The CPAC Files: Breakfast with the Swift Boat Vets
by Robin Burk at February 17, 2005 03:37 PM
After a little confusion about the location - hey, I got my aerobic exercise for the week running around! - I found the blogger breakfast. Speaking were John O'Neill and Bill Franke of the Swift Boat Vets and POWs for Truth. The breakfast was sponsored by Creative Response Concepts, a public relations group that executed the Swift Vets effort to get their message out.
O'Neill started off by saying that the MSM have traditionally had a monopoly on information dissemination. O'Neill claimed that several reporters met with the Swifties, seemed to be personally convinced of the truth of their claims but noted that they, or their editors, wouldn't publish that because it might help Bush get elected. The first Swift Vets site was repeatedly hack attacked until they put up a much more secure and hardened one.
Franke ended by thanking the blogs for getting the word out and digging for facts. Money quote:
"Those in uniform are the most defenseless of people because they cannot respond to political attacks."
So, where does the controversy sit now? Does it still matter? Did I learn any new information? Here's a quick summary...
The Past
O'Neill and Franke were adamant that they had no interest in character assassination. O'Neill said he was approached to attack Kerry during several Senate runs and refused. But they, and the other 260+ Swifties and POWs, were convinced based on long knowledge of him that Kerry is unfit to be Commander in Chief of the U.S. Military. I asked them if they think that they had influenced people towards restoring the public image of our military after Vietnam and the 70s. O'Neill and Franke both believe that the result of their activity is that politically motivagted attacks on the military have been deterred but not really ended.
Interesting estimate: The first Swift Boat ad generated approximately $40-50 million worth of 'earned media exposure'. The Kerry campaign actually showed a clip of the ad, plus the group's URL, in their response - rather counterproductive.
The Future
2008? Kerry says he's the frontrunner for the Democrats and he has at least a few supporters. He probably won't run on his Vietnam record again, but the Swifties and POWs who are still alive in 3 years have made it clear they aren't going to go away.
UPDATE - THE IMPASSE:
Sam Donaldson made it clear in his debate with Bob Novack that while most in the breakfast room supported the Swifties, he either hasn't read or doesn't accept their account of events in Vietnam. People are still talking past one another on this. Kerry hasn't signed Form 180, just as CNN hasn't pressed for release of the Davos tape, so the same sort of he said/she said impasse is lingering about Kerry's service in Vietnam.
Limited modified hangout combined with stonewall? Or reasonable self-defense against a baying mob?
Rove is clearly loved here. The crowd in the ballroom exploded in cheers when he walked in. He's got an effective self-deprecating sense of humor when he's in a sympathetic crowd like this. Interesting.
Here are my notes from his talk. Comments follow.
Rove...
* Encourages support of Rick Santorum in 2006.
* Notes massive outspending by Democrats vs. Republicans in the 2004 election. "What is significant about the 2004 election is not that we won, but how we won. This president put all his chips on the table."
* Asserts a mandate for Bush's platform of changes. Stresses Reagan's role in making liberty around the world a Republican issue. "Afghanistan, Ukraine, Palestinians and Iraq - 100m people on 2 continents cast free votes in nations that have never known democracy. Over 1/2 of them are Muslim voters in the middle east."
* Says the conservative movement is now the locus for reforms to create a more free, more prosperous and more just society. Those who oppose this are in a difficult position since most people know we need reforms in many areas of public life.
* Says finally, the conservative movement is defending time-honored values, including mediating structures like families, churches, "culture of life", traditional marriage.
* Warns Republicans to follow through on promises and not grow arrogant or ossified. At one time conservatism was mainly a reactionary movement in response to Democratic agendas. Now the conservatives have the momentum, are "shaping history" and acting on a clear vision. Liberalism is now the reactionary side.
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My (Updated) Comments: Rove stressed several themes in a tightly written talk. The overall message: liberty here and abroad rests on personal freedom and responsibility, but also on key social and intermediary structures (including religious and civic organizations, schools, compassion towards those in need in a way consistent with accountability).
The warning not to get complacent was delivered quietly, but it was there.
Rove's message boiled down to "Bush was elected with an historic mandate, and that mandate was for his whole policy platform." I suspect more than a few people who voted for Bush might not buy that assertion. Rove's warning about not becoming complacent is apropos here.
Robin Burk is accredited to this year's Conservative Political Action Conference as a member of the Winds of Change.NET team. She's covering CPAC as a private citizen and maybe a "citizen journalist" (if she could figure out what that means), as an academic studying the new media, and as an ordinary voter interested in national & international affairs. Robin is not affiliated with the organizations who sponsor CPAC.
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