why. The American History article also notes: "Kerry and the other wounded men received medical attention aboard a Coast Guard cutter, which was the closest ship capable of treating them. Along with a third Purple Heart for the injury to his right arm, Kerry was also awarded a Bronze Star for his bravery, as was Larry Thurlow." In other words, if Kerry doesn't deserve his bronze star, seems that Thurlow doesn't deserve his either. It's unforgivable to allow a vet like Thurlow, whatever kind of person he is now, to tarnish his own heroism by encouraging these lies. If Bush had the slightest understanding of honor he would never allow this by his surrogates.
none / 1) Ever since the inception of Limbaugh, politics has become more and more like professional wrestling. These vet jokers should just be referred to as The Insane Clown Posse.
none / 0) whihc I caught, Mike S was on line waiting to talkk to Van O"Dell (it's a few diaries down) who also was on to trash taht day, on Medved's radio programme. Sounded like Inside P will be "following" this, the AH mag link needs to get to them... It's a cartoon world run by people scarcely able to parse a grocery list.
Thu Aug 5th, 2004 at 20:33:01 GMT Inside Politics ( 400 / 3) For what it's worth, I just sent the link to Inside Politics, along with the quote about Thurlow's bronze star.
The Houston firm that this stuff centers on is really prestigious. Al Gonzales, white house council, mentioned for supreme court, is a partner and so is Priscilla Owens. They could have got him for an office in the middle of the hall and the oldest secretary in the pool. "If I pay a man enough money to buy my car, he'll buy my car."
none / 0) way into the office I listened to Hannity and he had Hoffman, O'Dell and someone else on. They said that no one else won a medal that day for doing the same thing with the others.
none / 0) This is a smear campaign that should stop, if this guy got a medal on the same day as Kerry-what is his beef? how the forms that mysteriously reappeared DONT support his contentions. Ilana Wexler fan - Give Shrub and the Big Dick a permanent time out!
none / 0) The best we can expect is coverage about Kerry's heroism. But seriously, does anyone besides non-voters and hardened bush partisans hold out any serious belief that bush did his service? We'd all love to see the definitive indictment, but we never will. Kerry's heroics next to bush's dodgy statements and records is good enough.
none / 0) I blogged about it (linked to this story, and found a quote from Thurlow to the same effect that I could link to) to increase the number of people who see it. Kos needs to promote this to the main page, and someone (with email access, unlike me) should send this out to all the prominent bloggers: Atrios and Josh Marshall spring to mind (this would be an excellent one for Josh.
none / 0) I love the blogosphere: everyone gets to pitch in, and anyone can get a few minutes of glory. For the record, I just did a Google search on "Jim Thurlow".
Thurlow appears in the SBVT ad, but he doesn't make claims about Kerry's bronze star. That's Van O'Dell, who (as near as I can tell) was basically a low-guy-on-the-totem-pole at the time. Can't find any medals for him (or an account of what he did in Vietnam, yet). Anyway, Atrios was quite forgiving, since Thorlow did make the claims on Inside Politics.
Check it: THURLOW: My recollection of that day is still pretty vivid after all these years. And what I remember, Judy, is that the incident involving Mr Rassmann, five boats had come out of the river after running an operation up in the canal earlier that day. Three boats were going through a fishing weir on the left side of the river that had put in place between the time we entered and when we were leaving. He's going through a rather small opening on the right bank that (ph) had been left in his boat. The boat leading our column, as it goes through that small opening almost simultaneously, is blasted completely out of the water by a command detonated mine.
I don't know what his motivation is, but I was receiving fire in the water every time I came up for air. I don't recall anybody being in the area around us until I came up maybe five or six times for air and Kerry came back to pick me up out of the water. He says you are being disingenuous in not recalling what happened. THURLOW: Let me ask Mr Rassmann this question: I also ended up in the water that day during the rescue efforts on the 3-boat (ph). And my boat, the 51-boat (ph), came up, picked me up, business as usual. But the thing I would like to ask is, we have five boats now, John's returning, and four boats basically dead in the water, working on the 3-boat (ph). If we were receiving fire off the bank, how come not one single boat received one bullet hole, nobody was hit, no sign of any rounds hitting the water while I was in it? RASSMANN: There were definitely rounds hitting the water around me. If Mr Thurlow feels that what his story is purported to be was the case, he had ample opportunity 35 years ago to deal with it. I told this story when I put him in for a Silver Star for coming back to rescue me. The Navy saw fit to reduce it to a Bronze Star for valor. But If Mr Furlow had a problem with that, he should have dealt with it long, long ago. I think that this is partisan motivation on his part and for the part of his whole organization. WOODRUFF: Mr Thurlow, why didn't you bring this up earlier? THURLOW: For one thing, I did not know that John had been put in for a Bronze Star, a Silver Star or, for that matter, a Purple Heart on that day. I did not see the after-action report, which, in fact, was written by John. And as the years went by, John was not running for the highest office in the free world. You'd think the Bronze Star he got would have clued him in...
none / 0) Bushpeople need to realize that once the AP finished the analysis of Preznit AWOLs distinguished TANG service, they will be on the defensive. these Swift Boat Liars are pushing a story that has a shelf life of less than a week, but if our Warp Resident well and truly ditched his service, his so called credibility and trustworthiness takes a big hit.
If so, is there any reason to believe they'll have the guts to tell the truth -- that Bush went AWOl? Or will they parse it in a way that gives the Repugs an out?
none / 0) I think the Bush people already know there's going to be trouble when the AP finishes their analysis. That's why they've rush out this ad: to pre-emptively discredit Kerry and muddy the waters. all it has to do is plant doubts about Kerry's credibility with independents and swing voters.
Listening to the breathless bullshit on talk radio was unbearable and getting cut off on the Michael Medved show while comparing them to their godfather, Nixon, has completely killed me today. I really don't know which way this will go because I never thought that "Gore" would become a verb.
none / 0) I saw the IP interview and it seems to be just your typical lazy journalism. They present the two parties and turn it into a 'he said he said' argument. no analysis, no third party reports, no...
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